Pickled Zucchini Spears

Pickled Zucchini Spears  

This recipe from Sherry Vinson's Put 'em Up! makes about 6 pints.

Ingredients:

4 pounds small zucchini or summer squash

1 large onion (chopped)

½ Cup salt

4 garlic cloves (halved or chopped rough)

4 Cups white vinegar

½ Cup sugar

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon peppercorns

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Optional crumbled bay leaf

Prepare your vegetables: Cut the zucchini (or squash) into spears an in shorter than your jars and then toss it in a largebowl with the salt. Cover with cold water and let sit two hours. Drain. Rinse.  Drain again. Then pack the squash mixture into clean hot pint jars and divide the garlic among them.

Prepare your brine: Bring the vinegar, sugar, and spices to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan. Pour the hot bring over the vegetables (waiting in your jars) to cover by ½ inch and leave ½ inch of headspace.

Process: Use the hot water bath method. Release trapped air. Wipe jar rims clean. Put on lids. Process in hot water bath with 30 minutes at full rolling boil. Turn off heat. Let sit 5 minutes. Then remove to sit on the counter for 24 hours. Check seals and store for up to a year.  

These flavorful pickles won first prize at the Alaska State Fair!

Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

This vinaigrette is a nice way to dress up simply prepared whole grains like wheat berries and is easy to make with ingredients we generally have on hand in the fridge and cupboards.

Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Combine the ingredients in a small mason jar, shake and serve. Stash the jar in your fridge to store leftovers and shake before each use.

1/3 Cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of pepper
1/2 teaspoon rosemary (dried or fresh)

Variations: The original recipe called for 1/8 teaspoon salt, which I omit. 
Using honey instead of syrup will produce a thicker sweeter dressing with more body.

Simple Slurpies

Sometimes simple hits the spot. 

This summer, Anchorage broke records for consecutive days with temperatures above 70. degrees. All that gorgeous heat stretched our imaginations for more refreshing warm weather treats (after all the Popsicles, sorbets and ice creams that we had already eaten). We have moved well past that now to the cold rains of August, but for those of you who still have hot sunny days ahead:

This recipe comes from my son who first called the results Slushies and then renamed it Slurpies once he got a straw into the action.

How to do it:

Throw a tray full of ice cubes in your food processor and pulse until they are reduced so those ice-y granules that he calls snow. 
Use your favorite ice cream scoop to transfer some "snow" to a juice glass. 
Pour some juice over the top. 
Slurp away.

We like cherry juice. Or to really pucker up try pure cranberry. Something with bold color makes it more fun. 

Asian Slaw

This variation is based on the slaw recipe presented as the companion for Marinated Flank Steak in The Essential New York Times Cookbook. The two foods echo each other with similar flavors and good texture contrast.

Asian Slaw

Foods to cut:
3 Cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2 carrots peeled and thinly sliced
2 shallot minced
2 scallions thinly sliced
1 Cup thinly sliced Thai basil leaves (the original recipe would have used sweet basil)

To measure for the dressing:
2 Tablespoons oil (we use canola, the original recipe called for peanut oil)
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt (the original recipe called for 3/4 tsp but we cut it back a little)

How to: This dish is really all about the prep work and measuring. Just get it all in a bowl and toss well so the veggies are well coated with the dressing.

Variations: The original recipe also called for 2 small hot chiles, seeded and minced.

Marinated Flank Steak

The original recipe from The Essential New York Times Cookbook calls for marinating the meat for 6 to 36 hours. We don't have much experience with that full range of times. My husband puts it together one evening with plans to serve it the next.

Flank Steak

Put a 2 pound flank steak in a large plastic bag to marinate overnight (ish) with:
1/4 Cup rice vinegar
1/4 Cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.

When ready to cook, broil until it is done the way you like, several minutes per side works for us. Transfer to a cutting board. Let rest 10 minutes or so. Then slice thinly on the bias.

Ginger Chick Peas

Based on the recipe for Chickpeas in Ginger Sauce from The Essential New York Times Cookbook.

Ginger Chick Peas

1/4 Cup oil
2 Cups chopped onion
2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch cayenne
a little black pepper
4 Cups cooked or canned chick peas plus 1 Cup of their liquid
1/3 Cup water

In a large skillet, brown the onion in the oil on medium high.

Turn the heat down a little and add the ginger and garlic.

A couple of minutes later, add the coriander, cardamom, cayenne and black pepper. Stir to combine.

Then add the reserved chick pea liquid, water and lemon juice. Cook for 10 more minutes.

Then add the chick peas and cook for 10 more minutes, until heated through.

Leftovers keep well for tomorrow's lunch.

Variations:
The original recipe calls for adding a chopped tomato just after the spices and for serving with thinly sliced onion and shredded green chile (seeded). To please a picky child, we omit all of that. I am sure it would taste marvelous though.

Moroccan Carrots

This cold carrot dish (doubled to feed a larger crowd) worked well as a lively side for our Thanksgiving table. The recipe comes from The Essential New York Times Cook Book.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

1 pound carrots
1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
A few cranks from your pepper grinder
2 teaspoons olive oil

Peel the carrots and slice them into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Steam for approximately 10 minutes, until tender but slightly firm. Drain. Dress with the remaining ingredients. Toss well. Cool to room temperature and then store covered in the fridge to marinate for several hours. Toss again before serving.

Notes: These carrots keep well, so making them farther in advance is fine.
The original recipe called for adding a Tablespoon of chopped cilantro. I left it out because we didn't have any on hand. If you have cilantro, add it to give another fresh layer of flavor.

So much better than Jello

I love Jello. I'm an adult and I should know better. The artificial colors alone should put me off. But I do love it. Fortunately, as an adult I have discovered that it is very, very easy to make something equally delicious with many fewer chemicals. With just a few minutes of work and your favorite juice, you can make fruit gelatin.

Fruit Gelatin
(makes 4 Cups -- that's 8 half cup servings)

4 Cups of fruit juice
2 envelopes gelatin

Use a medium sized bowl. Measure 1 Cup of juice into it. Sprinkle both packages of gelatin into the bowl and let it sit.

While the gelatin is soaking, bring the other 3 Cups of juice just to a boil in a sauce pan.

Pour the hot juice into the bowl. Stir to combine and thoroughly dissolve the gelatin.

Pour the gelatin mixture into one large pan or several smaller serving dishes.

Chill for several hours.

Variations: Use your imagination and pick your favorite juices or blends. Today we enjoyed using a blend of apple, cranberry and pomegranate juice. It was a hit.

Optional fruit: Fruit can be added to the pan or serving dish before the gelatin mixture is poured in. Today we sliced in fresh strawberries. Frozen blueberries are also nice. If you have canned mandarin orange slices, those are nice too.

Cranberry Relish

Late October is the time we start to brainstorm for our contributions to the annual Thanksgiving potluck with my husband's family. We particularly enjoy bringing bright lively dishes with fresh tang, zesty crunch or straight up spiciness to balance out the traditional turkey, stuffing, potatoes and pies that we know will be there. Whatever else we bring, every year we also bring this fresh cranberry relish. It is standard of my mother's as well and is based on the Uncooked Cranberry Relish recipe in The Joy of Cooking (we have the First Scriber edition from 1995). We just reduce the sugar.

Raw Cranberry Relish

1 pound cranberries
1 orange (leave the peel on)
1-2 Cups sugar (the original recipe called for 2 Cups, we like less)

Grind the cranberries in a food processor. Remove the seeds from the orange, add it to the cranberries and grind them together. Stir in sugar. Cover and refrigerate. Ideally for 2 days, but one is fine and if you haven't planned that far ahead then serve it fresh. It will still be tasty.

Pear Carrot Cake

This is based on a recipe for Fat Free and Delicious Pear-Carrot Cake in Bakin' Without Eggs which calls for all purpose flour and less carrot and vanilla.  Yes, I understand you may be skeptical that a vegan carrot cake can be moist and delicious with whole wheat flour. But it's true. This recipe was from something of an accident. I was up late baking Friday night in preparation for our annual pumpkin carving party on Saturday afternoon. After a couple of batches of cookies and cupcakes, I started to prepare a carrot cake and realized only after shredding the carrots and dicing the pears that I had only a small amount of all purpose flour left. So I used my last cup of all purpose and substituted whole wheat for the rest and hoped for the best. Boy was I pleasantly surprised when party guests on Saturday afternoon declared the cake delicious. I tried a slice myself, to verify that it wasn't just a case of over-politeness, and can confirm that this is a great cake.

Pear-Carrot Cake

1 1/2 Cups shredded carrot (I used the larger of the shred disks on my food processor)
3 large ripe pears cored and diced relatively small, but not tiny
1 Cup all purpose flour
2 Cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 Cup water
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 Cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a Bundt pan with oil. Use a large bowl. Add the carrots and pears first. Then the flours, leavening and spices. Then the sugar. Add the liquids and stir. Fold in raisins last. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Cool pan on a wire rack for several minutes then invert to turn cake out onto serving platter.

Notes: The recipe I was starting from gave a time of 35 to 40 minutes. That was not nearly long enough for me. Maybe my oven is getting wonky. But I suspect that 35 minutes wouldn't be long enough for any oven.
This kept well for me just letting it cool on the rack for awhile and then inverting it and placing the Bundt pan back over the cake and leaving it to sit that way until the following afternoon.

Quick Daikon Salad

This fresh salad offers a gentle blend of sweet and tangy and is very easy to make with a food processor. A simple summer dish great for barbeques. It is also a nice counter point to heavier dishes at the Thanksgiving table.

Daikon Salad with Apple and Carrots

1 daikon
1 apple
1 large carrot or 2 small ones
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar

Grate the daikon. Toss it in a colander with a teaspoon of salt. Let sit.
Grate the apple and carrot and put them in the salad bowl.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar.
Toss the sweetened vinegar over the apple and carrot.
Squeeze excess liquid from daikon, rinse and drain. Add to apple and carrot.
Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes and then serve.

Tunisian Vegetable Stew

This dish from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home has really stood the test of time for us. We've been making it for years and I still love it!

Tunisian Vegetable Stew

Veggie base:
1 large onion thinly sliced (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but I don't measure. Use two if your onions aren't particularly large)
splash of olive oil
1/2 a cabbage thinly sliced (original recipe calls for 3 cups)
1 bell pepper cut into strips

Spices:
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (original recipe called for 1/4, but we like more)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or a little more)

To stew with:
28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes (undrained)
16-ounce can of chick peas (drained)
1/2 cup raisins (original recipe calls for just 1/3 cup)
juice of a lemon (original recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon)

To serve with: optional crumbles of feta cheese

How to:
Saute onions until softened. Add in the cabbage and saute at least 5 minutes more. Add the bell pepper and the spices. Cook another minute. Add the tomatoes, chick peas and raisins. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and top with some crumbles of feta.

If you make ahead, hold off adding the feta until just before you serve it.
This keeps well in the fridge and tastes even better the next day.
It's dairy-free and vegan if you omit the cheese, in which case you may want to add salt.

Mango Salsa

This works well as a side dish or as a salsa in burritos, on burgers, etc.

Mango Salsa

2 mangos, peeled and chopped (into large cubes for salad or smaller dice for salsa
1/2 a sweet onion or a whole small one (chopped small)
a couple of anaheim peppers (remove seeds and chop small)
juice of a lime
sprigs of cilantro, chopped

Chop it up. Toss it together. Enjoy.

Coconut Rice

This thick, satisfying, slightly sweet rice dish has a lovely golden color and is a good counterpoint to curry. It comes from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.

Coconut Rice

1 1/4 Cup water
1 Cup white basmati rice
1/2 Cup canned coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
small piece of cinnamon stick or a dash of cinnamon
1/4 Cup raisins

Bring water to a boil in a heavy saucepan.
Stir in the rice and everything else.
Bring back to a boil.
Stir once.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat. Let sit a few minutes. Then fluff and serve.

Black Bean Burgers

Another favorite from Veganomicon. This is not a recipe to feed an army: just six small burgers. That's fine for our family. Double it when you have guests. They will want seconds.

Black Bean Burgers

What you need:
 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (or two cups cooked if you start from dry beans)
 1/2 Cup vital wheat gluten
  1/2 Cup breadcrumbs (we use plain store bought panko)
  1 teaspoon chile powder
  an extra little dash of cumin
  1/4 Cup water
  a squirt of ketchup
  a couple of cloves of garlic and a little bit of onion (minced fine or grated)
  2 Tablespoons olive oil
  Extra little spritzes of oil

How to do it:
In a mixing bowl, mash the beans with a fork to break them up a bit. Add everything else except the oil.

Mix it all up with a fork and then knead with your hands until its well mixed and firm.

Divide burger mixture into sixths. Form six balls and then flatten each between your hands.

Preheat a griddle or heavy skillet. Add a thin layer of olive oil to the bottom. For each patty, cook it 5 minutes on one side, spritz with oil, flip and cook 5 minutes more on the second side.

I could fit three burgers at a time in my skillet. Don't try to crowd all six into the pan at once.

Notes: If you need to get these started and then set them aside for awhile, it's fine to make them ahead through the kneading of the dough, let it sit and then fry them up later. Just put some plastic wrap over it so it doesn't dry out while it's sitting.

Serve with: We like these with guacamole, but they are also good with the standard ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato and onion type fixings.

Chewy Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

These thin chewy chocolate cookies are a snap to make. Leave room between them on the cookie sheet because they do spread.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Ingredients:
  1 1/2 Cups flour
  2/3 Cup cocoa powder
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  1/2 Cup hazelnut meal
  2/3 Cup canola oil
  1 1/2 Cups sugar
  1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal
  1/2 Cup chocolate hazelnut milk
  1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  3/4 Cup chocolate chips

How to:

Preheat oven to 350. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Stir in the hazelnut meal.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and flaxseed meal.
Add the hazelnut milk and vanilla and mix well.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Flatten each slightly and place a couple of inches apart on the cookie sheets.

Bake each sheet for 10 minutes, then remove from oven.

Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

I can only fit two sheets in my oven at a time. Stash one in the fridge while the other two are baking.

Variation: Finely grate the zest of an orange into the dough for an extra layer of bright flavor.

Bite Sized Brownies - Vegan and Gluten Free

Mistakes were made. I won't go into gory details of my early attempts to bake brownies with oat flour and palm oil back when we were also avoiding dairy and wheat and I hadn't gotten a good feel for eggless baking.

These tasty little bite sized brownies which I found in the recipe section of the website for the Enjoy Life brand were the first vegan gluten free chocolate dessert that I could consistently make successfully.

They call them Choco-Loco Bites. I call them delicious.

Brownie Bites

What you need:
   1/2 Cup applesauce
   1/3 Cup water
   1/3 Cup canola or other neutral oil
   1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
   3/4 Cup cocoa powder
   1 Cup sugar
   1 and 1/3 Cups rice flour
   1 teaspoon baking powder
   1 and 1/2 Cups Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips
   Mini-muffin tin

Ingredient Note: In addition to being free of gluten and Top 8 allergens, Enjoy Life brand chips are also smaller than standard semi-sweet chips and the small size works particularly well in this recipe. If you don't have them but you do have other safe chips, use those.

Equipment Note: If you don't have a mini-muffin tin you can use a larger muffin tin by only filling 24 cups part way. Obviously, these will be a different shape. But they will still be good. 

What to do:
   Preheat your over to 350.
   Beat together the wet ingredients.
   Beat in the sugar and cocoa.
   Stir in the flour and baking powder.
   Stir in the chips.
   Spoon into greased mini muffin tins (24 mini muffins worth)
   Bake for about 25 minutes until firming at edges.
   Let cool completely before removing from the tin.

Sweet Potato Salad

This variation on a sweet potato salad from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home has long been a favorite at our house.

The two basic elements of the salad are the steamed cubes of sweet potato (which we like a little larger than the 1/4 inch cubes called for the original recipe) and the easy mustard dressing.

For the rest, we mostly use whatever combination of fresh crunchy vegetables we have on hand and typically use cilantro instead of parsley called for in the original recipe.

Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes - peel and cube

1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon good mustard

1 Tablespoon honey

1/4 canola or olive oil

1 Cup diced celery

1 Cup diced red bell pepper

Optional: any other crisp veggies you have on hand (carrot in small pieces, thin slices of zuccini, etc.)

handful of chopped cilantro (or parsley if you have that)

something from the onion family - such as a thinly sliced scallion or diced sweet or red onion

Technique:

Steam the sweet potato cubes for several minutes until softened but not mussy.

Meanwhile, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and honey and then drizzle in the oil whisking to make an emulsion. Chop the veggies and add them to the serving bowl. Prepare the onion and herbs and save those to add at the end.

When the sweet potatoes have steamed, dump them and the dressing into the veggies. Mix well.

Let cool a little. Then add the onions and herbs.

To make ahead hold off on adding the onion and herbs. Store in fridge. Stir to combine and then add the onions and herbs at the last minute.

Polenta Bites

These are an easy make ahead side dish that can be served multiple ways.

Polenta Bites

The basic recipe:
Bring 4 Cups of water and a pinch of salt to a boil.
Gradually wisk in 1 Cup corn grits (polenta)
Reduce heat to simmer. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.
Simmer for at least 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
It will still be pretty loose.
Carefully ladle into the cups of a standard muffin tin.
Let cool and then refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Variations:
(1) Peppered and Crispy To make crispy polenta cakes, preheat oven to 375. Oil a baking sheet. Pop the chilled polenta cakes out of the muffin tin. Arrange them on the cookie sheet. Lightly spritz with oil. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper (and an additional pinch of salt if desired). Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cakes crisp up.

(2) Soft and Sweet These can also be served cold soft and sweet. I like to leave the filled muffin tin in the refrigerator overnight, then pop the cold cakes out into a little bowl and drizzle with maple syrup to eat with breakfast. Fair disclosure: neither my spouse nor my son likes them served cold. Both prefer the cakes either warmed briefly in the microwave to be served soft or crisped in the oven as described in variation (1) above.

Watermelon limonade

Three ingredients. Two steps. What could be easier?

Watermelon limonade

Ingredients:
  2 lemons, peels removed
  1 lime, peel removed
  flesh of 1/2 a small seedless watermelon

How to:
  (1) Blend or food process to puree all the fruit together.
  (2) Strain through a fine mesh sieve.

Caveat: actually, the last step can get messy if you try to coordinate straining from colander or sieve into a pitcher. Trying to balance a funnel between a sieve and pitcher to keep the juice directed was an impossible balancing act. At least for me. The easier method (that dirties more dishes) is to use the sieve to strain the puree into a mixing bowl with one of those slight spouts or indents and then use that spout to pour from there into the pitcher or carafe. Or strain into your punch bowl and serve with a ladle.