Curried Zucchini Soup, April 11, 2016

Our wee boy had his very first swim lesson last Monday, so we had a delicious dinner that was quick & easy to throw together. I made a batch of scrumptious curried zucchini soup, along with grilled extra-sharp cheddar on flax bread. Dessert was peach slices (canned, of course---I am irked that I can't seem to find Margaret Holmes ones anywhere these days).

Curried Zucchini Soup

1 tbsp. olive oil/butter

2 lb. zucchini, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping tsp. curry powder

Salt & pepper

2 c. chicken or veggie broth

1 c. milk/half & half/cream (you could sub more broth or, perhaps, soy/almond/coconut milk)

Melt butter in a pan. Add zucchini, onion, & garlic. Sauté until softened. Season with curry, salt, & pepper. Purée, using either an immersion blender or, in 2 batches, in a blender. Return to pot, add milk, and heat through. Serves 4. 

Red Tent Food: Pumpkin & Butternut Soup, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake, October 13, 2015

Once a month, at the new moon, my Red Tent Temple women gather. I prepare some kind of food to nourish bodies and spirits. Last night, it being October, I made a pumpkin and squash soup and a chocolate chip zucchini cake. I added some store-bought wheat bread, some lentil crackers (we have at least 1 member who is gluten-free), and some Lucy's pumpkin cookies, also GF.

Pumpkin & Butternut Soup

1 tbsp. butter (if vegan, sub olive oil)

1 tsp. olive oil

2 onions, chopped

30 oz. pumpkin (canned)

3 lb. butternut squash cubes (I buy them pre-chopped)

6 c. vegetable stock

A couple pinches salt

A good grinding pepper

1 c. milk or half and half (skim is fine---and this can be omitted altogether)

Sour cream, croutons, and shredded parmesan for garnish

Heat butter and oil in soup pot. Cook the onions until translucent. Add all but the milk. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on medium-low for 20 minutes or so. Blend smooth, either in a blender (carefully, in batches) or with an immersion blender. Return to pot, add milk, and adjust seasonings. Heat through. Serve with garnishes. Serves 8-10. 

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 c. oil

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. buttermilk

2 medium zucchini, shredded (about 2 c.)

1 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar, butter, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and buttermilk. Fold in zucchini, chocolate, and nuts. Pour into a greased, floured 13x9 pan. Bake 35-45 minutes. Serves 16. I have not frosted this, but I think cream cheese frosting would be yummy on it. 

Chicken Pot Pie, August 21, 2015

A couple weeks ago, Jeannene suggested that it was about time for me to make my chicken pot pie again. Friday night, it seemed sufficiently cool and pot pie-ish to fulfill her request. I learned to make my chicken pie from my friend, Teresa, in Tennessee. It's good, although I think I used a bit too much chicken this time. Jeannene disagrees. Since I'd just been to the farmer's market and had all kinds of marvelous produce, I added a tomato and cucumber salad and a corn and zucchini sauté to complete the meal. I experimented with putting a little oregano in the tomato and cucumber salad and discovered I didn't like it at all, but add it, by all means, if you like it. I felt it muddied the clarity of the flavors. I also had some parmesan & onion hanky pankys ready to pop out of the oven when Jeannene came home. These little toasts go by all kinds of names, but I like the playfulness of hanky pankys. My favorite version is my aunt Holly's Gloria Hardingtons, which I have written about here before. There is also a version involving sausage and Velveeta, which I have not yet tried. Honestly, I've been reluctant to try any but the Glorias because they are so stunningly good. But this parmesan version was pretty tasty, too. This is the basic recipe for the appetizer, which should be enough for 7 people. You can easily cut the amounts if you're just making it for 2 people, but in my experience, when making these type of appetizers for larger groups, it's actually better to double the recipe, just because people love them so much.

Parmesan & Onion Hanky Pankys

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

1/2 c. mayonnaise 

1/4-1/2 c. grated parmesan

Pepper & a little garlic powder

14 slices cocktail rye

Preheat broiler. Mix everything but rye together. Broil rye until lightly toasted. Turn over and spread with topping. Broil until bubbly and nicely browned. 

Chicken Pot Pie

2 pie crusts (I use the pre-made refrigerated kind)

1/2-1 pound chicken breast chunks, cooked (I used about 1 & 1/2 this time, too much for me)

1 can Veg All, drained (You can use other mixed veg)

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (I almost always use low fat, low sodium versions of the soups)

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put one crust in a pie plate. Mix the rest together & pour into crust. Top with second crust, crimping & sealing. Cut slits to vent the top (or use mini cookie cutters for make designs). Bake 1 hour. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

1 large tomato, diced (I like to use an heirloom tomato here)

1 cucumber, peeled & sliced thickly

3 or 4 leaves basil, sliced in chiffonade

1/4 red. onion, diced

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. oregano, opt. 

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

Mix everything together and let stand 5 or 10 minutes before serving. Serves 4-6. 

Corn & Zucchini Sauté

2 tbsp. butter or olive oil

1 zucchini, diced

1 onion, diced

1 jalapeño, seeds and membranes removed, minced (or to taste)

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder

Kernels cut from 2-3 ears corn (you can do this with frozen corn, but it's not the same. I only make it in season)

Melt butter in skillet and add everything but the corn. Cook until veggies are tender, then add corn and cook another few minutes, until corn is tender. Serves 4. 

Teriyaki Chicken with Zucchini Salad

Juice in the batter, juice in the batter, we bake pie and nothing's the matter! When I was a kid, one of my very favorite books was Maurice Sendak's "In The Night Kitchen," a magical story about Mickey, who falls out of his bed & his pajamas into the night kitchen, where the bakers are busy making cake for the morning. His adventures in dough (and milk) are marvelous and I always loved chanting, along with my mama, the rhythmic words of the bakers in the night kitchen: "Milk in the batter! Milk in the batter! We bake cake and nothing's the matter!" If you've not seen this book and you'd like to know more, you can learn a bit here and also hear James Gandolfini reading it aloud:http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/06/21/james-gandolfini-reads-maurice-sendak/

Anyway, I've been up in my own night kitchen baking half a dozen key lime pies for my sweetheart's "job well done" reward picnic at her plant tomorrow. What fun! 2 dozen eggs later, the pies are chilling in the fridge now, the Crimson Cup (http://www.crimsoncup.com/about/our-handcrafted-coffee) coffee's all revved up and ready for Jeannene's 3:30 wake-up call, and yet, I am not quite sleepy enough for bed. So, on to tonight's dinner for you! Tonight, we had a dinner that was simple in the extreme. It's also a great one for the grilling season, which is upon us. Today, we welcomed our new grill into the household, a beaut of a Brinkman that can handle 40 burgers, I believe, at one time. Had we the forethought to pick up a canister of propane, we could have initiated it tonight, as this dinner lends itself well to grilling.

I cut a couple skinless, boneless chicken breasts into strips and marinated them in a little more than a quarter cup of teriyaki sauce. My favorite is Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki. I only marinated them about half an hour, but you could soak them much longer for deeper flavor. Then, I put them on a broiler pan I'd coated lightly with cooking spray and broiled them until they were cooked through, about 7 or 8 minutes. This is where the grill could have come in handy. While they were doing their thing, I cooked up a pot of jasmine rice, cooking water seasoned with a little salt and a splash of sesame oil. I also made a deliciously fresh-tasting salad by slicing 4 zucchini into thin ribbons lengthwise (had I a mandoline, they'd've been lots thinner---and probably a great deal more even!), then tossing it with the juice of a lemon, a tablespoon of sesame oil, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Before serving the chicken, I sprinkled it with some toasted sesame seeds. Easy peasy and quick to pull together, if you remember to throw the chicken in to marinate ahead of time.