Spicy Zucchini Frittata

Here is an easy weekday dinner recipe that uses all those summer vegetables that are on sale at the grocery stores right now. Dig in!

Spicy Zucchini Frittata
1 Zucchini, chopped
1 summer squash, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 green chilies, like Serrano, chopped
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
6-8 eggs, beaten

Chop the zucchini, summer squash, and tomato into approximately the same size pieces. In a skillet-shaped-frying-pan or a deep frying-pan, heat a little oil, and put in the vegetables and the chopped chilies. After letting it cook for a minute, mix in all the spices. Cook till the zucchini and squash are soft. Add a little water only if needed.

In the mean time, beat the eggs well. Once the vegetables are cooked, turn the flame down to low, pour the eggs over the vegetable mixture and immediately cover with a well-fitted lid. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or till the eggs are fully cooked. Serve immediately with some French bread.

Garlic Pork and Sweet Potato Hash

This recipe is from the September issue of Better Homes and Gardens. It had all the ingredients that I love most – garlic, pork, and sweet potatoes. It had to be made! And it was delicious. So I thought I’d share it with you. The ingredients are all the same as the original recipe, and the method is almost exact too, however, it is written in my own words and I have made a couple of changes. It works well, as a last minute, one-pot (or pan) weekday dinner. 

Garlic Pork and Sweet Potato Hash

Garlic Pork and Sweet Potato Hash
3 small sweet potatoes, scrubbed and chopped (4 cups)
1 ½ lb pork tenderloin, cut into 1” slices (I used thin-cut boneless pork chops)
2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce (I used regular soy sauce)
8 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced thin
3 tbsp cooking oil
2 green onions
2 tbsp honey
Pepper for taste

Place the potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle with salt, and put in ½ to 1 cup of water. Cover with a microwave lid and cook on high for 8 to 10 minutes on high. In the mean time, marinate the pork chops in the soy sauce and pepper.

In a skillet or frying pan cook the garlic in hot oil, just until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove and set aside. Cook pork in the same pan for 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until cooked, leaving the extra marinade in the bottom of the bowl for later. Transfer to a plate and keep covered. Add the potatoes to the pan and brown on all sides. Then add the onions and cook for another minute or so. Spoon onto individual plates, then place the pork chops over it.

For the sauce, whisk together the honey, remaining soy sauce (from the marinade bowl) and 2 tablespoons of water in the hot pan till it bubbles. If you feel the garlic has cooled down then add it to the sauce right at the end. Sprinkle the pork chops with garlic and then spoon over it some sauce. Serve immediately.

Sautéed Eggplant and Summer Squash

   Sautéed Eggplant and Summer Squash 

Sautéed Eggplant and Summer Squash

3 eggplants, the long, thin type
1 medium summer squash
1-2 tsps Oregano
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 tbsp oil, for sautéing

Slice the eggplant and summer squash at a slight angle to give it an oval-like shape. Place it in two separate bowls. In each bowl sprinkle salt, pepper, and oregano, and toss so that the herbs are well mixed.

In a frying pan, heat a little oil (just to coat the pan well). Place the eggplant in, in a single layer, with enough space to flip them. Allow it to fry for a minute or two and then check to see if it has browned. If so, flip it over and fry till the other side is brown too. Add more oil if needed, then do the same with the summer squash. After it’s done, mix the two together and serve hot. Garnish with a little parsley,

Notes:
*Eggplant absorbs a lot of oil, so put only enough to grease the pan and add more as needed.
*Eggplant cooks a lot faster than summer squash, which is why it is cooked separately.

Corned Beef and Vegetable Quinoa

Quinoa seems to be all the rage at present. It's supposed to be extremely healty and full of nutrients. Well, I like it because it's tasty. It has this subtle nutty flavor to it that makes we want to eat it plain by the spoonful. White rice is slowly being replaced by quinoa in this household.

Corned Beef and Vegetable Quinoa
2 cups quinoa
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 patty-pan, diced
1 green pepper, chopped
1-2 poblano peppers, chopped (optional)
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp rosemary
½ tsp sage
½ tsp serachi sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes soy sauce
5-10 olives, chopped in half
4-5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
6-8 slices corned beef, chopped 

Little olive oil

In a small pot, cook the quinoa as per instructions on the bag. In a separate pot, heat a little olive oil and fry the onion until it’s soft and translucent. Then add the green peppers and let it cook for a few minutes. Now mix in the zucchini, patty-pan, and poblano peppers. After giving it a stir, mix in all the sauces and herbs. Cover and simmer until the zucchini and scallop squash is soft. Remove the lid and add in the tomatoes, olives, and beef. Simmer for another minute then switch off the stove and mix in the quinoa. Serve immediately.

Pepperoni Grilled Cheese

Pepperoni Grilled Cheese

To placate my husband's unhappy looks, when he found out we were having soup for dinner, I decided to make him this sandwich to eat with the soup. As you might have guessed... he does not like soup very much. 

Pepperoni Grilled Cheese
2 slices bread, whole wheat
2-4 Slices Pepperoni
1 slice Cheddar cheese
Mayonnaise
Fresh Ground Pepper

Spread some mayonnaise on one slice of bread. Place the pepperoni on it. Then put a generous amount of crushed pepper. Next add the slice of cheese and top it with the second slice of bread. Place it in the toaster oven and, well…. toast. When it’s browned, remove and cut into triangles. Serve immediately with Cucumber and Basil Soup.

Cucumber and Basil Soup

In an effort to do something new with the cucumbers piling up in my fridge, I decided to make this soup. There are several versions of it on the internet, but I wanted to try to make it without adding any cream or half & half.

Cucumber and Basil Soup

Cucumber and Basil Soup
3 (medium) Cucumbers
1 (large) white onion
½ cup (packed) fresh basil
1 box chicken stock
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
½ tsp oregano, dried
½ tsp marjoram, dried
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
Olive oil
2 tsp cream cheese

Chop the onion roughly, and set aside. Remove the skin off one cucumber only, and chop all three about the same size as the onions, leaving the skin on on two cucumbers. Heat a little olive oil in a stock pot or a soup tureen. Once it’s hot add in the onion and fry till it starts to brown. Next add in the chopped garlic, and cook till it begins to change color. Next add in the cucumber, salt, pepper, and dry herbs. Mix it up well and allow it to cook for a few minutes. Now add in the chicken stock, until the cucumber is almost completely covered. Put a lid on the pot and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Switch off the stove when the cucumber is very soft and mushy.

While it’s simmering, chop the basil as fine as possible. Set aside 2 teaspoons for garnishing. Once the cucumber has cooled a little, put it in a food processor, and blend till it is smooth, adding a little chopped basil in every batch. When it’s done, pour it back into the soup tureen and allow it to sit, till it’s time to serve. If the soup is too thin, then put it back on medium heat and bring to a boil till it is the consistency desired.

To serve the soup, re-heat it well, and spoon out into a soup bowl or plate. Put in a dollop of softened cream cheese and sprinkle the basil over it as garnish. The heat of the soup should slowly melt the cheese. Serve with a Pepperoni Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Notes:
*The reason you allow the soup to cool before putting it in the blender is to protect the food processors blades. The heat from the soup can cause the blades to lose its sharpness faster. This is the same reason I never put my knives in the dishwasher.

Cabbage Karimbhoy

This recipe is one of my favorites. It’s quick and simple, and extremely filling without being too heavy. The spice the chilies add to it makes a huge difference so don’t shirk on them.

Cabbage Karimbhoy
1 small cabbage (or ½ a large one), chopped very fine
2-3 green chilies (like Serrano)
2 eggs, hard boiled
1 small sweet onion, sliced fine
½ to ¾ cup mayonnaise
Salt to taste
Fresh pepper to taste

Chop the cabbage to create fine, long, thin strands. Keep aside in a large bowl. Next slice the onion quite fine. Cut the chilies into thin slices as well. Using an egg slicer, slice the boiled eggs horizontally, and then vertically, to make it have a diced appearance. Add all these ingredients to the cabbage and keep in the fridge till time to serve. (Prepare ahead of time up to here.)

In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise well with the salt and pepper. Then add the mayonnaise to the cabbage and toss well. If more mayonnaise is needed, mix it with salt and pepper before adding to the cabbage. Do not over-power the cabbage with the mayonnaise. Serve cold, immediately.

Notes:
* I use light or fat free mayonnaise. Because the consistencies of these mayonnaises are thicker than regular mayonnaise, I usually mix about a tablespoon of milk in with the mayonnaise to thin it out.

Tomato Sauce

This was the only thing I could think of doing with all the perfectly ripe tomatoes I'd got in last weeks CSA basket. Holding on to them and eating them slowly would have resulted in the last few going bad. So, I made a tomato sauce that can be used for several thing. 

Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce
5 (large) tomatoes
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano, dried
1 large sweet onion, chopped fine
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
Little olive oil
1-2 tsp smoked paprika powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 stick cinnamon

Blanch the tomatoes and remove the skin. Chop the tomatoes roughly and keep aside. In a pot, heat a little olive oil and cook the onions till they are soft and starting to brown. Now add the garlic and cook till fragrant. Next add all the herbs and spices; allow the flavors to mix well for a minute or two. Only add a tablespoon of water if its burning. Put in the tomatoes, mix it well, and simmer with a lid on for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the bottom from sticking. When the tomatoes are completely cooked, take a potato masher and mash the tomatoes till the pieces disintegrate into a rough paste. Cook for a few more minutes to remove any extra water from the sauce. Remove from stove, cool, and can.

Use the sauce in a pasta dish, or spread it on a pizza, or marinate and cook some meat in it.

Vegetable Stir Fry

Vegetable Stir Fry

About 5 oz spaghetti, whole wheat
1 (small) Bak choy
½ Chinese cabbage
 1 Zucchini, julienned
1 bunch asparagus
1 green pepper, sliced thin
1 (large) sweet onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 ½ tbsp oyster sauce
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 tsp chili powder (optional)
1 star anise, whole
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Little olive oil

After removing the excess dirt, chop the bak choy into equal sized pieces, separating the stalk from the leaves. Put the stalks into a bowl of cold water and the leaves into another bowl of water. Toss them a little and then let stand so that all the mud/ dirt goes down to the bottom of the bowl. Remove the bak choy gently, shaking out the leaves over the sink to remove excess water and place in two separate dry bowls. When cooking bak choy and Chinese cabbage, stalks need to cook longer than the leaves, which is why the stalks and leaves need to be kept separate. Clean the Chinese cabbage exactly the same way, keeping the stalks separate from the leaves and cutting it into the same size as the bak choy.

Boil a pot of water, and when it comes to a rolling boil, put in the Chinese cabbage stalks. Allow it to sit in the boiling water for about 10 minutes and then drain into a colander. In the mean time chop all the vegetables, and keep separate. Clean the asparagus and cut each into stalk into about 3 pieces. In another saucepan, boil some water with a little salt and olive oil. Break the spaghetti into roughly 3 pieces and cook till al dente. Remove into a colander and keep.

In a wok, heat a little olive oil, on a high flame, then put in the onions and green pepper. Cook till it starts to brown. Then add in the garlic and cook till it too browns. Next put in the bak choy stalks and the cabbage stalks. Cook them of a few minutes, stirring only to stop from burning. Now add the asparagus and after stirring it in, add the zucchini (almost immediately). Cook for a few minutes tossing occasionally. Then put in the chili powder, salt, pepper, star anise, and all the sauces. After blending the sauces in, mix in the bak choy and cabbage leaves. Put a lid on the wok and cook for about 5 minutes on a medium flame, or until the leaves wilt. Mix in the spaghetti. Serve Hot.

The trick to making this stir fry good, is having most of the vegetables be half cooked. They need to be soft outside but slightly crunchy inside.

Chicken and Vegetable Frittata

My weekly CSA is still churning out scallop squash and zucchini faster than we can eat them, and so in an attempt to use as much of it as possible, I decided to make this Frittata. To my understanding, a frittata is a big, fat omelet full of vegetables or meats, and can have an infinite number of fillings. In fact, you can put in anything you like. So here is a quick and easy dinner idea.

Chicken and Vegetable Frittata

 Chicken and Vegetable Frittata
1 breast roast chicken, shredded
2 Scallop squash, diced fine
1 zucchini, diced fine
3 sweet peppers (any variety), diced fine
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 tbsp chili flakes
Ground smoked paprika for seasoning
6 eggs, well beaten
1 ½ cups milk

Place all the vegetables in a frying pan with a tall lip. Put on the stove, on high. Mix in all the herbs except the paprika. Once the vegetables start to soften, add the chicken. Cook for another minute or two so that the chicken mixes with the herbs well. Add a tablespoon of water at a time, if need be.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs and milk. Add a little salt, if desired. Pour the eggs into the frying pan and turn the stove down to low. Place a lid on the frying pan to help the egg cook. DO NOT STIR. When about half cooked, sprinkle the top with smoked paprika. Remove from stove when the egg is fully cooked. Serve hot.

Spiced Squash and Feta Bake

We have been getting a lot of patty-pans and zucchinis in our CSA basket these past few weeks. So, in an attempt to empty my vegetable tray and to make a quick and easy dinner, I decided to make this baked dish. I used as many different colored zucchinis and patty-pans as possible to make the dish more colorful; so if you are going to buy the ingredients for this dish, I suggest you do the same.

Spiced Squash and Feta Bake

1-2 zucchini, chopped
2-3 scallop squash, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
Approximately 7oz penne, cooked
2 eggs
2 cups milk
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 tsp oregano
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped fine
1-2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
2-3 tbsp feta cheese, crumbled
1 tsp marjoram

Cook the pasta until al dente and keep aside. While it’s cooking, chop the zucchini, patty-pans, and pepper into roughly the same size, and place in a large bowl. Chop the basil, and add it to the zucchini mixture with the all the spices (Do not add the cheese) mixing it well. In a seperate bowl whisk the eggs with the milk.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In an oven-proof, glass baking dish, put in the pasta. Next, evenly cover the pasta with the zucchini mixture. Sprinkle the feta cheese over the entire dish, and then pour in the egg and milk mix. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the top starts to brown. Serve hot.

Breaded Fish Burger with Sun-Dried Tomato Coleslaw

Here is a fish burger recipe in which I used the Sun-Dried Tomato Coleslaw. 

Breaded Fish Burger with Sun-Dried Tomato Coleslaw

2 filets tilapia
About 2 tbsp Italian bread crumbs
Approximately 2 tbsp flour
1 egg
Oregano to taste
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Burger buns (preferably Hawaiian style)
1 recipe Sun-Dried Tomato Coleslaw
1 sweet onion, sliced in rings

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Marinate the fish in salt, pepper, and oregano. Set aside for 10 minutes. In a plate, beat the egg. In two other plates take out some flour and some bread crumbs. Coat the fish in flour, shaking off any extra. Then dip it in the beaten egg, and then coat generously with the bread crumbs. Place in an oven proof dish and put in oven for about 10-15 minutes. Once it's done remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Toast the burger buns and spread a little mayonnaise on the top bun. Place the bottom bun on a plate and top with coleslaw. Next place a piece of fish on the coleslaw and then some onion rings. Close the bun and serve with sweet potato fries.

Sun-dried Tomato Coleslaw

Last week, I got a huge head of lettuce in my CSA basket and we are slowly but surely making our way through it. Here is one of recipes I used some cabbage for.

Sun-dried Tomato Cole-slaw
4-5 cabbage leaves, washed
3-4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped fine
¼ red pepper, chopped fine
1 ½ tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp sour cream
Salt to Taste
Pepper to Taste
1-2 tbsp ketchup

Slice the cabbage into thin ribbons and add to the chopped pepper and sun-dried tomatoes. In a separate bowl, mix together all the other ingredients. Add to the cabbage and mix well. Serve cold.