Holy Zucchini Batman!!

I love summer produce and getting food from the garden, but right about this time every year I get overwhelmed. There is so much produce I don't know what to do with it all before it goes bad. I can only can & preserve so much of it. This week I feel like Bubba Gump, but instead of 50 ways to serve shrimp, I'm coming up with ways to use up an insane amount of zucchini. Just look at all this veg in my fridge.....awesome, but I need to seriously cook like crazy.  Especially, considering my parents are giving us another load this weekend when we visit them on the eastern shore.

So, I woke up this morning feeling motivated, but I've learned that in order to keep up my momentum I need to reward myself....what better way to do that than have a nice breakfast. I sauteed some zucchini in garlic & olive oil, tossed in some eggs and a hint of milk to make an omelette. Top that off with some sliced grape tomatoes, italian seasoning (harvested from my patio garden of course) and a smidgen of parmesan cheese. What I ended up with is a super yummy, mediterranian inspired omelette. I also got my protein and first serving of veg in for the day.

BTW, a small side note: I cooked this in my eco-friendly nonstick pan (they use ceramic instead of that nasty PFOA that is used on traditional nonstick pans), that is made by Cuisinart. It works fantastic. We received it as a wedding gift and my husband likes it so much he's been cooking breakfast almost every weekend for me. 

I still have a ton of zucchini left so here's how I'm using it:
-Its not summer without zucchini bread. I make several loaves, slice them up and then store the slices in the freezer so I can enjoy the summery snacky goodness for a few months. ITs also great for breakfast on the go.
-On the indulgent side, I love making chocolate zucchini bundt cakes. The zucchini keeps the cake super moist and whats more decadent than chocolate cake with chocolate chips baked in?!
-Breaded & baked zucchini fries are always a yummy snack. I like to served it with homemade roasted  tomato ketchup or a good marinara for dipping sauce.
- Here's an awesome recipe from Gourmet magazine that we love for parties: Zucchini Bacon Fritters
-We also love grilling off the zucchini and other veg with some fresh mozzerella to make paninis. The grilled vegetables also freeze surprisingly well.
-There's a family dish I love in the summer that my Great Aunt Jeanette calls LOMO. We have no idea where the name came from. Essentially all you do is saute about 2 sliced onions with some ground beef (I prefer ground turkey to cut the calories & fat).  Drain the excess fat from the pan.  Then add about 4 diced Roma tomatoes, 2 whole zucchinis (sliced into rounds), garlic, rosemary & oregano.  Let this cook covered until the juices reduce down and form a kind of stew. Then add a handful of Parmesan cheese.  This is a great way to use up extra zucchini from the garden as well as tomatoes. We usually will make batches of it and store it in seal a meal bags in the freezer. When we heat it back up, its great served over rice.

I hope this gives you a few ideas on how to enjoy your own zucchini explosion at home. I'll be posting form Maryland's eastern shore this weekend, who knows what I might get into to post about..
After that, the long awaited wedding wrap up (I finally got my wedding proofs). Hope you have a great weekend and can stay cool in all this extreme heat this week. Happy Summer!

Happy Bastille Day!

Yup, I'm celebrating French independence day.  Why? because that is where my father's family is from.... and also I'll make any excuse to cook my favorite comfort food recipes from my ancestral heritage.  Also, this is the 3rd day in a row I'm stuck at home nursing a sinus infection. When I am stuck at home & get a dose of cabin fever or if I am really upset about something, I cook. Any of my dear friends and family have witnessed this because I channel my grandmother during tough times and then feed everyone way too much food until whatever the current storm in my life passes over. Cooking calms me down, gives me a project to work on by myself providing time to think  and also some sort of peace knowing that a little bit of myself is in every dish I make and that the people I care about most in this world will get to enjoy it.

So for today, I've  made two things: a triple berry pie because I have berries from Strite's orchard that I refuse to go to waste and they happen to be the patriotic colors of the French flag as well. I also am making a variation of Ratatouille.

My grandmother and her sister, my great aunt Jeanette, grew up in a tiny farming village in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France. They ate simply growing up, living off the land. this was not because it was the right thing to do, but it was because that was what they had to do.  One of my favorite stories from their childhood, was that often it rained, they ran out in the grasses outside, picked snails and enjoyed escargot for dinner.  I always found it funny how dishes that many American think of as fancy French food, actually started off as peasant fare.  Ratatouille is one of those dishes that a lot of folks in farm villages ate. It consists of summer squashes, tomatoes and eggplant with garlic and herbs cooked together until it forms a stew. To me, it is the taste of summer on a plate.

Michelle's Ratatouille Pasta

• 2 eggplants (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• coarse salt to taste
• 4 yellow squash (1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 8 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 7 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 pounds penne rigate (with ridges) or fusili
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

I actually halved the above recipe since its just myself & my hubby enjoying this tonight. Traditionally this dish is a vegetarian one, but since my hubby wanted some more "oomf" to it, I also added some spicy andouille sausage sliced up.We also used whole grain & vegetable fusili. This time we tried Hodgson Mill brand & its not bad.  If you have a gluten free diet, this dish is excellent on its own and really doesn't need the pasta, I just use it to turn it into a full meal as opposed to a side dish.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Stir together eggplants, onions, 1/4 cup oil, and kosher salt in a large roasting pan, then roast mixture in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Stir in squash, bell peppers, 2 tablespoons oil, and more kosher salt and roast mixture, stirring occasionally, until bell peppers are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, simmer tomatoes, garlic, thyme, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and kosher salt in a heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir tomatoes into roasted vegetables and season ratatouille.

Cook penne  in a  pot of boiling salted water until al dente (to the bite) and drain. While pasta is cooking, stir parsley and basil into ratatouille and season. Toss pasta with 1/3 of ratatouille and serve topped with remainder. Enjoy with a nice light red wine and a crispy hunk of a baguette.

Getting tired? I tend to keep myself  going with some inspiring tunes. Today I'm enjoying the sounds of Edith Piaf and Maurice Chevalier while I'm relaxing and then maybe I'll play some French house music later when I have to motivated for the cleanup.


Triple Berry Summer Pie
Ok so first things 1st, the pie.  In France they usually eat tarts or free form pies called galettes, as pie is more of an American dessert. Unfortunately  I'm out of almond flour  to make a proper crust, and galettes are a huge mess in the oven, so pie it is!  First I tossed a mixture of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries together with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch and about 1 and a half teaspoons of cinnamon.  You can use any mixture of berries you like, these were just what I had on hand.  I added 2 hearty splashes of Cointreau (Note: Cointreau is an orange flavored liquor, using Grand Marnier will give you the same flavor profile) liquor (about 2 tbsp),    and then tossed the mixture with my hands. when its was mixed it looked like this:

Next I poured this mixture into my pie dough shell which I had already formed in my stoneware pie plate. Incidentally my mom always taught me to keep homemade pie dough in the freezer, ready to go. If you're not this fortunate to have it on hand, the ones in the refrigerated section of the grocery store work too. For those of you with Gluten intolerance, Wegman's carries some great ready to use gluten free pie shells in their frozen section.  I took a second piece of pie dough and cut it into strips to make a lattice.  Once I placed this on top I baked the pie for 35 minutes at about 350F in my convection toaster oven.  (I didn't want to waste the energy of heating up an entire oven and the apartment for just one pie).

Et voila! We're sure to be enjoying this later tonight with some vanilla ice cream while watching some of our favorite french inspired films. I think Pixar's Ratatouille & French Kiss will be our movies of choice. I hope you have as nice an evening as we will and happy summer!

Lactose Allergy? Don't Worry. You can still have your cake and eat it too!

Just because you have chosen to live a vegan lifestyle or you have a dairy allergy, does not mean you shouldn't be able to eat the foods you love the most.  An old grade school pal of mine that I recently reconnected with (thank you facebook!) has been doing great with most aspects of her new dairy free diet, but she really misses the sweets.  After all, everyone deserves  to have a good brownie or piece of cake after a really tough day.

In recent years, there has been a lot of new information and recognition about food allergies. Along with that, a lot of cookbooks, recipes, and bakeries have become available to those living with food intolerance. The results in many cases are very good. 


The hardest part of eliminating dairy is learning what you can use in place of eggs, milk and butter while still getting similar results in your favorite treats. Here are some great posts about easy substitutions you can make to convert your recipes to lactose free/ vegan versions:
1) The savy vegetarian's notes on   Vegan Baking Substitutes & Dairy Free Desserts
2) The post punk Kitchen has some good ideas after trial & error on how to Lose the eggs ,milk & butter from your favorite recipes
3) Here's another great article I found on about.com  on baking without butter

Nervous about converting over your own recipes and want to try some that have already been tested? Never fear, there are a ton of great cookbooks out there. So take a trip to your local Barnes & Noble or peruse the online shelves at Amazon to find some of these great books.  The easiest wat to find themis to look for Vegan baking books.  One of the most popular, now that they have bakeries across the country and are frequently on national television is Babycakes bakery. They specialize in vegan and gluten free yumminess.  Here is a recipe for banana bread from their website that I thought turned out surprisingly well:

Babycakes NYC Banana Bread Recipe

from the Babycakes website

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (gotta be Bob's, no sub)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup rice milk
2 tablespoons of good quality vanilla
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brush your loaf pan with oil and set aside.

In a medium bowl, measure in flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon and whisk. Add oil, agave nectar, rice milk and vanilla and then mix again. Fold in bananas until nicely distributed.
Pour batter into loaf pan (only halway!) and set in the oven. After 20 minutes, check on the loaf and continue baking until it passes the toothpick test. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes.






Don't have room for more cookbooks? (Much to my husband's chagrin, mine are taking over the apartment), there are a ton of specialty blogs out there. One of the best ones I've found is Vegan Baking.net . they have a huge wealth of information, a ton of recipes & even a bake-off contest. It is definitely worth your time to check it out. I'm looking forward to making the Tropical Paradise bars. 

I know this is a lot of new information for many of you to swallow but once you restock your pantry with a few new ingredients, dairy free baking is fairly easy to do and still tastes great. Since I 'm a chocoholic and peanut butter addict  I'll leave you with one of my favorite dairy free dessert recipes:

Peanut Butter Agave Cookies

adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar 

by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romera

1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup creamy or chunky salted peanut butter
2 tbsp nondairy milk
1 tbsp ground salba ( or ground flaxseeds)
2 tsps pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the agave nectar, brown rice syrup, oil, peanut butter, nondairy milk, salba/ flaxseeds, and vanilla and almonds extracts until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Sift in flours, baking soda, and salt and mix to form a soft dough.
3. Drop large, generously rounded tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets.  Flatten the cookies to about 1 inch using the back of a measuring cup.  Lightly spray the back of the cup with non-stick spray if the dough starts to stick.  Then use a fork to press a crosshatch pattern onto the tops of cookies.
4. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until the edges are golden.  Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.  Store in a tightly covered container.

Channel Your Inner Popeye

Happy Meat Free Monday gang! I received an email from a dear friend yesterday who is a vegetarian. She’s had a number of health problems but has maintained her choice to keep her diet meat free. Her latest issue wearing her down is dealing with anemia. She was concerned she’d have to start eating meat again to get enough iron in her diet. This is not necessarily the case..  So today I’m going to talk a bit about ways to get iron back into your body without having to eat a huge steak.

Iron is in a ton of foods.  Organic produce is also has more  iron  than the veggies coming from mass produced commercial farms.  Some of the most iron dense foods include dark leafy greens such as collards & spinach, egg yolks, dried fruit such as prunes & raisins, chickpeas, artichokes, soybeans, lentils, beans and iron enriched cereals (read the labels). For all of you pescetarians out there, most mollusks are an excellent source of iron as well (oysters, scallops, mussels & clams)    Being anemic myself, once of the first tools I learned was when you eat iron rich foods pair them with foods that are rich in vitamin C, this will help your body absorb them better. So pairing your favorite iron rich foods with some citrus or broccoli can really be helpful.  One thing to watch out for when eating iron rich foods: try not to pair them with a lot of dairy products, such as milk & cheese. These products can actually inhibit absorption of iron.

Another myth about anemia is that it is only cause by low iron in the blood, this is not necessarily true. It can also be caused by a deficiency in B12, so it was no surprise to me that one of the biggest side effects of anemia is exhaustion & fatigue. One of the easiest things I do to help combat this is to take a b complex vitamin everyday. IT makes a world of difference in my stress levels and helps my energy level remain steady through the day. 

A lot folks ask me about iron supplements. Yes, iron supplements are available but they have their downside.  There are several different types available. The drops that would be diluted in liquid such as water seem to be the easiest to take. One thing I’ve found is that all iron supplements seem to make my stomach really uncomfortable.  It is much easier, and a lot tastier just to try to get the iron in my diet naturally.

Here are a few iron rich recipes to get you started: 

-the lime juice in this Three bean salad recipe serves as the vitamin C to help your body absorb all the great iron in the beans. Its also a great way to clean out your pantry or freezer. It also makes a nice summer side dish at all those fourth of July bbqs coming up. 

-Fire up the grill and enjoy these awesome & easy to make  artichokes

-This Firecracker Spinach Salad is a hit in our home & I love the orange dressing.

-Don't grimace at the thought of brussel sprouts, they're a great source of iron! check out this slaw recipe that we enjoy at home from one of my past posts  : Brussel Sprout Slaw

I hope you can use these tools to pump a lot more iron into your diet and still have the option to do so in a meat free way.  Coming up soon, by request, some yummy desserts for those folks dealing with lactose intolerance.  Hope you all have a great week. Be Good to yourselves!

Black Bean Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

There are three types of foods that I crave once the warm summer weather hits, lots of fruit, tropical inspired dishes and Mexican inspired dishes. i live in Arizona for  few years when I went to culinary school out there. My favorite meals were ones made at home and taught to me by my Mexican roommate.  He taught me a lot about his heritage and the best ingredients to make some truly amazing food.(His tamales will always be my absolute favorite!)

I was thinking about him when I was working on today's meat free Monday recipe. It is by no means truly authentic, but it does use a lot of the flavors I enjoy most when cooking with him. This recipe is great not just for vegetarians but also for people watching their waistlines. Its a low calorie meal with a ton of fiber. I hope you enjoy it!

You'll need:

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 5 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 2 cups coleslaw mix
• 1 jalepeno, seeded & chopped superfine
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 white or yellow corn tortillas
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
• Bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce, I use Chalula brand.

Place beans, jalempeno, garlic, 1/2 of the lime juice and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 teaspoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and slaw. Pass hot sauce alongside. Makes 4 servings or if you eat like my husband does, 2.  

How green is your sunscreen?

Summer is here and I can't be outside long enough to keep me satisfied. Whether you are headed to the pool or just going to work in your garden, one important kindness you can do for your body is wear sunscreen. A kindness you can do for our planet is make sure that your sunscreen doesn't do any additional damage to our ecosystem while it's protecting you.

We don't think about it but many of the oils in sunscreens and tanning lotions come off of our skin and wash into the marine ecosystem when we go swimming in natural bodies of water. In tropical climates this is a huge problem for the coral reefs. The oils in the water settle on the reefs & have the same effect as an oil slick, suffocating them and bleaching them. Our sunblock is partly responsible for slowly killing the world's coral. Oxybenzone, an ingredient used in a number of sunscreens has also been known to potentially cause feminizing of fish.

The way I see it, if it's going to harm the planet, it could potentially harm me. It goes without saying that I don't want to put it on my body's largest organ, my skin.


 My husband is literally part albino, so having a good sunscreen is key to our having a nice vacation.  In preparation for our honeymoon we tried several eco-friendly sunscreens and below are our results.

Mexitan- kind of greasy. just worked ok. It had a whitish tin we didn't like and we found we had to apply it a little more often than normal. It also had an odd smell to it.

Soleo- we thought this was a bit greasy and despite wearing the block, my husband still got a little bit burnt. Smelled a little funny too.

Alba Botanicals- worked well, smelled nice and doesn't seem to bother those with sensdative skin & allergies.  we did have to apply it rather frequently but a good sunscreen. It was a little more expensive than its competitors. 

Loving Naturals- worked well , but not really a good choice if you're in and out of the water frequently. this one smelled nice & wasn't greasy. We did have to reapply it more often than normal. It tends to leave a bit of a white tint on your skin.

Badger- this sunblock really worked fantastic. it was definitely our favorite. It took some extra rubbing in but it wasn't greasy and pretty much odorless. This also was wonderful in the water. We wore it surfing and didn't get burnt at all, after two whole hours. The only sunburn we received was on the back of our knees and that was because we forgot to put it on there. All right, you can say it, what king of moron goes surfing and forgets to block on the backs of their knees right? i highly recommend this sunscreen.

Anyway, that is our two cents on the best green sunscreens out there. I hope you have a fun, safe and healthy summer!

Meat Free Monday Recipe: Summer vegetable ragout over polenta

At my wedding we made a dish similar to this with ratatouille over grilled polenta triangles.  This is a modification of a recipe I tried from this month's issue of Self magazine. As today is the second Monday of the month, this recipe is a vegan & gluten free version. I hope you enjoy it!

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 cans (15.5 ounces each) navy beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 pound plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup basil, chopped, plus 15 leaves for garnish
• 1 tube (18 ounces) prepared polenta, cut into 16 slices
• 1 pound zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 pound of japanese eggplant, sliced
• 1 bottle (7 ounces) roasted red peppers, drained
• 2 roasted garlic cloves, chopped
• 10oz rice cheese, mozzarella style diced (you can find this in most natural grocery stores)

Preparation

Heat grill. Fold four 18-inch-long pieces of foil in half; unfold and coat inside with cooking spray. Combine beans, tomatoes, chopped basil, 5 oz rice cheese and garlic in a bowl. . Place 1/4 of bean mixture in center of 1 half of each piece of foil. Working 1 packet at a time, place 4 slices polenta in an overlapping circle over beans. Top with 1/4 of zucchini slices, 1/4 of red peppers and 1/4 of remaining 5 ounces rice cheese. Fold foil to close and crimp edges to seal packets; place on grill; close lid; cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 minutes. Carefully cut foil to open and garnish with basil leaves. Serves 4.