Author: teacher-chef

Cucumber Boat Appetizer

Cucumber Boat Appetizer

This is the season of carefree entertaining and although I love me some roasted veggies (the house smells awesome from roasted veggies right now – look forward to those posts in the coming days & weeks) we don’t always want/need to heat up the house! This recipe easily serves 1 or 2 as an appetizer, but is obviously very easy to adapt for more. Just count (about) a whole cucumber person as you adapt this for your next gathering.

Zucchini, Tomato, Sausage & Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Zucchini, Tomato, Sausage & Orzo Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers – I am sure that many of you have a go-to recipe for these. How many of you have a Stuffed Pepper recipe that would help you use up some of the over-abundance of Zucchini you are now faced with!? Well, this recipe 

Zucchini Cakes with Jalapeno Ranch

Zucchini Cakes with Jalapeno Ranch

Who needs to plant your own garden when you have good neighbors! I know that this time of year many people feel they are over-run with Zucchini – if you find yourself in this situation, then I am sure you are already being a good neighbor (as well as experimenting with lots of new recipes and growing tired of old favorites).

Our wonderful neighbors gave us quite a few zucchini last week (with more to come this week, but don’t worry – I’m prepared). I came across Just Putzing‘s recipe for Zucchini cakes & I love Crab Cakes (remember I even made those Asian Inspired ones recently) and decided this recipe would be a hit. She suggested serving it with some Ranch and to my delight, I stumbled across Brook’s awesome Jalapeno Ranch dressing.

These cakes were a little soggy, but I think the giant zucchini I was working with might have prevented me from squeezing enough liquid out – so I plan to make these again with the addition of some flour to soak up some of the moisture. Then the ranch has the flavor of the hot peppers, but not the heat so it is an awesome family-friendly variation on ranch (to which Rich added almost a whole habanero on his plate, you know – he is one of those type people!)

So get out in the garden and use some of those veggies for this figure-friendly vegetarian garden meal!

Zucchini Cakes

(Adapted from Just Putzing & from The Life’s Ambrosia)

  • 1 large zucchini, grated
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • Salt/pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp spices (I used a mix of cumin/chili powder)
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Remove excess liquid from freshly grated zucchini by placing them between paper towels and squeezing. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients & mix thoroughly.
Heat a large pan on medium-low, and spray with Pam. Shape spoonfuls of the zucchini batter into 2-inch (diameter) patties, and drop onto the sizzling pan. Cook each side for about a minute and half or until the outsiders are golden brown. Finish the cakes off in the oven — stick them on a baking pan and broil them for about 2 minutes. Serve hot, alone or with ranch dressing.

Creamy Jalapeno Ranch

(As adapted from See Brook Cook)

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup mayo
  • Juice of 1/2 lime (2 teaspoons?)
  • 1 small bunch of chives (or 2 Tbsp dried)
  • [small] handful cilantro
  • 1-2 (or more) jalapenos, seeds and stem removed (or leave seeds in for a bit more heat)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk (optional, depending on texture desired)
Roughly chop the chives, cilantro, and jalapeno then place all of the ingredients except the buttermilk into a blender or food processor. Blend for 10 seconds and check the consistency, blend in buttermilk if desired. Store in an air-tight jar/container in the fridge.
And I leave you with Today’s Question… What garden vegetable do your have an overabundance of and either just can’t get enough of OR just can’t get rid of fast enough!
Chocolate Mocha Cake

Chocolate Mocha Cake

A few years ago my aunt gave me Death by Chocolate Cakes – and wow is there good stuff in there (great cookbook for those chocolate addicts – get it, seriously), so I knew thats where I had to go to find this cake (which I had sticky-noted immediately after receiving the book).

Cilantro White Bean Lime Soup

Cilantro White Bean Lime Soup

YUM! This soup is perfect for all seasons and beyond delicious (and easily adaptable!) I first found this recipe on Keep it Simple Foods a few months ago labeled as “Hummus Soup” and decided to wait to make it until I saw my grandmother who 

Spinach Ricotta Pie

Spinach Ricotta Pie

We keep on getting stuff called amaranth from our co-op. It is not a bad thing (actually pretty good) and it actually tastes a lot like spinach (with a slightly more bitter & fuzzy-ness to them) The major problem is that we are getting tired of it and we are also avoiding using the oven all the time during these summer months!

With our last crop of Amaranth I decided I wanted to do some sort of Spinach Pie & this recipe looked like it would hit the spot (which it did)! This got huge thumbs up from us & my parents (served with a big salad and some grilled garlic chicken to satisfy dad’s need for protein with every meal). The flavors in this were right on and in many ways it reminded me of my Spinach Feta Pie, (which I guess I never blogged, and am now craving as well)! Veggie Pies are an awesome way to get some tasty flavors into your diet (although “diet” is a rough word to use here with the 3+ cups of cheeses in the pie). So just ENJOY!

Spinach Ricotta Pie

  • 1 9″ prepared pie crust
  • 1 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry OR 1 big bunch spinach which you wilt down yourself
  • 8 ounce (1 cup) mozzarella cheese, grated
  • 1 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
  • 3 large eggs, beaten to blend
  • 1/3 cup basil pesto
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350° F

Place a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the chopped onion in the butter until very soft and translucent, about 12 minutes. Mix in the thawed, squeezed spinach.

Combine remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the spinach/onion mixture and stir to combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Transfer filling to prepared pie crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until puffed and golden. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving & ENJOY

And I leave you with today’s Question… what is your favorite “health food” – whether it is a true or fake health food?