zucchini pancakes

Loving these zucchini pancakes from here.  Yum!  Been eating them with sourcream and sriracha. 

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or coarse black pepper
• 1/4 cup (50g) olive oil or vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup (57g) chopped chives or scallions, about 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried basil*
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano*
• 4 cups (680g) coarsely grated zucchini, about one 10" zucchini
• 1 3/4 cups (206g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 cup (113g) freshly grated Parmesan, Cheddar, Monterey Jack or other cheese (or a combination)

*Substitute 2 teaspoons Pizza Seasoning for the dried herbs, if desired, reducing salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons. 

 

Instructions

1. Preheat a griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat; if you have an electric griddle, set the heat to 400°F.
2. Beat the eggs with the oil, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined.
3. Add the herbs, scallions, zucchini, and cheese, stirring to combine.
4. Stir in the flour.
5. Grease the hot griddle lightly. Drop the batter in 1/4 cupfuls onto the griddle; a muffin scoop works well here. If necessary, spread the cakes to about 3 1/2" to 4" diameter.
6. Cook the cakes for 3 minutes, or until they're brown on the bottom, and bubbles have appeared on their tops. The top surface will appear somewhat dry and set.
7. Flip the cakes, and cook them for about3 to 4 minutes on the second side, or until they're as moist/cooked as you like when you break one open.
8. Repeat until you've used all of the batter.
9. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold; with butter and grated cheese, or without. Store any leftovers, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator. Reheat in a toaster or toaster oven, if desired.

pasta frittata

This pasta frittata is a great way to use up leftover pasta.  I made up some with carrot top pesto and it was kind of bland and soft, so this is better than just reheating. From here.

INGREDIENTS
¼ pound spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine or other long pasta (or about 1/2 pound cooked pasta)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter or extra
virgin olive oil
¼ cup minced pancetta, bacon or prosciutto, optional
6 eggs
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION
Y I E L D 4 to 6 servings
T IM E 40 minutes
Pasta Frittata
By Mark Bittman
This dish is one recipe calling for leftover pasta that is actually worth planning for. It's portable, it's endlessly versatile, and it's practically foolproof. Substitute almost any cheese for the Parmesan (or leave it out altogether) and toss in any cooked vegetable or meat. Make it your own.
One last bit of advice from Mr. Bittman: “The key to extreme enjoyment is to make sure that some ends of pasta pieces protrude from the top of the mixture when you put it in the oven. They will become crunchy, giving the leftover pasta yet one more pleasant dimension.”

Step 1
If using leftover cooked pasta, chop it up. If using dried pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it. Cook pasta until barely tender, somewhat short of where you would normally cook it. Drain, and immediately toss it in a wide bowl with half the butter or oil. Cool it a bit.

Step 2
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put remaining butter or oil in a large nonstick ovenproof skillet, and turn heat to medium-high. If you are using meat, add it, and cook, stirring occasionally until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. (If not using meat, proceed.)

Step 3
In large bowl, combine pasta with remaining ingredients, along with salt and pepper (less salt if you are using meat). Pour into skillet, and turn heat to medium-low. Use a spoon if necessary to even out top of frittata. Cook undisturbed until mixture firms up on bottom, then transfer to oven. Bake just until top is set, about 10 minutes. Remove, and serve hot or at room temperature.

roasted carrots with chervil

My local farmer usually sells the carrots quite small, which is perfect for this.  From here.

Chervil Carrots

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound/454 grams Chantenay carrots
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chervil, divided (substitute parsley if chervil is unavailable)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/205 degrees C.


2. Toss the carrots with the olive oil, 1 tablespoon chervil, and salt and pepper. Be somewhat liberal with the salt, to counteract the sweetness in the carrots. Spread the dressed carrots on a baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes.


3. While still hot, toss with the remaining tablespoon of chervil, the butter, and a bit more salt and pepper. Serve!

chard and potatoes

My amazing and wonderful local farmers one week swapped out the lettuce in the box (because I had too much from my own garden) for chard (and because she is so considerate, she even noted that the stems are good for fermenting, which I'll also do).  Normally I always go for the rainbow chard, loving the bright colors.  This was the white one and ... it sat in my fridge for more than three weeks, but because the produce quality is so good it could have stayed longer but my fridge started freezing things so ... use it up. 

I came upon this recipe in several iterations for the Croatian dish blitva, which is chard and potatoes.  This is the version that I used, and ... the oil was too much for me.  It splattered and was kind of scary and makes me remember that I hardly ever use too much oil.  I think it would be ok with less oil.  It would be good with butter because what isn't?  Rancid sunflower oil would take me back to my time in Russia. 

Other than the averted grease fire, this is really good.  I put juice of half a lemon in it and I think some vinegar would be fine.  I love the potatoes and dark greens together, and the garlickyness of it takes it to the next level.  YUM.

Yield: serves 4-6 (as a side - as a main, probably 2-3 meals worth)

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 lb. Swiss chard, tough stems removed, tender stems and leaves torn into 2″ pieces 

Instructions

Boil potatoes in a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water until tender, 5–7 minutes; drain and set aside.

Add oil to saucepan; place over medium-high heat.

Add garlic; cook until soft, 1–2 minutes.

Add potatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 5–7 minutes.

Stir in Swiss chard; cook until wilted, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

carrot top pesto

It delights me to use up every little bit of the fabulous locally grown produce that I get almost every week.  

I made another version of this carrot top pesto but it was too lemony.  This one though was very lovely, probably due to parmesan and pine nuts. 

It doesn't make a huge amount so needn't be frozen so no need to worry about the cheese in it. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups carrot tops, chopped (I used from 1 bunch)
• ⅓ cup pine nuts (roast at 350 degrees for 7-11 minutes, stirring occasionally)
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup parmesan cheese
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Add carrot tops, pine nuts, and garlic cloves to food processor and pulse until chopped. Slowly add in oil and continue pulsing until well combined, but not smooth.
2. Add parmesan, salt, and pepper and pulse a few more times until combined.
3. Use as a sauce with your favorite pasta, vegetables, meat, seafood, or dip.  Stores about a week in fridge.

very nice buttermilk pancakes

I got this recipe for buttermilk pancakes from NY Times which wants to charge me money to access their site, so those days are over. 

HEre it is.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 ½ cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable, canola or coconut oil for the pan  

Preparation

1. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt together in a bowl. Using the whisk, make a well in the center. Pour the buttermilk into the well and crack eggs into buttermilk. Pour the melted butter into the mixture. Starting in the center, whisk everything together, moving towards the outside of the bowl, until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not overbeat (lumps are fine).
2. Heat a large nonstick griddle or skillet, preferably cast-iron, over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Turn heat up to medium–low and using a measuring cup, ladle 1/3 cup batter into the skillet. If you are using a large skillet or a griddle, repeat once or twice, taking care not to crowd the cooking surface.
3. Flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Cook until the other sides are lightly browned. Remove pancakes to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet, and keep in heated oven until all the batter is cooked and you are ready to serve.