another minestrone

Zucchini to use up, I'm following this recipe (sort of) for minestrone.  

• pasta (elbows or another small shape are nice), about 1 cup dried
• onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2-4 cloves garlic (depends on size)
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup green beans (in shorter lengths)
• tomatoes and water (1 15 oz can diced tomatoes + 6 cups of water, or whatever tomato/water combo worked - I used passata for most of it)
• bouillon (or use broth)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (or fresh)
• 1 tsp dried basil (or fresh)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme (or fresh)
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley (or fresh) 
• salt, pepper
• parmesan rind piece 
• bay leaf
• can (or equivalent) of beans: white beans, kidney beans, or cranberry beans  

Saute carrots, celery, and onions until beginning to soften (about 5 minutes).  Add garlic and saute gently for a minute or two.  

Add zucchini and beans (and any other vegetables, though leafy greens should come later), beans, spices, tomatoes, water, parmesan rind, etc.  

Cook about 30 minutes until vegetables are cooked but not soft.

Cook pasta separately and add in (unless the whole pot of soup is getting eaten then).   

zucchini apple salad

 OK, this is very good, exactly what I was hoping for to handle my October garden bounty.  Ideas from here, with some changes.  

Ingredients

• 1 pound zucchini, diced

• 3 medium apples, diced

• I omitted because I don't care for bell pepper though I would use a banana pepper or something else: ½ green bell pepper, diced

• ½ red onion, chopped or less - I used maybe 1/5 of yellow onion, chopped fine 

• 1/4 cup olive oil ⅓ cup vegetable oil

• 2 T apple cider vinegar  2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• < 1/2 tsp sugar // 1 teaspoon white sugar

• 1 teaspoon dried basil

• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

  pepitas (these were a great addition, and sharp cheddar cheese would be, too) 

   

Directions  

 Combine zucchini, apples, bell pepper, and onion in a serving bowl.

Whisk together oil, vinegar, sugar, basil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl until well combined; drizzle over zucchini-apple mixture. Toss to coat.

Even better the next day.   

canning tomato passata

 I ran across "passata" as an ingredient in a recipe I found, and it sent me down a rabbit hole.  It sounds like it's fresher tasting because less cooked than tomato sauce, and it also frankly sounds quicker to get canned (I hate peeling tomatoes! what a mess!), so I think I'll make up a batch today.  Because my tomatoes are not mostly a canning variety like San Marzano or Roma, I expect that what I'll end up with will be quite watery - which will be fine most recipes and I can always cook it down as necessary.  [Edit: it's very flavorful and though it's not concentrated it doesn't taste watery.  This may be my new favorite way to can tomatoes.] 

Ideas from here.

• clean tomatoes, cut out out any damaged areas, remove stems, halve or quarter to speed processing
• put in large pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until softened
• run through a foodmill to remove skins and seeds
• heat jars in water bath canner
• heat tomatoes back up
• fill jars, leaving 1/2" headspace 
• add lemon juice (1 T per pint)
• process in water bath for 40 minutes per pint, 45 per quart

applesauce for canning

 Here's how I make and can applesauce to use for baking throughout the year.  My apple tree is productive every other year, and I get a lot of windfall apples.  I pick up the apples every day and toss the really damaged ones and set aside the ones that seem ok.  I have a very serious problem with coddling moths, so almost every apple is wormy, which sucks BUT it's also not a big deal.  I just cut around the worm-affected parts, any bruises or blemishes, and there's still a lot of good apple left.  When I have a 5 gallon bucket imperfect apples, it makes about 5-6 jelly jars worth of applesauce.  I've made two batches this year, not sure if I'll make more.  It seems about time to pick the apples so I'll examine - the good ones can be put into storage, the blemished ones can be cut up and frozen to use throughout the year.  Though, I'm running short on freezer space so there may be more applesauce ahead this year. I do use a foodmill - I picked up a cheapo one on a good sale and it works fine.  It's not fast or anything but it gets there with enough cranking.  

Ingredients

• apples.  I have no idea what variety my tree is, and I also picked a bunch of apples from a person out the road who has no idea what variety hers are.  They're all good.
• water.
• nothing else.  I don't add any sweetener or spices because I usually use it for baking. It's also good for just eating from the jar and I could zhuzh it up later if I wanted to. 

Directions

•  wash apples (I have them in a 5 gallon bucket that I fill with lukewarm water and vinegar, and I rinse the apples and check for dirt, etc.)  I also don't let the apples set for long on the ground
• prepare apples.  Chop them up and remove any bad spots.  For me the cores are almost always bad because of the worms, and then any other spots.  Peeling is optional if using a food mill.  Put them in a pot.  
• Add a bit of water - the amount depends on juiciness of apples, how closely I'm tending to the pot, etc.  I probably put in anywhere from 1/2-1 1/2 cups.  
• Heat up the apples, stirring as necessary.  Let them cook down and fall apart.  This always happens faster than I expect, usually showing progress at about 15 minutes.  I let them cook a lot longer last time because there were some that weren't breaking down, and I used my potato masher.  Plus, I'd added too much water so that needed to cook down.
• when sufficiently cooked, let cool, and run through a food mill to remove peels, cores, etc.  
• Heat up the jars while that's happening. 
• Heat the applesauce back up to boiling - everything needs to be hot for canning.
• Put hot applesauce into hot jars and add lemon juice (note: I don't always remember to do this and I'm unsure it's really necessary; some websites say that it is, but I just checked the official canning websites and they don't require it; if using it, the recommendation is 1 T per quart, so scant tsp per jelly jar); leave 1/2" headspace
• Process 15 minutes in water bath (for pints or smaller).  

bulgur, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta

 Needing to use up some small tomatoes and cucumbers, and looking in my cupboard to see plenty of bulgur wheat, I made do with what I had and it was very tasty.  Ideas from here. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup bulgur wheat
• tomatoes (about 15 small)
• cucumbers (3 small-medium) 
• small amount of onion sliced thin
• vinegar
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• feta (about 5 oz)
• fresh basil  (1/2 bunch left over)
• jar garbanzos, drained and rinsed  

Bring 2 cups water to boil, cook bulgur wheat for about 10 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Thinly slice a small amount of onion and soak in vinegar for about 10 minutes.

Chop tomatoes and cucumbers.  Once bulgur is cooled, mix them in.  Add about 2 T olive oil, 2 T lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp dried oregano.   Drain onions, add them.  Chop feta and basil, add. Drain and rinse garbanzos, add.  Mix well, refrigerate.  

wild rice soup with coconut milk

 Going through the cupboards to see what I can use up, looking for recipe ideas.

This Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup is a great idea. 

Ingredients

• 6 cups vegetable stock 
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1 small onion, diced  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• Vegetables
• She used: 
• 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 1 large (about 1 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 large handfuls of kale, roughly chopped with thick stems removed
• today I will use below, with different variations in the future (such as winter squash):
• carrots
• celery
• green beans
• zucchini
• kale 
• Seitan or tempeh or tofu (frozen or pressed) 
• 1 bay leaf
• herbs and spices (she called for Old Bay which is not a thing for me, so I'll play with it)
• 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (or see cream sauce option below*)
• fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.  Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.  Turn down the heat if necessary to avoid burning the garlic.
2. Add in the firmer vegetables such as carrots and celery and saute lightly.
3. Add in stock, wild rice, bay leaf, and season.  Bring to a simmer.
4. Add other vegetables based on how much time they need to cook (not much for zucchini or kale, more for green beans).   
5. Simmer for about 45 minutes until the wild rice is cooked, then add in the coconut milk and last vegetables.  Season.