I'm BAAAACK.....What To Do With All That Zucchini - Even Off-Season

I'm BAAAACK.....What To Do With All That Zucchini - Even Off-Season

Wow! Really??? My last post was in April????  How can it be that so much time has passed and I've scarcely noticed? But wait, let's see.......Oh yea, my life has completely changed since I started this BLOG and now - it's time to begin again....Maybe a Renaissance of sorts - a re-birth of the loving friendship I established with my last kitchen and divert some of the love and energy to a different kitchen.  A temporary kitchen - not the kitchen of my dreams - but a kitchen nonetheless. 

It's true when they say, "You never know what will happen when you wake up in the morning." Needless to say, I've had some pretty rough mornings in the last year, mornings I do not care to ever relive. Mornings when your heartache feels like it has invaded your every thought and action, rather than reason, optimism, and the strength you know you possess somewhere deep down within yourself.  Letting go of someone very important to me was absolutely the hardest, most gut-wrenching thing I've ever had to do - but I did it. And I survived and feel that I can finally go on with my life.  And now....On to making my own dreams come true in my own good time. 

And that begins with this BLOG.  I am hoping it will provide an outlet of something I am passionate about and allow me to share that love and passion with others. And, of course, share a little bit of my "GEEKY" side. 

 I am making it a personal goal to be able to speak "decent" Italian. (notice I didn't say "fluent" - can a 50-year-old become fluent in anything new?) When I looked up the Italian word for zucchini, I was a little bummed that "zucchini" in Italian is "zucchini."  But!  I will think it with an Italian gesture of thumb-and-forefinger together as I wiggle my wrist to make seem more "Italian-y." Onward......

This summer I found HUGE zucchini at the local farmer's market and did make an attempt to find ways to prepare it - beyond my beloved "Zucchini Pie" from a previous post.  Zucchini is actually very versatile - I think because it won't overpower the flavor of any ingredients added to it.  It is extremely healthy and contains enough "good stuff" - vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin A - to make it worth the effort to include it in whatever dishes you like.  Here are some ideas.....

Bake With It and Add it to Just About Anything You Cook

Aside from the "Zucchini Pie" recipe from an earlier post (July 20, 2010), zucchini is great in bread, muffins, and even cookies. Zucchini adds moisture, rather than drying out those things.  Other ways to bake with it is to add it casseroles, or meatloaf.  Add it to omelets, soups, quiche, and make zucchini "boats" or "fies." (See the directions below.)

Add it to Pasta

Adding zucchini to pasta is a a great way to get kids to at least try it.  My daughter loves buttery rotini or penne noodles with a little garlic salt and parmesean cheese sprinkled on  top.  Maybe if I slice the zucchini to resemble the penne noodles, she wouldn't actually notice she was eating a "vegetable." You could even add zucchini to pasta salad or to spaghetti sauce.

Deep Fry It
You need to make a batter with 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, pinch of salt, and about 1 cup of a beer - light or otherwise.  Stir together and refrigerate about 1/2 hour.  Slice the zucchini, dip in the batter, and fry in about 1/2-inch of extra-light virgin olive oil. (it's better than cooking oil and smells better in the house - which is very important!)  Place zucchini pieces of paper towel on a plate to drain excess oil.  Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve with your favorite dips or sauces.

Zucchini Boats

Cut a large zucchini in half and scoop out the zucchini to leave a canoe-shaped boat.  Boil or steam the "boats" until tender.  The fill them with a saute of the scooped out zucchini, onion, chopped tomatoes and spices.  Fill the boats and then top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Place boats in a hot oven to melt the cheese.  These would be a great side dish or served as an appetizer.  Or if you like light meals, this is a great dish for you!

Zucchini Fries

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  Cut 2 zucchini into 3-inch sticks.  Whisk an egg white in a small bowl, and add 1/4 cup skim milk.  Combine 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs in a separate bowl.  Dip zucchini sticks into  egg mixture, and then roll in breadcrumb mixture.  Coat a baking sheet with PAM or cover with a piece of aluminum foil.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Makes about 32 "fries." Serve with any kind of dipping sauce that you love to enhance the flavor.

And Now for the "Geeky Stuff" I Know About Zucchini...

History of Squash and Zucchini

Squash is one of the oldest known crops--10,000 years by some estimates -- in Mexico. Since squash are gourds, they most likely served as containers or utensils because of their hard shells. The seeds and flesh later became an important part of the pre-Columbian Indian diet in both South and North America. De Soto, Coronado, and Cartier all saw “melons” (probably squash) in the Americas.

Northeastern Native American tribes grew pumpkins, yellow crooknecks, patty pans, Boston marrows (perhaps the oldest squash in America still sold), and turbans. Southern tribes raised winter crooknecks, cushaws, and green and white striped sweet potato squash. Native Americans roasted or boiled the squash and pumpkins and preserved the flesh as conserves in syrup. They also ate the young shoots, leaves, flowers, and seeds.

Virginia and New England settlers were not very impressed by the Indians’ squash until they had to survive the harsh winter, at which point they adopted squash and pumpkins as staples. Squash were baked, cut and moistened with animal fat, maple syrup, and honey.

Less than thirty years ago, the zucchini, formerly often referred to as green Italian squash, was hardly recognized in the United States. Today, it is not only widely-recognized, but a particular favorite of home gardeners. Notwithstanding its prolific growing nature, its popularity is probably due to in large part to its versatility as a vegetable as well as in breads and desserts.

Zucchini, Cucurbita pepo, is a member of the cucumber and melon family.  Inhabitants of Central and South America have been eating zucchini for several thousand years, but the zucchini know today is a variety of summer squach developed in Italy.

The word zucchini comes from the Italian zucchino,meaning a small squash. The term squash comes from the Indian skutasquash meaning "green thing eaten green." Christopher Columbus originally brought seeds to the Mediterranean region and Africa. 

The French snubbed zucchini for a long time until chefs learned to choose small fruits which are less bland and watery. The French term for zucchini is courgette, which is often used also for yellow squash. 

Although the term summer squash can mean a variety of different squashes depending on to whom you are speaking, you can pretty much use the different summer squash varieties.

Mashed Potato Soup

Mashed Potato Soup

Wow! It has been a very long time since I posted to my BLOG. Let's just say that some major life changes have preoccupied my mind and I haven't really cooked much in the last few months.  I'm determined to get back to trying out new recipes and learning more techniques, etc., so I'll start with this recipe for "Mashed Potato Soup."

I made this in January and since it made so much, I took the extra servings to school to share with my single friends.  I figured they would appreciate something homemade and luckily they LOVED it!! They highly suggested that I put this recipe in this year's issue, "Another Year in My Kitchen - 2011." 

In my first annual cookbook, "A Year in My Kitchen - 2009," I included a potato soup recipe, but this recipe is different - and a lot more fattening.  It is rich and thick and wonderful.  Let me know if you try it and what you thought of it!

ENJOY!!!

Mashed Potato Soup

• 4 baking potatoes - about 2 lbs.
• 4 - 6  slices of bacon - cooked and crumbled
• 4 tbsp. butter - don't substitute with margarine - you'll miss out on the rich buttery flavor in the soup
• 4 oz. Monterey-Jack cheese - shredded
• 2 tbsp. chives - dried
• 4 cups milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• 4 oz. sour cream
• salt and pepper
• garlic salt - if desired

Poke holes in all of the potatoes after you wash them and microwave them on high until they are cooked through, turning once.  They should cook for 12 - 15 minutes total.  Let them cool slightly and then scoop out the flesh, discarding the skins.  Mash the potatoes with a fork.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Place cooked bacon on a plate lined with paper towels to cool.  Once the bacon slices are cool, crumble the bacon and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and light golden brown for about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook - whisking until thickened for approximately 5 to 6 minutes.  Stir/Whisk in the cheese, potatoes, and 1/2 tsp. each of salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring/whisking constantly until cheese is melted and is heated through.  Whisk in the sour cream.  Check for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper if needed.  Add garlic salt if you think it needs a little more seasoning or spice.  Sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the top before serving.

You can always add more bacon or cheese.  I think I added a bit more than the recipe called for, but it is great with the amounts listed above.

Tried and True.....My First Cookbook is Still the Best.....

Tried and True.....My First Cookbook is Still the Best.....

I scanned in the cover of the book, but not being terribly savvy on the PC, I at least got half of it.  Originally published in 1982 in hardback form, the book is now available as a paperback from Sunset Books. I bought this book when I had my first apartment at Hudson's where I worked at the time. It's amazingly still available at Amazon.com. I ordered it earlier today to see if it has the same recipes and food information that my copy contains. (See the link below) Well, wonders never cease...

My son, Dane, is probably the pickiest eater on the planet, so I am constantly searching for healthier food choices for him. More specifically, food that is not in the "processed meat and mac-n-cheese food group."  Last week, I saw four pitiful bananas sitting on my counter and I was determined that they would not go to waste. I searched my cookbooks for something fun to do with them and came up with a few that were kind of fancy and probably wouldn't appeal to "HRH." My mom had been successful in making a banana cake Dane liked, but I wasn't sure if he'd venture away from the comfort of something Grandma Jo made.

THEN....I pulled out old "Tried and True," and took a chance Dane would like the banana bread recipe in my very first cookbook. The recipe was so easy and required just basic ingredients aside from the four pitiful, mushy "nanners" I had.

SCORE!!! Dane LOVED the bread!  He commented that it smelled "awesome" as it baked in the oven and couldn't wait to try a piece when it was finished baking.  He ate it warm and came back for more.  I have to admit, it was delicious and incredibly moist with four bananas added, versus the three the recipe called for.  Plus I sprinkled a tiny bit of sugar and cinnamon on the top before baking it - but not too much, though.  So here it is.....and some "Geeky Stuff" to follow.

ENJOY!

Banana Bread

• 3 - 4 ripe bananas
• 1 cup sugar  - plus 1 tsp. to dust the top of the bread before baking
• 1 egg
• 4 - 5 tbsp. soft margarine or butter - I used real butter
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Dash cinnamon
• PAM

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Spray a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add the melted butter and egg.  Peel the soft ripe bananas and cut into small slices and add them to the bowl. Stir the bananas until the flour is moistened.  I used an electric mixer to speed up the process. 

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Pour the batter into the loaf pan and lightly sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar over the top and a dash of cinnamon. Bake in the preheated oven for about 55 - 60 minutes, or until a fork inserted into middle comes out clean.  Using a knife, gently release the bread from the sides of the pan and remove the bread, placing the loaf on a cooling rack. Don't leave it in the pan as the heat from the pan will continue to "bake" the bread. Viola! Banana Bread fit for HRH Dane!!!

Here's the link to Amazon.com for the softbound version of my cookbook.



And Now for the "Geeky Stuff".....

Banana History
Bananas are the fruit of Musa acuminata. Acuminata means long-pointed or tapering, not referring to the fruit, but to the flowers giving birth to the fruit.


Antonius Musa was the personal physician to Roman emperor Octavius Augustus, and it was he who was credited for promoting cultivation of the exotic African fruit from 63 to 14 B.C.

Portugese sailors brought bananas to Europe from West Africa in the early fifteenth century. Its Guinean name banema, which became banana in English, was first found in print in the seventeenth century. The original banana has been cultivated and used since ancient times, even pre-dating the cultivation of rice. While the banana thrived in Africa, its origins are said to be of East Asia and Oceania.   The banana was carried by sailors to the Canary Islands and the West Indies, finally making it to North America with Spanish missionary Friar Tomas de Berlanga.

Sweet bananas are mutants!!!
These historical bananas were not the sweet yellow banana we know today, but the red and green cooking variety, now usually referred to as plantains to distinguish them from the sweet type.



The yellow sweet banana is a mutant strain (Wow! "Mutant Strain??" I better not tell Dane!!)of the cooking banana, discovered in 1836 by Jamaican Jean Francois Poujot, who found one of the banana trees on his plantation was bearing yellow fruit rather than green or red. Upon tasting the new discovery, he found it to be sweet in its raw state, without the need for cooking. He quickly began cultivating this sweet variety.


Soon they were being imported from the Caribbean to New Orleans, Boston, and New York, and were considered such an exotic treat, they were eaten on a plate using a knife and fork. Sweet bananas were all the rage at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, selling for a hefty ten cents each.

Bananas are Herbs!!!  and Other Facts

• Although referred to as banana trees, they are not trees at all but a perennial herb. Its trunk is not a true one, but many leaves tightly wrapped around a single stem which emerges at the top as the fruit-bearing flower stalk.

• The fruit fingers grow in clumps known as hands, since they resemble a hand with fingers. The entire stalk, known as a bunch, takes up to a year for the fruit to ripen enough to be harvested. The original stem dies after producing fruit, but side shoots rise from the same underground corm to produce a new plant to be harvested the following year. The fruit itself is sterile, unable to produce a plant from the minuscule dark seeds within.

• Some banana trees continue producing up to one hundred years (Wow, again!), although most banana plantations renew their stock every ten to twenty-five years.

• The tree itself also has uses. The leaves are used as wrappers to steam foods in Latin, Caribbean, and Asian cultures. The banana flower is also edible, but if you eat the flower, you obviously won't get any fruit.

• The banana is a distant cousin to ginger, turmeric, and cardamom, and is botanically classified as a berry.

• There are over four hundred varieties of bananas with the yellow Cavendish being the most favored in America. Americans consume an annual average of twenty-five pounds of bananas per person. Bananas are the world's best-selling fruit, outranking the apple and orange.

Bananas Can Help with Hangovers!!! Yep, it's true!!

Bananas can help cure or prevent hangovers. The main causes of hangovers are dehydration and depletion of potassium, both direct results of alcohol consumption. Bananas are an excellent source of potassium (second only to the avocado) with over 450 mg. per one banana serving, as well as being high in magnesium, which can help relax those pounding blood vessels causing that nasty hangover headache.

Bananas also contain tryptophan, the same amino acid found in turkey that makes you sleepy, as well as high amounts of vitamin C. So, if you're out partying and want to avoid a hangover, drink sixteen ounces of water and eat a banana before heading for bed for a good night's sleep.

 

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

Balsamic Glazed Salmon

and Happy New Year!!!

Wow! It has been a LONG time since my last BLOG entry!!!!!  The time between the last time I had TIME to sit down and actually BLOG anything is a complete blur.  I took on a second job - I teach an ACT Prep class for UM-Flint on Saturdays.  I know, "glutton-for-punishment." But the extra money was hard to turn down. I have to say, though, I am glad I am NOT a high school teacher. I'll stick with 5th grade.

 I've also taken on the role of "Daisy Scout Leader" for Parker's scout group!! 

I have to admit I was hesitant about 14 Kindergarten-aged girls - but the first meeting I was all by myself "teaching" the girls was a blast!!! 

ANYWAY..............I am committed to being able to continue on my journey with "Another Year in My Kitchen."  However, I am also going to tweak the name to "Another Year in My Kitchen and Other Geeky Stuff I know."  I am also committed to compiling my annual "Another Year in My Kitchen" cookbooks for friends, family, and anyone else I can convince to read it.  I LOVE writing them and appreciate all of the fabulous positive feedback I have received  for my second annual cookbook.  Somehow knowing people read them and like them makes me feel less alone - like I actually have a place in the world all for me. So thanks, kind readers, you have received my outlet into the world with loving hands and I thank you for it.

Happy New Year!!!

Balsamic Glazed Salmon 

I found this recipe and thought it sounded easy and delicious.  I was right!  I actually went to the seafood counter at a local grocery store and had the amount I needed weighed on a scale.  I had never done that before. It made me feel - I don't know - like a cook or chef that knew what she was doing???  The funny part of this whole thing was watching my children walk around the house as it was cooking with the front of their shirts up over their noses because they hated the smell of the salmon as it was cooking.!!!

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh salmon
• black pepper
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
• 3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the salmon fillets in 2-quart glass baking dish.  Sprinkle with black pepper and drizzle the salmon with the olive oil.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes - I had to bake mine for close to 30 minutes before I felt it looked ready - or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

One cardinal rule is: NEVER OVERCOOK SALMON. Although it is an oily fish, overcooking makes the flesh dry and dense, and it can become quite chewy in texture.

Stir the cornstarch, chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and orange juice in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat.  Using a whisk, cook the mixture until  it boils and thickens.  When done, drizzle the salmon with the balsamic glaze.  I served the salmon with brown and wild rice. It was fantastic!!  Matt was skeptical about the glaze, but admitted when he tasted mine with the glaze that it actually enhanced and complimented the salmon, rather than cover up the taste of the salmon.

  Now for the "Geeky Stuff I Know......"

Part of the 5th grade curriculum in Michigan is to teach kids about the Native American Cultural Regions of North America.  Keeping that in mind, here's a little "trivia," or "Geeky Stuff I know," about the Native Americans living in the Pacific Northwest.

The word "salmon," any variety of fish of the genera "Salmo" and "Oncorhynchus," comes from the Latin "salmo," which later became "samoun" in Middle English. Many Native American tribes depended heavily upon salmon in their diet.

The Indian tribes of the Northwest look upon salmon with great reverence and have special rituals and legends for the yearly salmon run. They look upon the salmon as life, as the salmon has nourished them physically and spiritually since the days when people first came to this region. They would migrate to the Columbia River each year during the spring and fall spawning season, when the salmon hurled themselves upstream from the Pacific Ocean to lay their eggs. During that time, the Columbia River was so thick with the countless salmon that the Indians simply speared or clubbed them to death from their canoes or from the river banks. What the Indians didn't eat fresh, they would air-dry in the river winds to create jerky.

The life cycle of the salmon is an interesting one. Spawned in freshwater streams, the young salmon travel to sea early. Here they live and grow for three or four years. In the spring after they reach maturity, the adult salmon return to their native streams to spawn. As salmon begin their journey home, they will stop eating and live mainly on the oils stored in their bodies. In some mysterious way, they orient themselves and swim homeward. The distances they travel and their amazing return to the exact point where they emerged from their egg sacs. They will leap over any obstacle in their way, such as dams and waterfalls, hurling itself many feet out of the water until it gets over the obstacle or dies of exhaustion in the attempt; there is no turning back. For some unknown reason, the female always dies after spawning.

Chinook Salmon

Chinook or King: Average size 10 to 15 pounds, up to 135 pounds. Soft in texture, very rich in oil, and separates into large flakes, making it excellent for salads and recipes calling for large pieces. Chinook salmon are the largest of the Pacific salmon, with some individuals growing to more than 100 pounds. These huge fish are rare, as most mature Chinook are under 50 pounds. Kings run in the spring.

To cooks, gourmets, and fishermen alike, the salmon is the king of the waters. The distinctive color of the flesh of a salmon is part of its attraction. It can vary from a very delicate pale pink to a much deeper shade, verging on red. In the Northwest, because of the various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, you can find salmon smoked hard in the Indian tradition and salmon smoked light in the Scottish tradition. It can also be as simple as a barbecued salmon dotted with butter and lemon.