Summer Zucchini Linguine

This might be the easiest dinner I’ve ever thrown together so it’s definitely going to be a staple even though I pretend to swear off carbs Monday through Friday. To lessen my guilt, I go for whole wheat linguine although I’m guessing I’m effed regardless.

Photos via me

Recipe adapted from Sarah Raven’s Fresh from the Garden

2 large zucchini or other summer squash, coarsely grated
2 cloves of garlic
Red pepper flakes (however spicy you like it)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Small pat of butter
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Any kind of pasta you desire

Place grated zucchini and a pinch of salt in colander and let it hang out while you make the pasta. Heat oil in large pan. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until aromatic (couple of minutes). Add pasta, zucchini, butter, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well and eat, preferably outdoors with wine.

Easy Summer Recipes

I’ve been cooking. Yay! Nothing fancy, but I lean towards easy as hell and light. I made like 2 lbs of quinoa last week and pretty much ate some variety of it every day. Cumin-scented black beans and quinoa, lemon-scented chickpeas and quinoa, zucchini-scented carrots and quinoa, etc.  Also, I made a pretty divine cauliflower soup that is my favorite go-to recipe in the summer. We eat it with bread and wine much like everything else. Easy as hell recipes below.

Images by moi!

Cumin-scented quinoa and black beans

Quinoa (obviously)
Olive oil
1 onion
A couple cloves of garlic
As much cumin as you can stand (I like about a tablespoon)
1 can of black beans
A few tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Cilantro

Cook giant batch of quinoa according to instructions on box. Heat about one tablespoon olive oil in a pan and saute onions with cumin for a few minutes. Add garlic and cook additional minute. Add beans, quinoa and tomatoes, cover and simmer for a few minutes until beans are heated through. Salt and pepper to taste and garnish with cilantro.

Quinoa and chickpea salad

Quinoa (cold)
3 cloves of garlic
Handful of chives
Some parsley
A few tomatoes
1 can of chickpeas
Olive oil
1 lemon
Salt and pepper

Chop garlic, chives and tomatoes and mix well with cold quinoa in a bowl. Add chickpeas, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with parsley. This makes an amazing lunch too!

Cauliflower soup

1 head of cauliflower, chopped
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced into tiny cubes
1 small yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 cloves of shallots
1 cup aged cheddar
1 tblsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable broth
chives
salt and pepper

Saute onions and shallots in olive oil over medium high heat for about two minutes. Add garlic, potatoes and a pinch of salt, cover and cook until potatoes are near tender. Add cauliflower and broth, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender (or transfer to a regular blender) to puree the soup. Add half a cup of cheese and blend some more. Transfer to bowl, season with pepper, top with cheese and chives and chow down.

 

Food and Other Drugs

I was absent yesterday. Here’s what you missed:

• Huge presentation at work
• Anxiety
• Emergency Ativan
• More work
• Emergency glass of wine
• Giant bowl of tortilla soup

You didn’t miss much. Thank God it’s almost Friday!

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup Recipe:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
4 cups canned vegetable broth
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
4 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed, drained
2/3 cup chopped zucchini
1 1/2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chili

Spray large nonstick saucepan with vegetable oil spray. Add onion and garlic; cover and cook over medium-low heat until almost tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cumin and chili powder. Add broth and 2 tablespoons cilantro; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Add tortillas, tomatoes, beans, zucchini and jalapeñp to soup. Cover; simmer until zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro.

via

 

Easy Enchiladas

Sometimes I just want a gooey enchilada without any fuss. So I bust out the shredded cheese and canned enchilada sauce and I have myself a gooey enchilada without any fuss. Observe.

Easy as hell enchiladas recipe:

Slap some Mexican blend cheese onto flour tortillas. Roll and place in baking dish. Smother with Old El Paso enchilada sauce and bake at about 400 degrees until cheese gets bubbly. Top with fresh cilantro, jalapenos, diced tomatoes and sour cream. Eat with a margarita.

Classic Cheesy Lasagna

In honor of yesterday’s post, I give you cheese and carbs in its finest form.

Lasagna is about as labor intensive as putting on a garter belt and stockings. I don’t do either very often. But sometimes it’s necessary.

Recipe via Martha Stewart

• 1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella
• Marinara
• Lasagna noodles, cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or store-bought dried noodles, cooked
• 5 ounces coarsely grated Parmesan cheese, (about 1 3/4 cups)

Spread 1/2 cup marinara in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place a layer of noodles over marinara. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over noodles, and sprinkle with 1/3 of the Parmesan. Place a layer of noodles over the cheese layer. Spread 1 cup marinara over noodles. Repeat layering (noodles, marinara, noodles, ricotta mixture, Parmesan) 2 more times. Spread remaining marinara over cheese layer, then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Preheat oven to 375. Combine ricotta, egg, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Season with pepper. Coarsely grate 1/2 of the mozzarella, and stir into ricotta mixture. Using your fingers, shred remaining mozzarella into 2-inch strips, and reserve. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cheese is golden brown and sauce is bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Thanksgiving Recipes

The week before Thanksgiving, you can find me force feeding  Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts to the Husband. He tests my recipes before other people are subject to my cooking and/or baking. This week I fed him:

• potato and fennel au gratin,
• chili con queso
• pumpkin cheesecake muffins

I was only focused enough to photograph the muffins, but I promise you the others passed the test. I’ll also be making my vegetarian stuffing, which is the bomb diggity.

Recipes:

Pumpkin cheesecake muffins

Potato and fennel au gratin

Chili con queso

Sweet Potato Tacos

Last week, I saw sweet potatoes in the grocery store and realized that what I always thought were sweet potatoes are actually yams. So all the times I made sweet potato fries, I was actually making yam fries. What the hell is the difference anyway? In any case, these real sweet potato tacos (not yam tacos) are easy and delightful. We have a new staple in our house.

Recipe:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 limes, juiced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper
Tortillas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put cubed sweet potatoes on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and toss to coat.  Bake for 30-40 minutes. Toss around to avoid burning. Let cool for a few minutes. Heat olive oil in a saucepan.  Add onions and cook until softened.  Add cumin, black beans and lime juice.  Let cook for about 5 minutes. Fill up tortilla with potatoes, bean mixture, fresh salsa and cilantro. Eat.

Roasted Eggplant Dip

I’m not a huge fan of eggplants, but we got a couple in our CSA box so I threw together this easy dip/spread with lots of garlic and chickpeas. I made it spicy so it appealed to my taste buds. It’s good as a leftover too. I spread it on pita, added some lettuce, tomato and cucumber and called it lunch.

Recipe from Design Love Fest

And if you haven’t already, enter the House of Harlow giveaway stat!

Mostly Not Potato Salad

Labor Day makes me want to stuff my face with mayonnaise-laden starches, but this year I thought I’d stuff my face with mustard-laden vegetables like this mostly not potato salad. I adapted the recipe from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day (my most favorite vegetarian cookbook) to include the vegetables I had in my fridge. The Dijon mustard and dill based dressing was ridiculous and the end result was delicious and — dare I say — a healthy alternative for a holiday stuff-your-face fest.

Recipe here (Note: I didn’t have tofu and I substituted several of the veggies).

Vegetable Couscous Delight

I call this dish “Clean Out Your Fridge Couscous.” It’s very similar to “Clean Our Your Fridge Soup” and “Clean Out Your Fridge Chili” except it involves couscous. I take all the veggies I want to get rid of, add some beans for protein’s sake, mix it with one of the quickest cooking carbs and voilà. A healthy, well-rounded dish in under 15 minutes.

Clean Out Your Fridge Couscous Recipe:

Any veggies on hand, chopped
1 can of  beans you’re in the mood for  (my fav is black or kidney)
1 tblsp olive oil
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp cumin
red pepper flakes (if you like spicy)
salt and pepper
handful of fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley

Saute vegetables and cumin in olive oil for about 5-7 minutes. Add couscous, beans and veggie broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until most of the broth is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper, add chopped cilantro and eat up.

This is one of those recipes that I play by ear. Timing and spices all depends on the vegetables I’m using. You basically can’t go wrong with this.