zucchini brownies

It's zucchini time again. This year I've been over run with them from my CSA, definitely something I wasn't expecting. I was out-zucchini'd week one when I tried them lightly marinated in a vinaigrette which was too reminiscent of recipes I've had for several years. And then I saw a link to a recipe for zucchini brownies! Being a chocoholic, I couldn't resist.

I took my favorite parts from two recipes and made a couple of my own additions and they turned out great! Moist and a tad bit chewy, just how I like them :) These things are highly addicting, I basically ate a third of a pan in the span of an afternoon. Beware!

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 C vegetable oil

1 1/2 C sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

1/4 C cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp fresh ground cardamom

2 C grated zucchini

1 C almond flour

1 C AP flour

1 1/2 C chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large glass baking dish with oil and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the flours and chocolate chips until well blended.
3. Fold in flours, then chocolate chips.
4. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Next time I make these, I will try using all almond flour, as this gave it a nice density and texture. This would make it egg and gluten free, and just a couple tweaks away from being vegan!

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CSA Season: collard greens

I signed up for a CSA basket for the season and with it come some vegetables I would not normally try. First up: collard greens.

I've never had collard greens, but I imagine they are in the same category as kale and swiss chard, two greens I have purchased and enjoy cooked up with eggs.

I decided to cook my collard greens in a grill pan with bacon fat, which then turned into a sort of salad. I ate mine plain, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, then added a couple strips of bacon, torn into pieces.

Next time I think I'll make my standard dijon-balsamic vinaigrette and toss with the greens and bacon. I like using an old spice jar to shake up my vinaigrette ingredients, plus it makes a great little storage container and is a convenient way to take a couple day's worth of salad dressing to work for lunch!

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Avocado Chocolate Pudding

You know those recipes that you aren't entirely sure of, but you go against your gut instinct and make it anyway, hoping you'll be proven wrong? Well, as a general rule, I used to think avocado should never go near anything sweet or dessert like until this raspberry ganache fudge cake came into my life. So I gave a vanilla pudding recipe, made from avocado, a shot and that was a big mistake. But I turned it into a pretty yummy chocolate pudding recipe.


Avocado Chocolate Pudding

1 medium avocado
3+ tbsp carob or cacao powder, to taste
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp agave nectar
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 C cold water

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.


The avocado makes this pudding rich and decadent and the blending makes it nice and light!

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homemade tofu

Homemade tofu, round one.

I received the Japanese cookbook, Kansha, for Christmas and decided to make the firm tofu recipe. So I bought some nigari (which is the coagulant) and some Ota Soy Nectar (the stuff is fresh, local, and of high quality). To make tofu, you basically slowly heat up your soy milk to 150 degrees, stir in some diluted nigari, then let it sit for a bit while the nigari does it's magic. Then you strain your "curds" and eat. All in all, quite an easy process!

While my first attempt at tofu did in fact turn out, it came out slightly bitter so it needs some work. Of course this recipe was for "firm tofu", I wish it came out a bit softer and sweeter than this stuff did. Perhaps with the right garnishes to eat it with, it would be quite delicious.

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my fudge is better than yours.

Ahh, the Christmas season is upon us. Technically, I suppose it has been for a while now. And with it comes all the cookies, cakes, and candies with which to stuff ourselves and then go back for round two.

A while back I saw this recipe for candied bacon fudge and I knew I just had to make it. While bacon desserts are not normally something I tend to cover, I have made bacon cookies as well as chocolate covered bacon (not too different from this fudge, I realize). This stuff is delicious. Life altering. Sweet. Salty. Satisfying. Just generally awesome.

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Fresh Tomato Soup with Vodka

I wasn't expecting to, but I really love this soup. I've never tasted any tomato soup with such a strong tomato flavor. Granted, this was also my first experience with homemade tomato soup.

I used homegrown tomatoes, the last ones of the season for this. It's a tasty way to use up a bunch of tomatoes.



Fresh Tomato Soup with Vodka

2 lb ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 1/4 C vegetable stock
1/3 C breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp dried herbs of choice
salt and pepper
2 tbsp vodka

1. Put the tomatoes, green onions, sugar, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and vegetable stock into a stockpot and let simmer for about an hour, covered, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the breadcrumbs, dried herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 20-30 minutes.
3. Add the vodka, then serve.

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Raspberry Tropical Smoothie

I'm trying to perfect my smoothie technique. When not following recipes and making my own, I tend to over-do it in terms of quantity and end up with 40 ounces of smoothie. But today, success! I had some "tropical" produce around (pineapple, mango, banana) and thought the combination would pair well with some fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Tropical Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 C mango, cubed
• 1/2 C pineapple, cubed
• 3/4 C raspberries
• 1 large orange, juiced
• 6 ice cubes

Method

1. In a blender, combine the mango, pineapple, raspberries, an orange juice until well blended.
2. Add the ice cubes and blend until it reaches a smooth consistency.

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Watermelon Tropical Smoothie

Fun fact that I didn't realize was such a fun fact until recently: I don't like watermelon. I recently tried it juiced, still didn't really like it. But juiced with other ingredients, it's not so bad. So I picked myself up a hunk at the grocery store for just that purpose and made a tropical smoothie. While the color in the end was not so appetizing, it tastes good!

Watermelon Tropical Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups watermelon, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups pineapple, cubed
• 1 cup mango, cubed
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 cup blueberry juice

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender on high speed until well blended.

Makes 40oz.

Another fun fact: Equal parts watermelon, pineapple, and mango taste just like cantaloupe...another one of my least favorite fruits ;)

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chocolate simple syrup

I used the last of my simple syrup making a cup of my favorite cold brewed coffee and instead of making another batch of plain syrup, I thought a chocolate version would be an interesting twist and nice change. You know, give my cuppa more of a mocha feel than latte. The result is a subtly chocolate flavor with my coffee, but it's nice! On its own, the syrup is super sweet and distinctly chocolate-y, but it mellows out when diluted with coffee concentrate and milk. At the end of the day, this may just be a watery Hershey's chocolate syrup, but feels more grown-up and less gluttonous than getting your chocolate fix from something normally reserved for the sundae bar.

Chocolate Simple Syrup in a Jar

Chocolate Simple Syrup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• splash almond extract

Method

1. In a saucepan, combine the ingredients and cook over medium to medium high heat until the mixture starts to boil. Remove from heat, let cool, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Simple Syrup served with coffee

Serving Ideas:

• Swirled into coffee as sweetener
• Served with yogurt and granola
• Drizzled over ice cream or affogato
• Poured over a simple layer cake for additional moisture and flavor

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Mango Summer Rolls

This recipe is basically just an assembly of fresh ingredients and can be customized as much as you want to incorporate your favorite flavors. This is my version, adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance, incorporating the ingredients I had on hand. I recently saw Giada De Laurentiis do a fruit spring roll that looks quite delicious, so really, the sky's the limit.

Mango Summer Rolls

Ingredients

• Rice paper wrappers, softened in hot water
• 1 mango, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
• 1 cup sprouts or delicate greens (I used pea shoots)
• 4 oz saifun bean threads, softened (or rice noodles)
• Cilantro, mint, coconut, ground peanuts, etc (optional)

Method

1. In the lower portion of the rice paper wrappers, place a few tablespoons of noodles, any optional ingredients, 5 slices of mango, and sprouts.
2. Tuck the sides of the paper in and begin rolling. Keep covered with a damp cloth, chilled, until ready to eat.
3. Serve with dipping sauce.

Summer Roll Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp shiracha hot sauce, or to taste
• 1 tsp soy sauce, or to taste
• 1 garlic clove, pressed/minced
• 1 1/2 tsp super-fine sugar

Method

1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients until combined. If necessary, microwave for a few seconds to dissolve the sugar.
2. Serve chilled.

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