Zucchini Pie

(Image courtesy of: Scripps Howard News Service).

I do my best to try all of the recipes before I post them here, and I try to offer recipes that are a little more "fresh" than this one. This week, I'm just plain slammed. So, here then, a zucchini recipe I have not tried. It's a very popular American way to use up a lot of Zucchini. If you're interested in how to make your own "bisquick", check out the recipe below. Some time, I'll experiment with making a baking mix that does not have hydrogenated fats in it. If anyone makes "bisquick" using a shortening that is non-hydrogenated, I'd be curious how it goes.
Happy Zucchini!
Edited to include Lee's comments from the paper cropsheet:
(Lee's two cents: I have made biscuit mix by following a baking powder biscuit recipe and just leaving out the eggs and milk. I used canola oil, which I crumbled into the dry ingredients using my hands. It worked fine, but the refrigerator might be the best bet for long term storage. Be aware that you can chop almost any of the veggies in your crate, especially the greens, into the biscuit dough and a simple biscuit can seem like a gourmet treat! Grate some cheese in, and it almost becomes a meal in itself. ) Lee
Zucchini Pie Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup baking mix (such as Bisquick)
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup mozarella cheese, grated
• 1 tsp marjoram (1/3 tsp dried marjoram)
• 1 tsp basil (1/3 tsp dried basil)
• black pepper, freshly ground

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil over medium high heat in a medium size skillet.
2. Cook the onion until it just turns gold.
3. In a bowl combine the zucchini, onion, eggs, baking mix, olive oil, cheese, marjoram, basil, and pepper.
4. Coat a 10x6" pan or a 12" pie pan with oil.
5. Spread the zucchini mixture into the baking dish.
6. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until lightly brown.

Make your Own "Bisquick"

4 ½ c sifted flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp + 1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 c shortening

½ tsp salt

2/3 c powdered milk

Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Sift together 2-3 times in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is similar to cornmeal. Add dry milk. Use in recipes that call for Bisquick or all-purpose mix.

Apple Phyllo Tart

This picture makes it look like a pile of pooh. I assure you, it's not. It's quite tasty. I just can't take pictures of food to save my life. I promise, I won't put anything on this blog that is not tasty. You might have to squint a little to imagine how tasty it would be from my pictures. . . that's just how it will have to be until I find time to use my camera better or get a better camera.
I like to make a dessert with phyllo when I make my greek greens pie. This one fit the bill. Tasty, sweet, but not overly sickeningly sweet. A keeper. . . the recipe, not the tart. Eat the tart. Right now! Go!

Apple Phyllo (Filo) Tart Recipe
By Sarah Phillips
Serves 12

2 large golden delicious apples, peeled and cored and cut into 1/2-inch slices

2 TBSP dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Canola Oil spray or 3 TBSP melted butter, cooled to tepid

Eight 12x17 inch sheets phyllo (filo) dough thawed overnight (available from the grocery store)

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a nonstick baking sheet with canola oil or cover with parchment paper.
2. To make the filling, in a medium bowl, toss the apple slices, brown sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Place 1 sheet of filo dough on a prepared baking sheet and very lightly spray it with canola oil (or you can brush with melted butter). Top with the other filo sheets, lightly spraying each sheet with oil (or brush with melted butter), and progressively arranging the sheets across each other at angles to form a sunburst pattern. Mound the apple filling in the center. Bring up the filo sheets to completely cover the filling. Spray the top of the filo with oil (or brush with butter).
4. Bake until the filo is deep golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet on a wire cake rack for 10 minutes. Slide the tart on a serving platter. Serve warm.

The Healthy Oven Baking Book, by Sarah Phillips, Doubleday, 1999

Summer Minestrone Soup

I love this soup. It's a great way to empty the refrigerator at this time of year and it's super tasty too. I used this recipe as a starting point, but added lots more stock and veggies. I put in a can of organic garbanzos and a can of kidney beans for some added protein. It made about 5 quarts, plus a bit. Give some to your neighbors.

Summer Minestrone – Recipe Page 123

Adapted from The Tomato Festival Cookbook, by Lawrence Davis-Hollander (Storey Books, 2004).

Simple Solution
Ah, the bounty of summer! Gardens overflow with tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, peppers, and dark leafy greens. Who can resist them? But sometimes it can be hard to figure out what to do with all of them! Well, this lovely soup is a perfect way to use those lively colors, flavors, and textures.

Fragrant with herbs and bursting with nourishment from the good earth, you can make this one-pot meal in advance (during those cooler morning hours) or even freeze it. Either way, Summer Minestrone is a favorite with both kids and adults, a key player in the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 or 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
1 10-inch stalk celery, coarsely chopped
4 cups (about 12 to 15 large) chopped ripe plum tomatoes
4 to 6 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 stem basil, plus extra sprigs for garnish
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) penne, elbow macaroni, small shells, or other medium-sized pasta
12 green beans, washed, trimmed, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium green or yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 2-inch by 1/4-inch strips
1 medium leek, washed, white and tender green parts cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 stems Swiss chard, stalks and leaves cut into 1-inch strips
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil and stir in the garlic. Let it soften for a couple of minutes, then stir in the carrot and celery. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 4 cups of the broth, oregano, thyme, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir. Cover the pan, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Increase the heat and bring the soup to a brisk boil over high heat. Stir in the pasta, followed by the green beans, bell pepper, and leek. Cook briskly, stirring often, for 3 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat so the soup is simmering and add the chard, zucchini, and summer squash. If the mixture is very thick, or if you would simply like it thinner, add some or all of the remaining broth. Return to a simmer and cover the pan. Continue cooking the soup for 5 minutes, or until the pasta and the vegetables are tender. Serve immediately, or cool and reheat as needed. Garnish with basil leaves. Check for seasoning before serving and add more salt and pepper to taste if necessary.
Serves 4 to 8.

Musings:
The fullness of my fridge at this time of year makes me both wonder and panic. How amazing to have such great bounty right here in our little town. How the heck do I use it all up!? Right now, my family is not eating a ton of food, so trying to figure out how to make it through the share each week has sent me whirling. I stumbled upon this great article in the Oregonian online that got me working on small batch preserving. I get overwhelmed when I think about doing a big canning day. It's a lot to manage by yourself. Especially with a little one running around. So, one option is to can with friends, or you can take on a couple of different tactics.

• Freeze stuff. Right now, I have a ton of summer squash that I plan to grate and freeze. Later in the winter, I can add it to soups or thaw it, squeeze it dry and make bread with it. I also make a lot of soups and freeze them too.
  
• Pickle stuff. I do refrigerator pickles, because we eat them fast enough that I can keep adding cucumbers to the brine for a month or so (recipe follows).
• Small batch canning. Put a pot of water on while you're cooking dinner and can a couple of jars of jam or tomatoes while the stove top's on and you're in the kitchen anyway.
• Dehydrate. I love to do apples this way and then we can crunch our way through the crop from our apple tree all year! Abby loves to crank the apple machine (it peels, cores and slices as you turn the crank). We found ours at goodwill for $4 and it's been worth it, plus it's fun.
  

Last year, I did an entry about canning here on the blog. You can check it out here. It has more information on how to be safe with your canning.
Lee's resource for canning from last week's farm news is great too. You can get to it here.

I love the idea of doing a dinner or soup swap. Maybe someone will organize one for us here (not it!). The jist is this: A bunch of people gather and bring 6 or so quarts of frozen soup or frozen containers of dinner or whatever. Then, you all draw numbers and pick items so that you go home with 6 items. That way you can make a whole lot of one thing and then not have to eat it for 2 weeks

Mom's Fridge Pickles
Makes about 1 quart

1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 TBS sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dill seed
4 to 5 small kirby cucumbers, peeled in stripes and cut into 1/8 inch thick slices
1 small white onion, thinly sliced into rounds

1. Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper flakes, and dill seed in a quart jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Layer the cucumbers and the onions in the jar using a wooden spoon to press them tightly into the jar, shake it well, and refrigerate it at least 4 hours, shaking the jar occasionally to keep the ingredients mixed. These pickles will keep in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.
From Fresh Every Day by Sara Foster

Simple Late Summer Meal

Cook some pasta.
Melt some butter in a pan.
Add chopped garlic, leek and bell pepper.
Add a chopped tomato once the other stuff is a bit soft.
Add chopped summer squash.
Salt and pepper the bad boy.
Once it's all juicy and squishy.
Pour it over some pasta.
Top with parm.
Yum.

I've been thinking a whole lot about local food lately. There are lots of books out these days about the idea of eating food grown right close to where you live. I just read the book Plenty.
Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon
It was a great read about a couple who live off of food grown and processed within 100 miles of their Vancouver B.C. home. They did it for a year. It was hard. They didn't find wheat until the very end. They lost weight. They are idealistic way beyond anything I am capable of. I applaud their effort. They have a cool website about the 100 mile diet. It's definitely gotten me thinking about eating locally. I've always bristled at eating an organic apple from New Zealand, when we have such fine apples right here in our own state. Heck, right in my own back yard. I've tried to buy produce that was locally grown, but haven't worked very hard with the other stuff. It's a complex issue, because even if you do find local items, who knows how far it's been shipped for processing and packaging. In Plenty, they state that Dungeness Crab is routinely sent to China to be picked apart and processed and then sent back here to sell. That is staggering to me. . . though not entirely surprising. All the more reason to support our local farms and feel darn good about it.
A few other books about local eats to ponder:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets by Deborah Madison