harvest moon soup

come a little bit closer, here's a soup you'll want to try...on this harvest moon.

Kale, Cannellini Bean & Sausage Soup
(Adapted from Frances Mayes from Everyday in Tuscany: Zuppa di Cavolo Nero, Cannellini e Salsicce)

Ingredients

(Serves 8-10)

2 Italian sausages, skins removed and meat crumbled
4 tbsps olive oil
1 onion, chopped
12 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 cups dry white wine (or white cooking wine)
6 cups chicken stock
6 thyme sprigs
1 bunch of dinosaur kale or bagged, chopped kale
2 cups butternut squash, cubed (optional)
2 zucchini squash, cubed (optional)
4 cups cooked cannellini beans (dried beans or 2 cans of beans)
1 cup shredded parmigiano-reggiano

1. Saute the onions and garlic, add in crumbled sausage in the olive oil and cook until browned.
2. In the same pan, add in the thyme and the white wine to deglaze the pan.
3. Add the chicken stock to the pot. Bring to a boil and add the kale (and other veggies) and cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add the cooked sausage, parmesan and beans and simmer for another 15 minutes.

talkin with my mouth full of zucchini bread

i recently finished talking with my mouth full by the lovely gail simmons. good read. i recommend it to anyone out there that likes food and / or books about food. gail is a gem. anywho, the final section of the book includes some of her favorite family recipes, including a recipe for zucchini bread.

i stumbled upon said recipe right as i had also found myself with an abundance of zucchini from the summer CSA box. what is one to do with three zucchinis per week?  make zucchini bread and eat it everyday, that's what. 

i learned that it is also nice to give a loaf to a friend. That is, if you find friends who appreciate sweet quick breads made mostly of vegetables. My secret tip: just tell your friends it's cake, made from pure cake ingredients. [Cake is a more popular and socially acceptable gift than vegetable bread.] They'll never know the difference. That's just how charming you are, how gullible they are and how delightful this treat is. 

ZUCCHINI BREAD
Adapted from Gail Simmons' Talking with My Mouth Full
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350. Grease two loaf pans. Mix dry ingredients and set aside. In a stand mixer or mixing bowl beat the eggs, add in the sugar, oil & vanilla and mix. Add in the zucchini, mix until just combined. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.  

fish in a package, fish en papillote

this is a snappy way to cook fish, veggies and grains all in one step. it's called en papillote, which is a French cooking method that means "in paper" and all you do is wrap your ingredients in parchment paper and cover with a little liquid: broth, wine, coconut milk or water and bake. the liquid in the package will slowly steam-cook all the veggies, couscous and fish.  I used a plain couscous, white wine, lemon juice, tomatoes, red onions, zucchini, carrots, red pepper, dill and halibut. but the combinations are endless and it's a good one to experiment with, because you really can't go wrong.

couscous, veggies and halibut.

couscous and veggies.

the finished product.  

FISH EN PAPILLOTE
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red onion, halved and sliced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 zucchini thinly sliced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper sliced
1/4 cup fresh dill
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 six-ounce halibut fillets


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut two large pieces of parchment (depending if you want 1 or 2 servings) - about 24 inches in length, fold in half and unfold. Stir couscous with liquid as recommended on box, and place on the bottom of the parchment, dividing evenly between packages.  Cover with veggies, cover the veggies with the fish fillet and dill, pour oil, lemon juice and wine over the top of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.  Fold edges of paper over to create rim, and staple edges of parchment paper to seal.  Place packets on cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes, until packets have puffed up.

Eggplant Lasagna

This is a new take on lasagna that is both meat and gluten-free. For this recipe I used the same filling that I use for regular lasagna and cannelloni, and a jar of store-bought or a homemade marinara. The eggplant is used in place of noodles and I used a Trader Joe's marinara sauce.  


EGGPLANT LASAGNA
2 medium eggplants (about 2 1/4 pounds total), trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

• 3 zucchinis, sliced thinly lengthwise
• Coarse kosher salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil

16-24 ounces of canned marinara sauce

For filling:

1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed & drained well

15 basil leaves, chopped

1 lb. fresh ricotta

1 cup shredded mozzarella, plus 1/2 cup for topping
salt & pepper

2 eggs

1/2 cup grated parmesan 

• 
  
  Cover bottom and sides of each of 2 large colanders with 1 layer of eggplant slices; sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Continue layering eggplant slices in each colander, sprinkling each layer with coarse salt, until all eggplant slices are used. Place each colander over large bowl; let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour. Rinse eggplant slices to remove excess salt; dry thoroughly with paper towels.
• 
  
  Position oven rack 5 to 6 inches from heat source and preheat broiler. Line 3 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange eggplant slices in single layer on prepared baking sheets. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil. Broil 1 sheet at a time until eggplant slices are tender and beginning to brown, watching closely and removing eggplant slices as needed if cooking too quickly, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove baking sheet from oven and cool eggplant while preparing filling.
  
  
  Combine drained spinach, basil, ricotta, mozzarella, salt & pepper and eggs; mix well. Add 1/4 cup parmesan, reserve the rest for topping and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread a layer of sauce evenly over bottom of dish. Place one layer of eggplant slices over sauce, covered by one layer of filling (about 1 inch thick), covered by one layer of zucchini slices and cover entire layer with sauce.  Repeat with another layer of eggplant, filling, zucchini slices and sauce.  Cover entire pan with remaining marinara, mozzarella and parmesan.  

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.  Remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes until the cheese begins to brown.

zucchini bread

when a zucchini is staring you straight in the eyes, it's best to make a bread, you will not win that stare down. Dan's mom gave me two HUGE zucchinis from her neighbor's yard.  I used one to make these two loafs of bread.  I shredded the other one and froze the shreddings, I am hoping to break it out of the freezer at a later date, probably for a special occasion and bake something else.  Zucchini bread is really a lot like carrot cake, only we don't call it cake, even though it has all the same ingredients. Because it is a BREAD and not a CAKE it means you are allowed to eat it for breakfast.

This trial run, I did half whole wheat flour and half regular.  Although it makes for a healthier final product, it also made it slightly dry and a little more dense.  I'd recommend either doing one cup of whole wheat and two cups of regular or, better yet, use all white flour. 

ZUCCHINI BREAD  
Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil (or a mix of the two, I used 3/4 veg and 1/4 olive)
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans or line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the eggs. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon,cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit) in a separate bowl.

Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.

Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

the big soup

a tasty soup for chilly fall days. this soup is very forgiving, making it easy to improvise and include whatever beans, grains or veggies you wish to use or have on hand.

MINESTRONE

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

3-4 celery stalks, diced

1/2 cup chopped prosciutto or ham (optional)

6 cloves garlic, diced

2 cups potatoes, chopped into cubes

salt and pepper

6 cups chicken stalk

2 cans diced tomatoes, including juices

2 cups zucchini, chopped into cubes

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup kidney beans

1/2 cup cannellini beans

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Parmesan rind

1/2 cup pasta, such as ditalini or barley (optional)*

Heat the olive oil on medium heat and saute onions, carrots and celery until tender. Add in the prosciutto (or ham) and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant and thoroughly cooked. Add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the stock, tomatoes and Parmesan rind. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook about 30 minutes. Add the zucchini and different beans, along with the parsley. Add in the pasta and cover, cooking at a simmer until ready to serve. Serve with parsley and grated parmesan.

*Note pasta will continue to expand even during refrigeration. If you intend to eat over multiple days, add cooked pasta at serving time and store pasta separately for future servings.