In the Kitchen

I went on a bit of a roasting kick a couple weeks ago. I roasted everything I could get my hands on. Including the above squash. (Done very similarly to the green bean recipe I shared—except I voided the nuts and added rosemary.)

I’ve also been roasting chickpeas here and there. They make for a tasty snack. There a ton of recipes online but I used this one and it was good. I’m thinking I’ll try experimenting with a lemon rosemary one next.

I missed a couple magda (also called kousa or cousa) squash for a day or two, hiding under leaves in the garden. By the time I found them they were hard to miss. Luckily their size made them perfect for these mini “pizzas.” (I was inspired by these.) I rubbed the slices with oil and broiled each side for a couple minutes. Then I layered a slice of tomato (a dollop of sauce would work too), sprinkles of chopped, fresh basil, dried oregano, salt and pepper and finally a little mozzarella. Then I put them back under the broiler until the cheese melted and started to brown a little.

Another fun snack I’ve been enjoying is beet hummus. There are a lot of recipes available online that completely replace the traditional chickpeas with beets which result in a gorgeous rich purple hummus. But I only had a few scrawny beets that needed using (hence the paler color) so I added them to Abby’s simple hummus recipe. Smear it on a thick slice of cucumber and sprinkle with parsley. So good! An earthy*, slightly sweet hummus. And due to the color, I bet this would be a fun snack for kids.
*My Great Grandmother always said ‘A good beet’ll taste like dirt.” She meant it in the best way.

I know I’ve mentioned this recipe once before. But I made it again. That’s how good it is. The only changes I would suggest would be to add the zucchini to the pan before the minced garlic (the latter may get a little bitter if cooked too high for too long) and if you use feta, don’t bother adding salt to the recipe as that type of cheese usually has plenty. (I used ricotta so it needed a little salt.)

I’ve made these about three times now. (I subbed in garbanzo flour in place of all-purpose.) I refuse to make them again because I can’t be trusted to not gobble them up.

Harmony (of Harmony Art) suggested this recipe. I’m not eating bread right now (including crumbs) so I was a little stumped as how to make them. I sprinkled in a little garbanzo flour. I thought it seemed a little bland so I added some cumin and red pepper. Basically, by the time I was done, it was a falafel with shredded zucchini. Half were fried and the other half baked.
Speaking of that falafel recipe: I mentioned in a previous post how I was having trouble with them falling apart when using dried chickpeas I soaked myself instead of canned. I think I remedied it. Don’t cook/boil your chickpeas (or cut the cooking time down) just soak them overnight or so, until they are soft enough to be mashed up.

Creamy cucumber salad. With Greek yogurt, dill, salt and pepper. (I guess it’s like a tzatziki.) I winged all the measurements. And I scraped the seeds out of the center of the cukes with a spoon to help remove some of the liquid. You could also sprinkle the chopped up pieces with a little salt and drain for an hour or two to help pull more moisture out. If you make something like this, do so just before serving because, as I said it gets watery and runny quickly. But it’s a great, refreshing summer salad.

OK, now that I’ve gone and made you hungry, I’ll be on my way. Have a great day!

PS: For those of you on Flickr, I started a group called The Garden Cook. It’s a place to share things we’ve made from what we’ve grown. Come join in!

Roasted Green Beans with Lemon, Thyme and Almonds

This is a dish I’ve kind of been obsessed with. I don’t know where I got the idea (a magazine, online?) or what mixture exactly it was (beans and lemon, beans and thyme?) It’s been a fun challenge to think up interesting and tasty ways to use the veggies from the garden. We’ve never been too fancy when it came to cooking up our garden vegetables. They usually taste so good and so fresh that simply steaming them and adding a sprinkle of salt and pat of butter is decadent enough. That isn’t to say the veggies are less tasty this year but rather I’m becoming more adventurous and active in the kitchen. This is my latest concoction. I’ve since made it four or five times. And since the bush beans are getting their second wind and the pole beans are only just beginning, I’m sure I’ll make it more before the season is up.

I will start by saying this is a recipe you can wing and use your judgement when making. I used measurements to give you a general guide but when I make it, I tend to throw it all together.

Roasted Green with Lemon, Thyme and Almonds
(Probably serves about 6 big veggie eaters or 8 side-dish eaters)

1/2 c slivered almonds

olive oil for drizzling in dish
2 lbs fresh green beans
1 medium or large onion (a sweet one like Vidalia is best!)
1 tspn dried thyme leaves (or 1 tbspn fresh*)
2 tbspns (or so) more olive oil for tossing
salt to taste
1 tbspn lemon juice
1 tbspn lemon zest

Start by pre-roasting your slivered almonds separately. You can do this well in advance if you’d like. If your are in a hurry you can simply use plain, unroasted almonds but the toasted taste is so much better. I tried roasting them with the green beans but they didn’t roast as thoroughly as I’d like. Spread out your almonds on a dry cookie sheet and roast at 350 degrees F for about 5 to 8 minutes or until they start to get toasty smelling and brown. You may need to flip them or at least shuffle them around a bit. Oven temps vary so keep an eye on them. Remove from oven and set aside.

Now either preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (if you roasted your almonds in advance) or just up the temp right after roasting them.

Next wash up your green beans and cut off the unedible ends. You can cut them into bite size pieces if you wish. Peel and cut your onion into decent size wedges (I like big chunks, basically cutting the onion in eighths but you might want to do them a little smaller if you like them less crunchy and more done.)

Drizzle a little olive oil in a large baking dish (mine was a 4 quart/10x15x2 glass dish.)

You can toss the next ingredients in a separate bowl but I just do it right in the baking dish to save on wash-up. Spread out your beans and onions in the dish.

Evenly sprinkle the thyme over the beans. Grind or sprinkle salt to taste. Next drizzle a little more olive oil on top. Using a spatula toss the beans by flipping them over and shuffling them around so everything gets a nice coating.

Now roast for about 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and flip/toss the beans with a spatula and roast another 15 minutes.

You may need to roast for another five, ten or even fifteen minutes depending on different factors. Just make sure the green beans are cooked enough to be edible—I like mine to still be little crunchy but I like to roast long enough to get some good browning going on.

Remove from oven. Drizzle your lemon juice (I freeze fresh squeezed lemon in ice cube trays, so that’s why it doesn’t look liquidy in the the ingredients photo above!) and sprinkle you lemon zest and about half or two-thirds of your almonds in the dish and give a few last flips/tosses. Either sprinkle the remaining almonds on top and serve in the baking dish or move everything to a bowl and sprinkle the almonds on top then.

Enjoy.

*I’ve never used fresh in this recipe but I’m using the herb-rule that dried is generally about twice as strong as fresh. I’m sure if you’ve worked with fresh thyme before you would know what to do. (If you want to share in the comments, I’d love to hear.