Category Archives: VEGETABLE SIDE DISH RECIPES

ROASTED CARROTS WITH A HONEY BOURBON GLAZE

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I don’t like cooked carrots. Never have. Yet I cook with carrots all the time when I make the likes of soup, stew, or pot roast and thoroughly enjoy the experience. I just don’t like cooked carrots when they are simply steamed and served on the naked side. (You know, with just a thin covering of butter, salt, and pepper.)

But yesterday, I needed a simple veggie dish that had some color. And if for no other reason than the color itself, carrots are a Godsend when it comes to presentation. Of course, the fact that they also happen to be good for us and dirt (organic dirt of course) cheap doesn’t hurt!

What I wasn’t prepared for yesterday when I tasted one of these babies was my own culinary reaction. I liked them! What? How could this be? Well first of all, they were oven roasted. And what veggie doesn’t profit from being slathered in olive oil and baked in an oven at a high temperature? The outside caramelizes and the inside becomes tender and sweet. Then to take the lowly roasted Daucus carota and introduce it to a glaze made with butter, honey, and bourbon – well simple words do not do justice to the end result.

All I can say is, if you are already a carrot lover, good for you and enjoy the recipe. If however, cooked carrots have never rocked your universe, do yourself a favor and give this recipe a try. Roasted carrots will never replace Mocha Chocolate Cake (my next recipe to be posted) as the sweetest treat around, but I can promise you that these carrots have about as much in common with a steamed carrot as Spam has with Black Forrest ham!

  • 2 lbs. baby carrots (cut larger pieces in half lengthwise) or 2 lbs. peeled carrots cut about ½ inch thick on the diagonal
  • 2-3 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 T. unsalted butter
  • 2 T. bourbon
  • 2 T. honey
  • 1 T. water
  • 1 T. minced fresh parsley, garnish, opt.

Place carrots in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well to coat. Place in a single layer on a foil lined baking pan and bake in a pre-heated 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the carrots are crisp tender. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat, and stir in the bourbon, honey, and water. Return to heat, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for about 5 minutes or until mixture is syrupy. After carrots have baked for 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, and pour the honey syrup over all. Toss gently to coat. Return to oven and bake for an additional 7-10 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove from oven, taste one, and add a sprinkle of kosher salt (if necessary) and the minced parsley for pretty. Serve hot or at room temperature.

 

 

 

 

COLLARD GREENS WITH SMOKED PORK HOCK

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So I know you are asking yourself, what someone who was not born in the true South could possibly know about cooking collard greens. Well, I must admit that I knew next to nothing about the cuisine of the South until I started doing some serious study on the subject. And over the years I have learned a lot. And I must say, if there is anything finer than White Cheddar Cheese Grits (thank you Eden), Shrimp Gumbo or my new recipe for Collard Greens with Smoked Pork Hock, then I do declare, someone step up to the line (the Mason Dixon line of course) and show me the error in my thinking! Until then, I’m tellin’ you true. You can unassailably bet your best corn bread recipe on the fact that I am going to continue researching and publishing recipes that fit the category “all food Southern”. Because all you all, Southern food is the bomb!

So next time you want to fix a big old pot of “good for you” and “really tasty”, get yourself to your local market and buy yourself some collard greens. I am positive you, your family, and your friends are going to thoroughly enjoy this quintessential Southern dish.

  • 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 med. onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 2 c. chicken broth
  • 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper (not too much)
  • 1 smoked pork hock (I prefer to use Sunny Valley Smoked Pork Hocks obtained in our area at Haggen’s Market)
  • 2-3 bunches collard greens (depending on the size of the bunches)
  • pinch of sugar, if required
  • hot sauce on the side, opt.

In a large covered pot, add the olive oil and the chopped onions; sauté until tender. Add the garlic and continue cooking for a minute or until the garlic releases its aroma. Add the chicken broth, red pepper flakes, pepper, and pork hock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for about 45-60 minutes. (The simmer time helps the broth take on the delicious, smoky flavor of the meat!)

Meanwhile, remove the center stems of the collard greens by holding the leaf in one hand and stripping the leaf down with your other hand. (Tender young leaves don’t need to be stripped.) Stack 6 to 8 leaves on top of one another, roll up, and slice into ½-inch thick slices. Then cut those slices in half. Wash the collard greens thoroughly, drain and set aside.

When the broth has finished simmering for about an hour, add the cleaned and sliced collard greens. Cover the pan and cook on med-low heat until the leaves are tender, about an hour and 45 minutes. Stir once or twice during the cooking process. (You basically want to slowly cook the greens in the flavorful broth. They will wilt down as they cook.) After about an hour and 15 minutes, remove the pork hock from the pan and allow it to cool to the point where you can remove the meat from the bones, fatty and connective tissue without burning your fingers. Chop or shred the meat into bite sized pieces and add back to the pot. When the greens are tender, adjust the seasoning (including a pinch of sugar if the greens are particularly bitter) and serve piping hot.

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Note: I like to serve the collard greens in individual little bowls so everyone gets their share of the greens and the amazing liquid. I then pass around chunks of nice crusty bread or the more traditional corn bread to mop up the potlikker. The savory broth (or “potlikker” as we from the south like to call it) is an important part of the whole quintessential “collard” experience.

And OK, for those of you who know me, you know that my “south” is really the southern part of Bellevue, Washington where I lived for most of my adult years. That qualifies as “south”, doesn’t it?

Additional Note: Smoked turkey legs or wings can be used in place of the pork hock, but they are terribly hard to find.

For more Southern recipes, please look under the category “Southern Cuisine” on this site.

 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS IN A BACON AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR GLAZE

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I have to admit, Brussels sprouts have never been Mr. Cs favorite veggie, in fact, quite the opposite. But there is one sure way I know of to dress up an otherwise healthy and unpalatable vegetable (Mr. Cs description), and that my dear friends is by adding bacon. Bacon is the universal food group that makes just about anything taste better. (I call it a food group, because in my opinion it deserves its own place in the food spectrum!)

So when I stumbled on this recipe from Paula Deen, I just had to give it a try. Well, boy howdy, what a little bacon, balsamic vinegar, and a few other ingredients can do for the lowly Brussels sprout is nothing less than magical. (We actually had Brussels sprouts at our good friends Ken and Christine’s place on Thanksgiving which prompted me to go on line in search of Brussels sprout recipes that I thought Mr. C would appreciate). Thanks dear friends for the push in the right direction.

So if you too are a little apprehensive about presenting your family and friends with lovely little Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera, give this recipe a try. I’m telling you, it has made a believer out of both Mr. C. and me. Thank you Paula Deen!

  • 5 slices lean thick sliced bacon, chopped
  • 1½ lb. Brussels sprouts, quartered
  • 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ c. balsamic vinegar
  • 1 T. firmly-packed brown sugar
  • ½ tsp. Dijon mustard

Cook the bacon until crisp in a large skillet. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Keep the bacon fat. Meanwhile, combine the Brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Place on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven until tender, about 20 minutes.

While the Brussels sprouts are baking, add the vinegar, brown sugar, and mustard to the reserved bacon drippings in the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is reduced by about a half, about 6 minutes. When the Brussels sprouts come out of the oven, add them to the vinegar mixture. Toss gently to coat. Add the reserved bacon. Serve immediately.

 

DRIED CORN CASSEROLE

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This recipe comes from my maternal grandmother. It was always one of the “sacred side dishes” served for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner when I was growing up. And as a young adult starting my own traditions, I always served this dish or carried it with me if I was not the hostess. For one thing, the taste is completely unique. (I like that!) And truly, what’s not to like when you glance at the ingredients? And you’re right. My grandmother didn’t use Italian bread crumbs. But you know that most of the time I simply can’t leave a recipe alone, even if said recipe is a hand down from my own grandmother! (Doesn’t speak too highly of my character, now does it?) Anyway, character flaws aside, please trust me when I say that this corn dish is really, really tasty.

Drying the corn imparts a rich, nutty flavor to the corn. In essence, this casserole is a corn pudding. Easy to prepare and serve. Over the years I have made a couple of changes that I feel even make the casserole more appealing. I prepare the dish and then set it aside for a couple of hours to allow the corn to reconstitute a bit. This results in a more tender corn kernel and an overall softer finished product. I also don’t add extra salt to the dish. There is plenty enough salt in the bread crumbs and of course in the cheese.

Although the prep time on this dish is low, it’s best to dry the corn well ahead of when you will actually need it. Then all that’s left is a little cheese grating action and your casserole is assembled in no time flat. Set it aside, then bake it off, and you have yourself a delicious and totally different take on corn pudding. Thank you grandma Kléber for this recipe and for all the love you gave me as a child. (And yes, I know grandma can hear me even as I think about what I’m going to write. She almost always knew what thoughts were percolating in my brain before I did! Why should it be any different now just because she’s in heaven?)

  • dried corn (see drying instructions below)
  • ½ c. dried bread crumbs (I use Italian dried bread crumbs)
  • 2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • roughly 3½ c. milk (your choice)
  • dried parsley
  • 1 T. butter

Lightly butter a 2-3 quart covered casserole dish. Pour half the dried corn in bottom of dish. Cover with half the bread crumbs and half the cheese. Layer remaining corn, bread crumbs, and cheese in same order. Pour in enough milk to cover all the contents. Sprinkle lightly with parsley and dot with butter.

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Cover and allow to sit for about 2 hours before baking in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Dried corn:

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Place 2 lbs. frozen corn kernels on 1 large or 2 small baking sheets (the kind with a rim) in a single layer. Dry the corn by baking it in the oven on the lowest temperature setting until there is no moisture left in the kernels. Turn occasionally. (It could take as many as 16 hours to dry out the corn completely.) When dry, the corn kernels should resemble grape nuts. (Different color, but you get the picture.) Store the dried corn in an airtight container. No need to refrigerate or freeze.

BRAISED GREENS

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You know how some things are just meant to be; well this recipe from Sunday’s Pacific NW section of the Times was right there when I needed it. I had just gotten back from the grocery store with a big old plastic container of “Super Greens” and no real inspiration for how I was going to use them. When low and behold, I opened the NW section and there was the perfect answer to my dilemma. And when I say perfect, I mean perfect!

Now you need to know that Mr. C and I both love us our greens. But sometimes fixing greens can take time. Not this recipe. It’s almost ready to serve before it’s started! The only change we both agreed would be wonderful was the addition of a few toasted pine nuts. Some might consider pine nuts gilding the lily, but we are both willing to give it a try anyway. (Actually, adding the pine nuts was Mr. Cs idea. He may not know how to cook, but he sure knows how to eat!)

So thank you Vios Café for sharing this wonderful and easy recipe. I can’t think of any other veggie dish that is as delicious and good for us as this lovely way to fix a variety of greens. This recipe is now number one on the Chez Carr cavalcade of edible hits. So give it a try. You will be amazed just how good a few leaves can taste. Michael Pollan* would be so proud!

  • 2 T. + a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 10-12 oz. roughly chopped braising greens (red or green chard, mustard greens, tat soi (Spinach mustard), lacinato kale, arugula, spinach, etc.)
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • 2 T. cold water
  • fresh lemon juice, to taste
  • a few toasted pine nuts, opt.

Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to medium in a large covered fry pan. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and sauté for 30 seconds just to infuse the oil with flavor and soften the garlic. Add the greens and sauté until they begin to wilt, about 2 minutes. Season lightly with salt, add the water, stir to mix and cover tightly. Cook until the leaves are tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook until all liquid evaporated. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Serve with a few pine nuts sprinkled on top. Serves 2 (barely)

(And yes, the pan in the picture was full when I started. But as we all know, greens shrink when they are cooked.)

*Mr. Pollan is the author of “In Defense of Food” and a great proponent of eating as many leaves as possible.

 

HONEY AND SOY SAUCE GLAZED GREEN BEANS

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Getting your family to eat green vegetables can sometimes be difficult. But when you take a simple fresh green bean and dress it up with soy sauce and honey, well some kind of miracle occurs. Even the most veggie phobic member of your family will suddenly turn into an addict when presented with these babies. The sauce simply turns the beans from ho-hum to amazingly delicious.

You will notice that my adaptation of the original recipe from Fine Cooking.com calls for raw local honey. Of course you can use the stuff that comes in the plastic bear, but I would strongly advise against it. Almost every farmer’s market or fruit stand featuring local produce carries at least one local raw honey. If not, I bet you can find local honey if you do an on line search. Believe me, the taste and health benefits are worth the effort. For example, if you are lucky enough to live in the Camano Island/Stanwood area, Cats Paw honey is fabulous. For more information visit www.catspawbees.com

Now granted, some of the health benefits of raw honey are destroyed when you apply heat as in this recipe. But the flavor remains and that’s important too. So anytime any of my recipes call for honey, I use the real thing.

For more information than you ever wanted to know about honey, I have enclosed some words of wisdom regarding raw local honey below. (Not my words of course, but a couple of experts on the subject.) You don’t have to read the information, but what the heck, why not? You might just learn something that could help you or someone you love. No pressure intended.

  • 1 T. low-sodium soy sauce (I use organic reduced sodium Tamari)
  • 1 T. raw local honey*
  • 1 T. water
  • 1 T. unsalted butter
  • 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into desired lengths
  • ¼ tsp. kosher salt
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

Whisk the soy sauce, honey, and water together in a small dish. Set aside. Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium sized sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the green beans and salt and toss with tongs to coat well. Sauté the beans, turning often, until most are well browned, shrunken, and tender, 8 to 10 minutes. (The butter will turn dark brown during this process.)

Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic, and cook, stirring constantly for about 20 seconds. Carefully add the reserved soy mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid reduces to a glazy consistency that coats the beans, 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the beans to a serving dish, scraping the pan with a spatula to get all of the wonderful garlicky sauce. Let sit for a few minutes and then serve warm. This dish can be served as a vegetarian main dish with rice or as a side vegetable.

*Raw Local Honey Information and Health Benefits:

According to the web site www.honeytraveler.com “raw honey is honey that is unheated and minimally processed. It is pure honey where nothing has been added or removed. To be raw, honey should not be heated above temperatures one would normal find in a hive (approximately 95 degrees F). Additionally it should not be ultra-finely filtered to the point of removing pollen and organic materials that are an intrinsic constituent of honey.

Unheated, “raw” honey contains all the vital ingredients that give it its healthful properties and wonderful aroma. Most commercial honey you see in supermarkets is not raw honey. This mass produced honey is often heated to temperatures far above the normal temperatures of the bee hive. Heating past the maximum hive temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit changes honey’s essential composition and degrades its quality. It partially destroys honey’s beneficial enzymes and ‘boils off’ volatile compounds that account for the unique, delicate floral aroma of the honey. This is done to make it easier to extract from the honey comb, to filter it, to package it, to ‘pasteurize’ it to kill benign yeast and prevent fermentation and to delay crystallization.

Micro-filtering also degrades the healthful properties of honey by removing beneficial pollen residue. Much commercial honey is micro-filtered, often using a diatomaceous earth (DE) process to eliminate even micron-sized particles. Why go to these lengths when a relatively coarse strain would result in a clear, visually beautiful product and not remove healthful pollen? The reason is to slow down the naturally occurring crystallization of honey. Tiny particles act as ‘seeds’ for the crystallization process, by removing them with micro-filtering, crystallization is delayed.

But crystallization is not a problem to be solved. Almost all honeys crystallize after time. It is actually a good sign the honey is raw. To re-liquify, simply heat the honey jar in warm water (104 F, 40 C) until it returns to the liquid state, stir occasionally to transfer heat, and replace the hot water if needed.”

And, according to the health.howstuffworks.com web site, “The idea behind eating honey is kind of like gradually vaccinating the body against allergens, a process called immunotherapy. Honey contains a variety of the same pollen spores that give allergy sufferers so much trouble when flowers and grasses are in bloom. Introducing these spores into the body in small amounts by eating honey should make the body accustomed to their presence and decrease the chance an immune system response like the release of histamine will occur [source: AAFP]. Since the concentration of pollen spores found in honey is low — compared to, say, sniffing a flower directly — then the production of antibodies shouldn’t trigger symptoms similar to an allergic reaction. Ideally, the honey-eater won’t have any reaction at all.

As innocuous as honey seems, it can actually pose health risks in some cases. Honey proponents warn that there is a potential for an allergic reaction to it. And since honey can contain bacteria that can cause infant botulism, health officials warn that children under 12 months of age whose immune systems haven’t fully developed shouldn’t eat honey at all [source: Mayo Clinic].

If a regimen is undertaken, however, local honey is generally accepted as the best variety to use. Local honey is produced by bees usually within a few miles of where the person eating the honey lives. There’s no real rule of thumb on how local the honey has to be, but proponents suggest the closer, the better [source: Ogren]. This proximity increases the chances that the varieties of flowering plants and grasses giving the allergy sufferer trouble are the same kinds the bees are including in the honey they produce. After all, it wouldn’t help much if you ate honey with spores from a type of grass that grows in Michigan if you suffer from allergies in Georgia.

At least one informal (unfunded) study on allergies and honey conducted by students at Xavier University in New Orleans produced positive results. Researchers divided participants into three groups: seasonal allergy sufferers, year-round allergy sufferers and non-allergy sufferers. These groups were further divided into three subgroups with some people taking two teaspoons of local honey per day, others taking the same amount of non-local honey each day and the final subgroup not taking honey at all. The Xavier students found that after six weeks, allergy sufferers from both categories suffered fewer symptoms and that the group taking local honey reported the most improvement [source: Cochran].

The study was never published, but the anecdotal evidence in favor of honey as an allergy reliever continues: Several of the study participants asked if they could keep the remaining honey after the experiment was concluded.”

And if you want to know why I haven’t been posting as many new recipes lately – well – Powell River, Sunshine Coast BC. Rough Life!

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FRENCH MASHED POTATOES WITH GRUYÈRE AND MOZZARELLA CHEESE (ALIGOT)

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So, who among us doesn’t adore mashed potatoes? I personally don’t know one person who doesn’t love them. After all, what’s not to love? They are creamy and full of butter, and well, need I say more? (It’s the butter that gets you every time!)

But this amazing preparation for a simple Solanum tuberosum (Yukon Gold potato) is just over the top delicious. It simply takes the whole “mashed potatoes” as everyone’s favorite side dish to a whole new level of decadence.

Now granted, these mashed potatoes would not be good with turkey gravy. Or any gravy, for that matter. And the consistency is very different from most mashed potatoes because of the addition of cheese. But wait till you wrap your lips around these potatoes. If you aren’t moaning with pleasure, you may not still be alive!

Speaking of which, I’m going to tell you a story about a woman and her favorite toast (as in cheers, cin-cin, salute) that I recently read in her obituary. (And yes I do read the obituaries every day just to make sure I haven’t inadvertently passed over without my knowledge.)

This supposedly old Irish toast was provided at the bottom of a long testimony to how much the woman had loved life. And of course, to how much she was going to be missed by everyone who knew her. And if this toast is any indication of how this fun and obviously classy lady had lived her life, the entire world should be mourning her loss! And apparently she only started offering up this toast after she turned ninety. But then, by the time you reach 90, everyone pretty much lets you say or do whatever you darn well please anyway. (Like the age thing ever stopped any of my friends from doing or saying anything they darn well pleased!)

But on to the toast that I too plan to use when I am with good friends and about to partake of a lovely little drinky poo. (And no, I’m not going to wait until I’m 90 to offer up these sage words when I lift a glass. Life is simply too short for that much restraint!)

Here’s to those who love us!

And for those who don’t love us,

May God turn their hearts.

And if He cannot turn their hearts,

May He turn their ankles,

So we may know them by their limping!

  • 2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes (about 4-6), peeled and diced into ½-1inch chunks
  • 3 T. unsalted butter
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, grated
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • about 1 c. whole milk, warmed
  • 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
  • 4 oz. Gruyère cheese, grated

Cover the potatoes with cold water in a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil, salt the water, reduce heat and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Add the butter, grated garlic, salt, pepper and ½ cup of the warm milk to the potatoes. Beat away until the potatoes are creamy and smooth with either a hand mixture or potato masher. Add additional milk as needed. Return the pot to the stove and turn the burner on low. Mix in the cheeses until completely melted and incorporated, stirring frequently. Adjust seasonings. Serve immediately or cover the pot and hold in a warm oven.

 

QUICK ZUCCHINI STIR-FRY WITH SLIVERED ALMONDS

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As promised, here is another recipe featuring zucchini. This is so simple and so delicious that it really should be illegal, at least in culinary circles where ease of preparation is forbidden. But in my kitchen, it’s all about flavor and nutrition, and if it happens to be a recipe that takes mere minutes to prepare – all the better! There isn’t even much chopping in this recipe. You do have to grate the cheese, because I know none of you use pre-processed cheese, right? But how long does it take to grate a quarter cup of cheese anyway? Not very darn long, my friends, not very darn long. So truly, this dish can be prepared in less than 15 minutes. (Eat your heart out Rachael Ray!)

So give this amazing recipe a try. It is absolutely one of the best ways I know to use up your dear neighbors zucchinis. And even if you don’t have a generous neighbor or you are the one who is passing out zucchinis to every victim person you corner, zucchini is readily available 365 days a year at your local grocery store. And when you consider that the ingredients are all rather good for you too, what’s not to love about this dish? I serve it year round. And yes, you got extra zucchinis, bring em on! I’m not afraid of a zucchini even if it’s a foot and a half long!

  • 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 small zucchini, cut into ½-inch squares (or a combination of zucchini and yellow or Pattypan squash)
  • 2-3 T. slivered almonds
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ c. grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, add the zucchini to the pan. Cook just until it begins to glisten. (You don’t really want to cook the zucchini. You only want the squash to be heated through.) Stir in the almonds and sauté for another minute or so. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

 

EGGPLANT, ZUCCHINI, AND TOMATO CASSEROLE (RATATOUILLE) – PROVENÇAL STYLE

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Since this is the time of year when zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes are in every farmer’s market or home garden in America, I decided to post an absolutely delicious way to serve these delightful vegetables. (And I know what you are thinking. Not another zucchini recipe. But if I may speak frankly, this is not just another zucchini recipe. This is a killer way to use zucchini if I say so myself!)

This dish came about because I started re-reading (for the third time, I think) Peter Mayle’s wonderful tale about the joys of living in Provence entitled “A Year in Provence”. For a foodie like myself, half the reading pleasure in this book is in the telling of the food they eat. So that got me researching recipes from the south of France. When I saw a variation of this dish using zucchini (I had 2 large zucchini in my refrigerator) and tomatoes (I had lots of cherry tomatoes from our garden), I decided I just had to work up a recipe that incorporated these two ingredients. And this recipe is the result.

This dish can be served as a meatless main course or as a side dish that compliments just about any meat you feel like serving. And it is easy to prepare. It takes a little time to cut up the veggies, but once you have the knife work done, the assembly goes rather quickly. I served it last evening with just a salad and it made for a perfect meal.

So if you too are looking for a way to say yes to your neighbor who keeps offering you zucchini, or if you yourself have zucchini threatening to take over your yard, give this recipe a try. Believe it or not, your love for this ever so easy to grow and abundant veggie will be restored with just one bite! In fact, you may never again have to turn down a free zucchini when a neighbor makes you an offer. And won’t that feel good. It’s the neighborly thing to do after all.

  • 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp. dried marjoram
  • ½ c. dry white wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
  • kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lb. zucchini or yellow summer squash, sliced lengthwise ¼-inch thick (combination is nice)
  • 1 medium sized eggplant, partially peeled and sliced lengthwise ¼-inch thick
  • 1 basket of cherry tomatoes, halved or 2 large beefsteak tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick
  • 2 T. chopped parsley
  • 3/4 c. finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese (combination is wonderful)

Heat the oil in a skillet to medium-high. Add the onion and sauté until transparent. Stir in the garlic and marjoram and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook until the liquid evaporates. Season with salt and pepper; remove from the heat.

Oil a 9-by-13-inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Arrange half of the zucchini on the bottom of the dish (single layer if possible but a little overlap is fine), drizzle with oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Scatter half of the onion mixture on top, followed by half of the eggplant. Drizzle the eggplant with oil, season lightly with salt and pepper and sprinkle with half of the parsley. Arrange half of the tomatoes cut side down over the zucchini. Repeat the layering finishing with a drizzle of oil and a light seasoning of salt and pepper.

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Bake the vegetables uncovered in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 70-75 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until the edges are browned, the vegetables are very tender, and the cheese is melting and starting to brown, about 10 minutes more. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

FRIED MARINATED TOFU WITH GREEN ONIONS AND SESAME SEEDS

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So I know what you are thinking. Where in the world has Patti been that she hasn’t written a post in almost a month? First of all – sorry about that, but Mr. C. and I have been on the road with our ginormous 19 foot trailer taking in the sites and visiting family from here to Colorado and back. Touring with a trailer is a lovely way to experience our country and believe me, our country is worth seeing. For example, staying in a fairly primitive campground at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado, with snow still on the ground and deer grazing around the trailer is a fantastic experience. Never heard of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park? Well neither had we until I discovered it on line while I was planning our itinerary. Now I can hardly wait to return. Just for grins, visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm. I’m sure you will instantly become as fascinated with this amazing and little known area of Colorado as we were.

And speaking of amazing areas that are not as well known as say Yellowstone and coincidentally not as far away, Steens Mountain and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in SE Oregon are tops on our list of places to be visited with regularity. But enough with the travel guide prose. Let’s get on with the dish of the day.

This marinated tofu dish is absolutely delicious and ever so “in”. With all the press about eating organic, sustainable, local, slow, vegan, vegetarian, etc. etc., this dish comes as close to “realistic” healthy food as I can muster. And I do try to cook healthy, really I do. So give this fried tofu recipe a try. Mr. C tells me for him this tofu dish is analogous with “crack” (crack-cocaine), not that he has ever tried crack you understand, but you get the gist. He LOVES it.

  • ¼ c. soy sauce
  • ¼ c. rice wine vinegar
  • 1 T. chili-garlic sauce or Sambal Oelek and 1 small clove finely minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • pinch kosher salt
  • 1 lb. firm tofu
  • 3 T. corn or peanut oil
  • ¼ c. cornstarch or more + 1 tsp., divided
  • ¼ c. thinly sliced green onions
  • 1 tsp. sesame seeds

Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, sesame oil, and salt in a small container. Remove the tofu from the container and press gently between several sheets of paper towel to remove some of the liquid. Cut into 12 same size pieces and add to the marinade. Let tofu marinate for about 2 hours. When ready to fry add oil to medium sized frying pan and hot over medium high heat. When oil is hot, take each piece of tofu out of the marinade (reserving marinade), blot on a paper towel, dip in the ¼ cup cornstarch (or more as needed) and place in hot oil.  Fry the pieces until they are crispy brown on both sides.

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Meanwhile pour the remaining marinade and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into a small pan. Whisking the entire time, bring the mixture to a boil and stir until thickened. Remove from heat.

When tofu is crisp and golden brown, remove to a serving plate. Pour sauce over the tofu and sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Please note: Play around with the sauce. If you are a ginger lover, add some ginger. I know I am going to the next time I make this dish.