Cosmopolitan

4 parts Citron Vodka
2 parts Cointreau or Triple Sec
2 parts Cranberry Juice
1 part Lime Fresh Juice

Shake vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry juice vigorously in a shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass, garnish with a lime wedge on the rim, and serve.

zucchini bread

one thing about gardening is the issue of when everything comes at once. i found myself with a lot of broccoli on my hands and a lot of zucchini. so i made a big batch of cream of broccoli soup last night and a big loaf of zucchini bread. i got the recipe off the back of my stonyfield yogurt container. came out very moist and tasty (maybe a bit too cinnamony, i might use a little less next time) i also used a little less sugar, seems i can always reduce the sugar on recipes and find things plenty sweet.

Ingredients

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup oil
2 cup plain or vanilla Stonyfield Farm Yogurt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups grated zucchini
3 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon baking powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°F. Beat eggs until foamy, add sugar, oil, yogurt, cinnamon, zucchini and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add dry ingredients slowly to the yogurt mixture and mix until moist. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Loaves should be golden brown on top.

Yields
2 loaves

oprah's gone vegan

well, for 21 days anyway... she's blogging about it here.

i like her thoughts on "conscious eating"

Wine Woot

http://wine.woot.com/

I know I chatted about this a little. It's an interesting site - one wine for one week. What I love about the site, the descriptions of the wine for example: "Pfft. Some people are strutting around out there like they’re all cool and stuff, because they discovered this hot new winemaker named Ty Caton. Ha! Wine.wooters got hip to the Caton jive way back in January 2007."

Besides the cleverness - the wines really aren't that pricey... course you can't beat Wards. But not all of us have Wards :)

Raita rice

from Cuisine at Home: Cuisine for Two magazine

1/2 cup dry brown rice (i've also used white - they're both good)
1/2 cup cucumber, diced
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup scallions, minced
1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt
salt to taste

Cook rice according to package directions.
Fold cucumber, tomatoes, scallions, yogurt, and salt into rice just before serving. Serve warm.

winter vegetable curry

from Cuisine at Home: Cuisine for Two

"Loosely translated, curry means 'sauce' or 'gravy' which, in east Indian cuisine, is typically served with rice."

What:
1 T. fresh ginger, minced
1 T. garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded, diced (I've never actually included this and it comes out fine)
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 cup onion, chopped
1 Braeburn apple, peeled, grated
1/2 cup golden raisins (i've used regular raisins and the golden ones and the golden ones are better)
2 T. curry powder
1 bay leaf
1/4 t. red pepper flakes

2 cups tomatoes, chopped
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped (again I've it with and without - it's nice but not necessary)
Salt to taste
Whole cashews for garnish if desired

Serve over Raita Rice (recipe to come next post!)

How:
Saute ginger, garlic, jalapeno, cinnamon, and cloves in a large saute pan over medium heat until fragrant, 1 minute. Add onion, apple, raisins, curry , bay leaf, and pepper flakes. Cook until onions soften, 2-3 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and broth, and simmer 4-5 minutes. Add sweet potatoes, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes. Finish with spinach and salt.
Serve over rice; garnish with cashews (optional)

Tidbit of info: "Credit turmeric for giving curry powder its distinctive yellow color. This relative of ginger has been used for centuries in cooking but is also prized for its medicinal properties, especially as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Recent studies have also suggested that turmeric may help protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease."

zucchini flowers

too late last year, i heard that a great delicacy is stuffed zucchini flowers. so i've been waiting this year to get some from the garden and give it a shot. need to find a recipe now.

above: my pickings from the garden yesterday...

Hogtown Homegrown

Just came across this website this weekend that has some interesting info on area farmers markets, "what's fresh", recipes, etc...

http://www.hogtownhomegrown.com/index.html

Tomato Basil Quiche

crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt 2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 tbsp margarine
3 tbsp water

filling:
2 vine ripe tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh basil
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup milk
salt and pepper

For the crust, pour flour, pinch of salt, and garlic into bowl. Rub in margarine with fingertips until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in water and bring the mixture together to form dough (I usually need more than the 3 tbsp of water for the dough). Lightly flour surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough and form dough into quiche pan. Prick dough with a fork. Combine grated cheddar and gorgonzola cheeses, beaten eggs, chopped basil, and milk into bowl. Add sliced tomatoes to mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into pie shell. Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (I cook mine for 30 to 35 minutes).

It's fun to experiment with variations of this quiche. Jarlsberg cheese works nicely with sharp white cheddar and bleu cheese crumbles can be used instead of the gorgonzola. Artichoke hearts or mushrooms can be used in place of the tomato and rosemary instead of the basil.

Feta Cheese Patties

Serves 4:
2 large carrots
1 large zucchini
1 small onion
2 oz/55 g feta cheese
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp medium curry powder
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
salt and peeper

Grate carrots, zucchini, onion, and feta cheese. Combine flour, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, curry powder, and parsley, then season with salt and pepper. Add carrot and zucchini mixture to flour mixture. Then stir in beaten egg. Heat butter and vegetable oil in skillet. Place tablespoonfuls of patty mixture in skillet, flattening them slightly with back of spoon. Cook over low heat for about 2 minutes (it took me longer than two minutes) on each side until crisp and golden brown. Drain over paper towels and keep warm. Serve immediately.

tofu chestnut sausages

so good even tom doesn't miss meat with his breakfast if we have these....

(recipe from Gort Na Nain vegetarian b&b)

400g chestnuts, cooked and mashed*
250g tofu, mashed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 onion grated
1 spoonful fresh sage chopped
1 spoonful fresh thyme chopped
1 teaspoon salt
250g breadcrumbs
125g grated cheese
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp chilli powder
pepper
1 egg beaten

mix all ingredients in a large bowl or food processor. form into
sausage shapes and pan fry (can be cooked from frozen)

*for the chestnuts, i've gotten chestnut puree in a can, but my mom and bruce have made it from scratch.

pecan pie

i made this sat night. recipe adapted from the grit cookbook (i reduced the sugar and it still came out plenty sweet. and i added chocolate)

1 basic pie crust (deep dish)
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cups pecans
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

preheat oven to 375. in a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and corn syrup. beat in eggs and stir in remaining ingredients. pour into crust. place pie on a large cookie sheet. bake around 40 min til golden brown.