Category Archives: kitchen stories

>Fruit chunk muffins

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>I had one peach, a few small tart apples, a small bag of strawberries taking up space in the freezer, so what did I do? I baked muffins, of course.

My go-to cookbook for muffins (The Good Home Cookbook) didn’t have an apple-peach-strawberry combination, so I combined two recipes, of course.

Fruit Chunk Muffins by Daisy
based on two muffin recipes by R. Perry in the above-named cookbook

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 large eggs

1/2 cup oil (I used 1/4 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup oil)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups diced fruit, preferably fresh or frozen
Optional: 1/2 cup chopped almonds (I was out of almonds that day)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin tin.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and spices in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat together the eggs, oil (& applesauce), and vanilla & almond extracts in a small bowl. Pour into flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Fold in the fruit pieces.

4. Fill the muffin cups three-quarters full with batter.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pan, and cool briefly on wire racks. Serve warm or cooled – or with coffee, of course.

Tip: to peel the peach, I used the hot water- cold water trick. Immerse peach in hot water for 30 seconds, then move it to the cold water for 30 seconds. The skin will peel off easily without taking much fruit with it.

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>Zucchini Cookies – yes, cookies

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What do you get when you cross a (few) zucchini squash with a chocolate chip cookie?
The zucchini are plentiful in the garden; Chuck brought home the cookie from work. Together, they provided inspiration for yet another fun day in the kitchen.


This recipe is posted on the website for the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a creative and delicious way to use some of the grated zucchini from a bumper crop.

ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(Makes about two dozen)
1 egg, beaten
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Combine in large bowl.

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips

Stir these into other ingredients; mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.

Thanks to Barbara and Camille Kingsolver, creators of this delicious recipe and more. The day after I baked these cookies, I made their Disappearing Zucchini Orzo with multi-colored orzo I brought home from our vacation in Seattle. It was delicious!
If you’re wondering, that’s my Where’s Waldo coffee mug sneaking into the picture.

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>Grilling vegetables and mysteries solved

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>I picked up this tool at a grill specialty store. It’s a grill “basket” for vegetables. It has slots in the base to let the air (heat) circulate; the veggies cover those in this picture. We drizzled olive oil and a little garlic in the bottom, then sliced the vegetables thin and placed them in the basket. I had zucchini squash, three kinds of bell peppers, onions, and red potatoes. Anything else? The basket was really too full, but somehow, it worked. The herbs on top (oregano, thyme, basil) gave the veggies just enough spice to complement the smoky flavor.

On the side — or the main dish, if you’re a carnivorous type — were beef kabobs. The meal was pretty good. I wish I’d put the vegetables on the grill a little earlier so they could cook longer; they were a little underdone. Maybe if I’d had a lighter layer in the basket they would have cooked through a little better.

The leftovers (there were a lot of leftovers!) became a soup a few days later. Diced up small, tucked into a beef broth in the crockpot for several hours, a few ingredients added for fun (and to empty the vegetable tray), and we had a second meal from the same starters.

Remember the climbing plant? The one I couldn’t identify? The vine I thought resembled beans? It is, indeed, a morning glory. Or two, or three. The wild neighborhood rabbits have not nibbled.

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>Raspberry Muffins

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>Did you freeze raspberries and blueberries when they were in season? I did. I made these recently, and I hope I’ll make them again when snow is on the ground and I can pull a bucket of fresh-frozen berries out of the freezer. If your farmers’ market still has fresh raspberries, pick up a pint and make these.

Raspberry Muffins
from the Good Home Cookbook, my go-to book for standards and fun cooking facts

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
2 cups (1 pint) fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup muffin pan or line the pan with paper baking cups.
2. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat together the eggs, buttermilk, and butter in a small bowl. Stir into the flour mixture and mix just until moistened. Fold in the berries.
4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
6. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool briefly on wire racks. Serve warm or cooled.

In my kitchen? I serve warm with a side of fresh coffee.

Tips:
drain raspberries as much as possible or the muffins will have a reddish color. Not that there’s anything wrong with that….
I like to substitute half wheat flour for the white, using a total of 1 cup each.

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>Ten Places to Hide Zucchini

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>Two years ago I posted Ten Ways to Leave your Zucchini.
Last year the garden hardly produced any zucchini at all.

This year, we again have a bumper crop. Since you can simply click to find 10 Ways to Leave (and you don’t have to slip out the back, Jack), I’ll take another angle this time.

Beyond the Muffins: Ten Places to Hide Zucchini

1. Spaghetti sauce; the chunkier the better
2. Soup
3. Salads
4. Meatballs or Meatloaf
5. Lasagna
6. Scrambled eggs or omelets
7. Noddles/ Rice/ Orzo
8. Tacos, burritos, or quesadillas
9. Fruit cobbler or crisp
10. Cookies!! Yes, honestly, cookies.

Okay, readers, the challenge is now yours: can you come up with another 10 ways to incorporate zucchini into foodstuffs, visible or not? Leave another suggestion in the comments!

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>Chocolate Zucchini Bread

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>The short version: we have a lot of zucchini (six big ones in the kitchen as I type, and more growing!), so I baked this.

The long version: Long ago, in a city north of here, when my children were young, I worked in a child care center. Several of my coworkers were named Michelle. One of the Michelles gave me a recipe for chocolate zucchini bread.

When I pulled it out of the recipe box, the card was suitably stained with drops of chocolate and greasy fingerprints, so I knew I’d remembered a good one. To reinforce that claim, I noticed (I hear you laughing, you’re way ahead of me) several changes penciled in! Here’s the newer version.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
makes 2 loaves

Beat together:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
3 eggs or 3/4 cup egg substitute
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup milk

Sift and add:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes.

Now, I ask you, dear readers: if I added 1 Tablespoon each wheat germ and flax seed, can I tell Chuck (formerly known as Husband) that this is a healthy snack?

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>Apple Butter in the Crockpot

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>Apple season is on the way! I found the original version of this recipe on Crockpot365 last year. As usual (you know me) I made a few small changes. Important tip: adjust sugar based on tartness of the apples. Sounds obvious, right? Well, maybe. I bought some early Dutch apples, and they were very tart, so I used the full amount of sugar.

It’s a two part process. I chose to do both in one day; when school starts, it’ll be a two day deal. Here goes!

part I:

Ingredients

Apples, 12-14 medium or 10-12 large (fill crockpot about 3/4 full)
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Directions

Peel, core, and quarter apples. The option exists to take out the peels later, after cooking, but I had a hard time doing that because the finished product was so thick.
Place apples and vanilla in crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until apples are very soft.

After cooking, mash apples with fork or potato masher.

Part II:

Ingredients
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 Tablespoon molasses (optional)
Directions

Cover again and cook on low for 4-6 hours. If you like your apple butter smooth (I do), blend with an immersion blender.

This was very thick and flavorful. Serve on bread, graham crackers, or in place of the jelly on a PBJ. More ideas? Add comments, please! I’d love to hear them.

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>Rambling on about the garden goodies and the locavore life

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>I credit my increasing foodie awareness to reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. As I’m planning supper and adding to the grocery list, I’m also thinking, “What do I already have in the house? What can I buy nearby or locally to enhance it?”

My beans are coming along slowly, a handful at a time. I’m not getting enough to cook as a side dish or freeze for later, so I’m just adding a few to each soup or stew I put together. Last night was one of those nights. The minestrone soup started with a little leftover stew diced up smaller, grew with the addition of a single serving of beef vegetable soup that was in the refrigerator. A can of tomatoes (mine aren’t ripe yet), a can of garbanzo beans, a handful of garden beans and the last few garden peas, diced peppers, onion, and the usual herbs – oregano, thyme, and basil made it complete. I brought it to a boil and then let it simmer until the fresh veggies were done, and it was ready to serve. It would have been a better local meal without the cans, but there are limits.

Then came the zucchini project. Four squash sitting on the cutting board just waiting to be of service, ready to be prepped for – well, for something. I peeled them, sliced them to fit in the food processor, then shredded all four. After I decided to bake chocolate zucchini bread (recipe will be posted soon!), I froze the rest. P.S. I snuck a little grated zucchini into the meatloaf, too.

Rhubarb! A few years ago I read that rhubarb was little or no good after July 4th. That summer I frantically harvested all the red rhubarb right after Independence Day, diced it, froze it. Then it kept growing. Yes, friends, the rhubarb came right back up and continued to thrive in its sunny spot next to the garage. I kept harvesting and baking it all the way into apple season. Apple rhubarb crisp tastes fabulous when both are fresh!

These days, I don’t fuss about getting the rhubarb in by July. I do pick it when the plants start getting outrageously large. I have a batch on the counter right now; I’ll dice it in the food processor, then bake something and freeze the rest, just like the zucchini.

Later in the year, maybe even when the snow falls, I’ll be able to bake zucchini bread and rhubarb muffins (whole wheat, of course) and have a taste of summer. All of this tasty pleasure happens because I’ve taken advantage of the locavore philosophy, incorporating more and more of my backyard garden and the local farmers’ market goods into my family’s diets.

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>Gumbo or Jambalaya?

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>For the crockpot

I found the original recipe for Gumbo in the July issues of the Braille Monitor. La Petite and I discussed gumbo vs. jambalaya and mainly came up with consistency as the answer. Gumbo is more like a soup, while jambalaya is a stew. New Orleans folks, is that correct? We can grill bratwurst with the best of them, but up here in Wisconsin, our knowledge of New Orleans style cooking is spotty at best.

Ingredients:
1 small yellow onion
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
Any other peppers available? Chop them up and add them, too!
½ cup celery, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped green onions (scallions)
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (for browning chicken)
14 oz. chicken, shredded or cubed (cook’s preference)
8 cups chicken stock
Creole seasoning
1 pound Andouille sausage, New Orleans style
1 pound shrimp, precooked

Add onion, peppers, celery, and spices to pot. Set aside parsley and green onions to add later. Pour chicken stock over vegetables & spices.
Brown chicken. Season with Creole Seasoning. Dice or shred as desired and add chicken to pot.
Precook shrimp, removing tails and skins. Do not overcook! Add to pot.
Slice and add sausage to pot (or save until later if precooked – again, cook’s choice).
Season to taste; add 2 Tablespoons Creole Seasoning if desired. My family liked it!

Cook 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 on low heat.
About an hour before serving, add parsley, green onion, (and sausage).
Serve with rice.

My family’s verdict? Good stuff, mom. Even the spiciness was acceptable!

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>Creative marketing and signage

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>There’s more than fish at Pike Place Market in Seattle! There is coffee, of course. I sampled my share of the refreshing beverages. And as we wandered the booths of produce, I kept saying, “Honey, can we move here? I want to live here.” Husband (a.k.a. Chuck) was kind as he reminded me that no, we had to go home.

But meanwhile, behind the big sign….

We shopped for cheese and we found this tip jar.

This sign not only announced what they were selling (fresh herbs), but gave a Rhyme Time reasoning to buy!


If you want to buy an avocado, though, be gentle.

And as for the beans, don’t touch — or even consider it!
At least they said “Thanks.”

This offer may seem extreme, but they were handing out sample slices. The fresh and juicy peaches really did make people shout out in praise.

Sometimes, the hanging bundles need no written description. They sold themselves.

If I can’t move there, can we go back? Soon? I’m free tomorrow….

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