Zucchini love

I must confess that I don't actually love zucchini. I just love cooking with it. With broccoli at something crazy a pound (for organic) I've been looking for cheaper ways to put green things in the diet. So I've started cooking with zucchini. I slice it for veggie stir fries and soups or shred it for pasta and meatloaf. One of my favorite things to do with zucchini right now is to shred a huge pile of it and add it to chopped onions that I've already got cooking in my deep cast iron skillet. I'll sautee the whole thing up with some grape seed oil until tender then mix in basil pesto, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil. I put the whole thing over a plate of spaghetti smothered in sauce full of homemade turkey meatballs. With a side of Caesar salad you can't beat it. The other slightly inventive thing I do with zucchini is grate it up for meatloaf. Sometimes I'll do an Italian inspired meatloaf with plenty of garlic, onion, and Italian seasonings. This time around Allen has requested a bbq version with zucchini, onion, bell pepper, bbq sauce, and chunks of cheddar cheese. Yummy.

For not being a huge veggie person (gasp), I'm learning that there are some very tasty ways to cook up some of our humbler comestibles. The main thing I've learned from all this though is when in doubt pesto, olive oil, and fresh grated parm make just about anything better.

How to Eat Supper

In my days in the book world, I am lucky enough to get a LOT of books. Cookbooks are a weakness of mine and I have a hard time turning any down that come my way. Just today I recieved 2 (one about Goat Cheese and Gordon Ramsey's Fast Food).

My favorite these days is The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. The Splendid Table has a weekly podcast that I listen to whenever I can (you can download it for free if you don't catch the show on NPR). Lynne Rossetto Kasper is downright wonderful. She loves food and it shows in every recipe she shares, every story she tells. She and Sally Swift just came out with this cookbook, all about getting Supper to the table. Recipes that don't take more than 30 or so minutes but don't sacrifice taste, good ingredients or health. I have tried about 4 recipes and loved each one.

Today I will share the most recent one I tried (well, the white beans I have actually made twice, but who's counting?!).

Salmon Pan Roast with Garlic Shavings and Basil on Fresh Greens, coupled with Warm White Bean Salad with Fragrant Garlic and Rosemary.

Salmon Pan Roast with Garlic Shavings and Basil on Fresh Greens:
serves 4, 5 min. prep, 10 min stove time

1 5 oz. bag (or 4 handfuls) of fresh Spring Greens or mesclun mix
1/4 lb. Fresh sugar snap peas ( I used fresh green beans from the garden), coarse chopped
12 fresh basil leaves
4 small wild Salmon steaks of filets (1 inch thick), or other firm fleshed fish
Good tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used Publix generic!)
1/4 teaspoon salt (sea salt is always best)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3 large garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
12 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces
2/3 cup dry white wine
lemon wedges

1. divide the greens among 4 dinner plates. Scatter the peas and 12 torn leaves on top.
2. Rinse the salmon and pat to dry. Examine for any tiny bones and remove.
3. Lightly Oil a slant sided 12 inch skillet (I used regular skillet) with the oil, and heat is over medium high. Season the Salmon on both sides with the salt and pepper. Slip them into the skillet and sear for a minute on each side, turning carefully.
4. Sprinkle the garlic and basil leaves around the fish. Turn the heat down to medium low, cover skillet and cook 6-7 minutes, turning fish midway through, or until the fish is just firm when pressed. it should be barely opaque near the center.
5. Remove fish from skillet and keep it warm. add the wine to skillet, turn heat to high and stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom. Simmer until the pan juices are sizzling and syrupy.
6. Drizzle the hot sauce over the greens and top them with the salmon. At the table, squeeze the lemon wedges over the fish and greens.

Warm White Bean Salad with Fragrant Garlic and Rosemary
serves 3 to 4, 15 min prep, 10 min stove time.

I fixed this as a main course once and it fed 2 of us fully.

1/2 slice coarse whole grain bread, course ground in a food processor (2 generous tablespoons crumbs)
3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese (NEVER scripm on Parm!)
Generous 1/4 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
5 large garlic cloves, crushed with 1/2 tsp salt and coarse chopped
1/4 cup Good tasting Extra V. Olive Oil (again, I used Publix)
1/2 tight packed tblspoon fresh rosemary leaves, coarse chopped
Two 15 oz. cans Organic White beans (cannellini or Great Northern), drained and rinsed.
1 large handful salad greens
add'l salt and ground pepper

1. In a 12 inch skillet or saute pan over medium heat, toast the bread crumbs until lightly browned, stirring often. Transfer to small bowl and set aside to cool. Once cool, stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese and pepper. set aside.
2. In the same pan, slowly warm the garlic in the olive oil over low heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the rosemary, blending together for another minute or so, taking care not to burn the garlic. It should be very fragrant and beginning to soften.
3. Immediately add the beans and fold them in VERY gently. Turn the heat to medium. Heat the beans through, about 3 minutes, occasionally lifting and turning them as they heat, as stirring with cause them to mush. Add the greens and gently move them around in the pan until the are slightly wilted, 30 sec to 1 minute. Turn into a serving bowl, top with the bread crumb mixture and season with salt and pepper.

These 2 recipes guarantee a great night! With a beer or some wine-Voila!

let me know if you try them and what you think.