Zucchini Pancakes

Well, I haven't posted in two weeks? How time flies! ;)

Once again, my garden is fairly bursting with zucchini and, once again, I have had to learn the hard way to pick them while they are still small. Jack doesn’t share this view, though, because his two favorite zucchini recipes are made from those larger forms of the vegetable—zucchini pancakes and fried zucchini.

Last week I was unable to get to the garden for a couple of days and, when I finally did, I found a huge zucchini lurking under some lower leaves. A full 2-1/2 pounds of zucchini, and Jack’s face lit up when he saw it on the kitchen counter.

We have zucchini pancakes, served with a tomato and basil salad, as a light lunch. Although Jack will eat them “plain”, he prefers his zucchini cakes to be topped with a spicy pepper-and-tomato sauce or simply some hot sauce.

Because when zucchini is prolific in my garden it is August and I resist turning on the stove, I use a Crock-Plate which my Mom gave me years ago. A cousin to the Crock-Pot, it doesn’t heat up the kitchen too much and I use it often in those hot summer months. Don’t look for it in WalMart, though, because this hasn’t been produced since the mid-1970’s. It’s way cool!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Zucchini Pancakes

Recipe By: Vicci

Serving Size: 2

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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4 cups shredded zucchini -- remove excess water; see note below

2/3 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup panko or whole wheat bread crumbs

3 large egg whites

1 ounce Asiago Cheese -- grated (a rounded 1/3 cup)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

Squeeze the zucchini and onion to remove excess water. Transfer to a large bowl and mix with the crumbs.

Whisk the egg whites, then whisk in the cheese through baking powder. Stir into the zucchini mixture.

Using a brush, spread one half of the oil (½ tablespoon) in a nonstick skillet, heat over medium heat and, when oil is hot, drop in half of the batter by scant 1/3 cupfuls. Flatten to desired thickness. Cook for 4-6 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate (or serve) and cook the remaining half of the batter using the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil.

Yield:

"8 4" diameter cakes"

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Per serving: 194 Calories (kcal); 11g Total Fat (4g Saturated); (49% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 13g Carbohydrate; 13mg Cholesterol; 856mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

NOTES : Two pounds of zucchini, excess water removed, yields about one pound of dry, shredded zucchini. One pound of shredded, well-squeezed zucchini equals about 4 cups.

A simple way to remove excess water from a quantity of shredded zucchini is to place the zucchini shreds in the center a large, clean kitchen towel. Fold ends over (on all four sides) to enclose the shredded zucchini and PIN SECURELY with a safety pin. Place this packet in your washing machine, kind of propped up against an outer wall. Turn the machine to "spin" and spin for at least 4 minutes. Remove very carefully, and open the towel over a large cutting board.

Now, before you forget, go back to the washing machine, add a gallon of tap water (I use a watering can), and turn it to "spin" once more. The green, veggie-based water which you see coming out of the machine is not water in which you want to wash your clothes! And if you wash the kitchen towel right away, in hot soapy water, the green zucchini stains will come out. I, however, have a towel reserved only for spinning zucchini (with a large safety pin attached) that I just wash with the rest of my towels, and I don't worry about the stains.

This method gets a lot of the excess water out of the zucchini and produces dry, fluffy shreds. If the zucchini is too wet, the pancakes (and other baked goods which shredded zucchini is used in) will have an unappetizing, gummy texture.

Vegetarian Mulligatawny

I love fun-sounding words and phrases. In my previously-posted recipe, the title of the beans used was Eye of the Goat beans and that unusual name intrigued me enough to make it (of course, I didn’t have that particular bean so I subbed Canary beans, the name of which I find slightly less amusing although much better than kidney).

A few weeks ago I ran across a recipe for Mulligatawny. I have fun saying that name—mulligatawny! Yes, I am easily amused. :) I have never had nor made this soup, but I believe that it was mentioned in the Soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld many years ago. This vegetarian recipe, which was entered in March's edition of No Croutons Required by the author of Asparagus and Raspberries, contained a few vegetables which I happened to have on hand and wanted to use.

I looked up “mulligatawny” online and found a zillion widely varying recipes. Although it seems to be Indian in origin, it is actually British (from when they occupied India and altered a regional soup recipe to use ingredients with which they were familiar). Many of the recipes contained lentils or rice, which the original recipe does not contain and I ended up adding cooked basmati rice at the last minute.

This recipe has a huge ingredient list, and lots of time is spent in preparing the vegetables, but the resulting soup is well worth the effort.

With a 3-4 hour simmering time, as long as you (or a responsible person) is around to give the mixture a stir every now and then, you don’t have to spend all of those hours babysitting it. I went for an hour-long run, and set a kitchen timer to remind Jack to stir it every 20 minutes.

And it made the house smell wonderful, like stepping into the very best Indian restaurant you’ve ever visited. With four hours of simmering (apparently you can get away with three), the fragrance of curry was permeated into our living areas until the next morning (and, believe me, neither of us minded a bit!).

Above shows the curry powder roasting in the oil and butter. I, of course, decreased both of those ingredients from the original recipe. And pardon the old (to say the least) pot. I don’t have a nice Dutch oven at the lake house and I found this in the far reached of the cupboard. I make chili in it occasionally. A nice, very heavy pot which Jack brought into our marriage (noooo, it couldn’t have been a LeCreuset piece, could it?!), but no matter how I tried I could not remove the black from the inside.

I believe that an essential step is lightly sautéing the vegetables in the oil/butter/curry mixture. The vegetables had a chance to absorb this wonderful flavor before the liquid ingredients were added.

I made some changes in the recipe, but the most major change was in the structure of the ingredient list. I am a little fussy when it comes to organization and I have to have recipes organized as well, letting me know the order in which I will be using the ingredients. I find it easier to cook this way.

We spent a few days at the lake house and I packed all of the ingredients and took them with us. I thought that I had frozen corn and lemon juice there only to discover that I did not, so those ingredients were left out. And, because of Jack’s inexplicable aversion to eggplant, I left that out as well. To add more flavor and nutrition, I used vegetable stock instead of some of the water in the soup.

I was unpacking after arriving at the lake house when I realized that I had forgotten the white potatoes. I had an equal amount of sweet potatoes, so I used them instead. I had thought that they may get a little mushy with the lengthy simmer, but I was wrong. In fact, I will now use sweet potatoes whenever I make this, just because they were so good. One last point, I used too much rice (and that has been corrected in the recipe below). The next day, you could have cut the soup into wedges, it was so firm. ;)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Vegetarian Mulligatawny

Adapted from a recipe by Asparagus & Raspberries

Servings: 8

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

3 medium potatoes -- peeled and diced

4 small carrots -- peeled and diced

2 large parsnips -- peeled and diced

1 large onions -- peeled and diced

2 whole leeks -- outer layers removed, thinly sliced

2 medium apples -- peeled and diced (Granny Smith apples hold up nicely to the long

simmer)

6 ounces yellow corn

10 ounces eggplant -- diced

1 large red bell pepper -- roasted, skin removed, diced

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp nutmeg

2 large bay leaves

15 ounces canned diced tomato

4 cups water

2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

8 ounces light coconut milk

1/2 cup fresh parsley -- chopped

1/2 cup pistachio nuts -- chopped

1 medium lemon -- juice only (use some of the peel as garniture)

1 large lime -- juice (use some of some of the peel as garniture)

3/4 cup basmati rice -- cooked

Prepare all the vegetables.

Start by roasting the curry in the oil and butter in a Dutch over medium heat for about 2 minutes (stir constantly so it doesn't burn, you might have to turn down the heat a bit near the end).

Add the potatoes through bay leaves and cook the mixture, turning the heat to medium/low, stirring to coat all with the curry/oil. Make sure that the vegetables do not take color. Then add the canned tomatoes (undrained), water and vegetable stock and bring to a boil before you leave it to simmer, covered, for 3 - 4 hours. Set the lid of the pot ajar a little for some steam to escape (but not too much or the liquid may evaporate and boil away!).

Stir every now and then. This thickens the soup and intensifies the taste.

Add the coconut milk through the cooked rice, blend in with the rest of the soup, and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve with a bit of nut-parsley topping if desired, or chopped cilantro, or lime and lemon zest.

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Per serving: 349 Calories (kcal); 12g Total Fat (3g Saturated); (28% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 58g Carbohydrate; 4mg Cholesterol; 233mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Sweet Potato Sopa De Lima

I cannot seem to get enough of soups and stews lately, and looking through my blog posts, this is quite obvious. But soon the grey clouds will go away, the temperatures will warm, and I will be making almost every meal on the grill. That’s just how it goes, here. :)

I found a recipe for Sweet Potato Sopa De Lima on The Spiced Life. I had only one sweet potato in the pantry and wanted to be rid of it, so I decided to give this a try. With a few alterations, of course (noted below in green type).

Laura used a combination of chicken and pork stock and, since I omitted the chicken to make this a vegetarian meal, I used vegetable broth. I subbed tomatillo salsa verde for the tomatillos, and where Laura used lemon juice, I used lime. And I thickened the final soup with a cornstarch and water mixture (Jack being the kind of guy who prefers his soups to be thick and “not dribbling down my chin”…)

The recipe didn’t indicate how many servings it made, and I would estimate that to be at least 8. But we ate it for 3 days, each time for lunch and with different garnishes, and each bowlful was enjoyed.

Now, I have to say that this tastes better the day after it is made, when the flavors have the opportunity to meld in the refrigerator a bit. The first day, I served the soup with steamed corn tortillas; the second day I served it over cooked brown rice; the third day I stirred the cooked brown rice directly into the soup. We preferred the rice additions. As for garnishes we used chopped fresh tomato and cilantro one day; chopped avocado, cilantro, and cheese the next; and a squiggle of thinned sour cream and some shredded lowfat cheddar on the third day. A nice way to add variety to the same soup when you enjoy it three days in a row!

This soup had a wonderful spicy-and-sour taste, and I do look forward to making it again before these cool, rainy days of spring are over.

Sweet Potato & Tomatillo Sopa De Lima

1 large red onion, chopped
1-2 T olive oil
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1 large sweet bell pepper, chopped (I used orange bell)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground New Mexico Chile powder
1 large sweet potato (the orange kind), diced (I peeled it as well)

64 ounces low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
8 oz chopped tomatoes (or about half a can of diced tomatoes, drained a bit)
1 cup roasted and pureed fresh tomatillos (I used 1 cup of salsa verde)
2 -15 ounce cans of beans (I used one can of black beans and one can of green pigeon peas, drained and rinsed)
1 bag frozen corn, preferably organic, or equivalent fresh
1 1/2 cups shredded roasted chicken (I eliminated this)
1/3 - 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I used lime juice; start with the smaller amount and add to taste)

cooked brown rice, optional (I would estimate cooking 2/3 cup of brown rice)

For garnish (any or all):
sour cream
monterey jack cheese
salsa verde

chopped tomatoes

chopped cilantro

chopped avocado

Heat a large soup pot or dutch oven on medium high heat and add the olive oil to heat it to shimmering. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, jalapeno and bell pepper and cook another 3 minutes. Add the spices and the sweet potatoes and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the tomatillos (or salsa verde) and cook another minute or 2. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover and cook until sweet potatoes are tender (10-30 minutes, about, depending on how cooked the sweet potatoes got from the frying and how big the dices are).

Add the lime juice and taste for saltiness, sourness, and seasoning in general. Add the beans, corn, and shredded chicken and return to a simmer. Serve with garnishes.

Indian-Spiced Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Chilly March days deserve soup for lunch. I was cleaning out the deep-freeze late one morning last week (I had bought some clear plastic bins and was striving for some springtime reorganization!) and found rather small amounts of cooked chickepeas and red lentils in small plastic freezer bags.Not wanting to put these back in the freezer, where they would get shoved behind larger bags and disappear for another year, I decided to make soup for lunch. I saw a package of Trader Joe’s Tandoori Naan in the freezer as well and, since Indian food is one of my favorites, I decided to make a chickpea and lentil soup with Indian flavors.

This soup would also be good with cooked basmati rice stirred in if no naan was to be had to serve it with. It was quite good, a tomato soup spiced with cumin and coriander, with a nice tang of flavor from the lemon juice and the creamy yogurt. It can be made in less than a half hour, and is quite filling with the hefty amount of fiber which it contains.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Indian-spiced Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Recipe By: Vicci

Servings: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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1/2 cup lentils -- red lentils preferred

1 teaspoon canola oil

3/4 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

3/4 teaspoon minced garlic

14 ounces canned diced tomato -- undrained

14 ounces low-sodium vegetable stock

1 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper -- (to taste)

9 ounces cooked chickpeas -- (about one 15-ounce can, drained)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

Combine lentils with 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until lentils have softened and started to break apart. Remove from heat but do not drain.

After the lentils have started to cook, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a saucepan. Add the mustard seeds, shake the pan to coat the seeds with oil, and cook over medium heat until the seeds begin to pop (about 30 seconds). Turn off the heat and stir in the garlic and ginger. Add the canned tomatoes (this will spatter a little, so be careful) then pour in the vegetable broth. Add the spices (coriander through red pepper) and chickpeas, turn on the heat to medium, stir well, and bring to a boil Cover partially, turn down the heat, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the lentils are done, add them (and their cooking water) to the tomato mixture. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and divide between soup bowls. Garnish with dollops of yogurt.

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Per serving: 241 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat (trace Saturated); (13% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; trace Cholesterol; 321mg Sodium; 11g Fiber

Food Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

Since this was made on the fly, during a "cleaning day", I did not take the time to snap a photo and now I wish I had. Once we started eating, and I realized just how good this soup was, I just knew that I needed to post it. :)

The eating of the green… :) And just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

I needed to make a light lunch the other day, and just happened to have the ingredients on hand for a soup which I had marked to try from an old issue of Vegetarian Times.

I made the recipe as directed except that I subbed a little dried chipotle (for some zing) and shredded lowfat Jarlesberg (for Jack). I decided to incorporate the yogurt-and-milk mixture into the soup and found that, when the last step says to whisk the yogurt and milk until smooth, you need to absolutely whisk the yogurt and milk until smooth. Completely smooth. Lest you have little bits of yogurt floating through your potage. This is why I will use the photo from the VT website… my try at this recipe (this time) was not pretty, but tasted very, very good. And the next time, I will dollop that yogurt mixture on top, as per their directions.

I wish I had a photo of the expression on Jack's face when I told him that we were having spinach soup, but that quickly reversed when he tasted it. Served with slices of multigrain sourdough bread, this was perfect for lunch.

Creamy Spinach Potage

Vegetarian Times Issue: January 1, 2006

Sweeter, creamier and more flavorful than white potatoes, parsnips form the ideal vegetable base for a French potage, or thick, creamy soup. Choose small to medium parsnips that are heavy for their size, and slice them in uniform pieces for even cooking.

Ingredient List

Serves 8

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 stalk celery, sliced (about 1/3 cup)
• 2 low-sodium vegetable bouillon cubes
• 1 1/2 lb. parsnips, peeled and sliced (about 4 cups)
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 2 Tbs. low-fat milk or plain soymilk
• 
  

Directions

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and celery, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until vegetables are softened. Add 6 cups water, vegetable bouillon cubes and parsnips. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, or until parsnips are tender.
2. Increase heat to medium-high, and stir in spinach. Cook 1 minute, or until spinach wilts but is still bright green.
3. Transfer soup in batches to blender or food processor, and purée until soup is smooth. (Or purée soup in pot using an immersion blender.) Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Return soup to pot, and keep warm. If making soup ahead of time, refrigerate it until an hour before you plan to serve it, then warm soup over medium heat, but do not boil.
4. Just before serving, whisk yogurt and milk in small bowl until smooth. Serve bowls of soup topped with dollops of yogurt mixture.

Nutritional Information

Per SERVING: Calories: 82, Protein: 2g, Total fat: 1g; Carbs: 16g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 280mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 1g