Recently, our neighbor asked if we wanted some of their zucchini — their garden was being over-run, apparently. Of course, I replied, for I am quite fond of zucchini. Besides, the mystery squash plant in our garden that I *thought* was a zucchini is actually, well, still a mystery squash.

So, I found myself with two very large (about 3/4 of a pound each) squash. I remember trying a zucchini casserole once, from The Big Book of Casseroles, which utilized grated zucchini, sour cream and Parmesan cheese. I remember that being the very first time jwa ate zucchini without complaint. I looked again at the two very big zucchinis on the counter — I would definitely need help eating them.

Yep, this was a job for The Big Book of Casseroles, all right.

Grated Zucchini Casserole
2 big zucchinis, yellow or green, totaling about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pounds
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream (light or full fat — not fat free)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grate your zucchinis. I usually do this over 3-4 paper towels, that way I can bundle it right up, take it over to the sink and squeeze out the excess water. Place the grated zucchini in your baking dish. Add the garlic and pepper. Toss to mix and bake for 15 minutes. Dot the top with little pieces of your butter.

Remove from the oven and add the salt, sour cream, red pepper flakes and 2 tablespoons of the cheese. Mix. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on the top and return to the oven for about 10-15 minutes.

You’ll have a little extra liquid after it’s done, just use a slotted spoon for serving. The flavor of this casserole is really very good. It’s also a very good recipe to get someone to try zucchini or to convince those that say they don’t like zucchini that it is really quite tasty.

Can of garbanzo beans. Check. Onion. Yep. Cumin. Uh-huh. Garlic? Are you kidding me? Olive oil. Got it. Big pan. Right here. Well, okay then. Let’s go.

Easy Falafel
1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained — you can also use 1 cup of soaked (overnight), dry beans
1/2 sweet white onion (red will also work — or, hell, whatever onion you have in the house will work here
1 handful parsley leaves
1 handful cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 shakes red pepper flakes
4 cloves of garlic
1-2 tsp lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
1 big tsp ground cumin
1 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp flour (or a little less)
olive oil
Extras:
kalamata olives (just a few, chopped roughly)
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
spinach leaves
Tahani sauce
flat or pita bread

Start by adding the beans, herbs, salt, garlic, onion to a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. You can also use a big bowl and a potato masher and skip the processor all together. Just be patient with the mashing.

Next comes the cumin, lemon, baking powder and pepper flakes. Just a few pulses. Then add about 3 tablespoons of the flour. You want it wet but together enough to make little falafel balls. Add up to 3 more tablespoons of flour.

Add a little flour to a bowl with a sprinkle of salt. Roll each falafel ball you form into the four, flatten a bit into a disc shape, and set aside until all are done. Make sure you shake off excess flour — you just want them lightly coated.

Heat a pan over medium heat and cover the bottom with olive oil. Just coat it, probably 2-3 tablespoons, depending on the size of your pan. Add the falafel and cook 5-6 minutes each side, until golden and cooked through.

Sprinkle with a little salt and let cool on paper towels.

Make a sandwich by laying down a bed of spinach leaves on your bread of choice. Add halved falafel (I cut them so they fit easier — you don’t have to do this, of course), tomato slices and chopped olives.

Drizzle with a little tahini sauce. Eat. Don’t forget the fallen falafel crumbles on your plate. Sleep. Snore. I love you, bed.

Midnight Fig
Here, finally is my Sugar High Friday#22 entry — only two days late. Not too bad. This month, the theme was — Can you can? Well, no, probably not. But, I can throw a bunch of ingredients into a pot, bring to a boil and store them in my refrigerator for a month. Does that count? I hope so!*

This recipe is based on one from Gourmet magazine. I found it at epicurious.com. One of the things I really like about that site is that the comments have all kinds of helpful hints and ideas. There it was suggested to use orange instead of lemon and to add some cinnamon to the mix. These were excellent suggestions!

My title image are the labels that I made for this SHF. That was the issue that made my entry late. I did the jam last week but procrastinated on painting, scanning and texting the labels until Saturday night — I was working on this until about midnight. And there you go.

Midnight Fig: Fig-Orange Jam with Cinnamon & Sesame Seeds
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 orange — zest it first though)
1/4 cup water
1 lb firm-ripe fresh figs, trimmed and quartered (about 2 pint-sized containers)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Simmer the sugar and orange juice, plus the water in a large heavy saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Next, gently stir in figs, cinnamon and zest, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick and syrupy, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

I think mine took about an hour and 15 minutes. When it’s done, stir in sesame seeds.

The original directions stated that this would keep about a month in the refrigerator. This is also excellent on crackers or slices of baguette, along with some creamy goat cheese.

Also, I’ve discovered that if you slather about two tablespoons of the jam on a pork tenderloin, along with some salt, pepper and fresh thyme leaves and then pan sear it in some olive oil, it is very good.

Finish it in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the temperature is about 140-145. Mmmm!

Check out all the SHF entries here. Thanks to Delicious Days for hosting the event!

* Standard Disclaimer: I’d like to state that this is in no way “real” canning or preserving. I didn’t sterlize anything and this went right in the refrigerator like any leftover or homemade sauce.

So, my SHF dish is done but my extra-credit materials are not. So, SHF post this weekend. Today, we bask in the glory that is my finished (!) mosaic project — see, the last post was almost a year ago.

We live in a bungalow. When you go up the stairs, there is a counter with built-in bookshelves, a bathroom and three bedrooms. When we first moved in, I knew I wanted to do something fun with this large 12 foot by 1 1/2 foot counter top space. I just didn’t know what exactly. I just wanted to add something to the house that would be here after we left. Sort of like adding a piece of mine and jwa’s history to our house.

Then it came to me. A mosaic. There’s shattering glass involved, toxic fumes, grout, it’s some-what permanent and it involves hours and hours (and hours) of tedious work! It’s perfect. It started well. I think I finished laying out half the glass tile designs in the first three months. But then…

I had longer and longer breaks between work sessions. Then, two years passed. Well, finally last week I laid the last piece of cut glass down and then I grouted the whole damn thing. (Very messy!)

But it’s done. And I feel a huuuuuge sense of accomplishment. Yay!

This was very simple and very good. I wanted to make a lasagna (we were having milder weather in the mid/high 70’s) and I had a bunch of heirloom tomatoes that I got at New Seasons and a pint of cute little yellow pear tomatoes. I had just recently made a tomato salad and wanted to do something a little different. What to do? What to do?

Oh yeah. Combine them with cheese and pasta. Okay. This lasagna is extra Summery because it’s really only in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Plus, you could make this with plain Romas or Hot House tomatoes or whatever you may have this Fall.

Summer Lasagna with Heirloom Tomatoes
4-5 Heirloom Tomatoes (any varieties)
1/2 pint yellow pear tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups ricotta cheese
pinch of red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 red onion
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 handful fresh basil, chopped
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper
1 box of lasagna noodles, cooked (use as many as you will need for your baking dish, figure on needing 4 layers of noodles — if you use a large lasagna pan, use more cheese and tomatoes)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Then, start by making a quick sauce. Heat the olive oil in a pan and saute about 3/4 of the onion — dice it first. Add the yellow pear tomato halves, 2 cloves of garlic, the oregano, and the kalamata olives. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until it comes together a little bit. Salt & pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Mix 1 clove of minced garlic, a pinch or red pepper flakes and the feta to the ricotta. Set that aside. Then, slice your heirloom tomatoes into thin slices.

Assembly
Okay, start by drizzling a little of your olive oil on the bottom of your baking dish. Add a layer of ricotta (about 1/2) and a layer of tomato slices. Spoon a little sauce over it and then cover with more noodles. Your going to need four layers of sauce so use just a little for the first three, so that you have a good amount to use for the top. You may also want to give each layer a very light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Err on the side of not enough.

Next is a sauce layer with a sprinkling of mozzarella and some tomato slices. Cover in noodles. Next, repeat the ricotta/tomato layer. Use all of your slices tomatoes in this layer. Cover with the fourth layer of noodles, the sauce, the mozzarella and some red onion slices.

Bake the lasagna for about 25-30 minutes, just until the cheese melts and it starts to get a little bubbly. Let rest for a couple of minutes before cutting into slices. Serve with a green salad and the chopped, fresh basil on top. Originally, I put the fresh basil leaves in the lasagna (between the middle layer) but I think it will work a lot better on the top, after it comes out of the oven.

I think Friday will be Sugar High Friday. We’ll see….

I know! Blasphemy! Burgers without cheese is crazy talk. But these burgers don’t even need any cheese. Really. Besides, what kind of cheese would work here? The only kind I could think of was cream cheese. But again, no need. These burgers are great just like this.

I played with the herbs here — the original called for 1/4 cup mint, 1/4 cup basil and 1/4 cup cilantro. I used about 1 tbsp mint, 1/4 cup basil and 1/3 cup cilantro. I also add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce. The original recipe is from Gourmet Magazine.

The burgers are garnished with a Asian cucumber slaw, just like the one I usually serve with Seared Tuna.

For pickled cucumbers
1/2 an English cucumber, peeled and diced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp pickled ginger (optional) — if you have a container of sushi lying about, use the ginger in there
A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Mix everything together. Taste and add more of any of the above if needed. Set aside (in the fridge) until ready to eat.

For burgers
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 slices firm white sandwich bread or two baguette slices or plain breadcrumbs
1 pound lean ground turkey
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro sprigs
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp Tabasco

For Grilling
salt & pepper
olive oil
1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp honey
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 avocado, pitted and sliced
4 light hamburger buns

Prepare your grill or heat up your grill pan. Use a food processor to make the breadcrumbs — or just use store bought bread crumbs.

Use your hands to mix the garlic with bread crumbs and remaining burger ingredients until just combined (do not over mix) and form into four 1-inch-thick patties. edited to add Ah! I forgot to mention the Rachael Ray trick here — divide the meat in your bowl by scoring it into 4 sections. That way each burger is roughly the same size.

If you want to grill the buns, do it now. Spread a little may on the bottom buns and top with lettuce, tomato and some avocado slices. Set aside.

Mix chili garlic sauce, vegetable oil and honey. Brush lightly on the burgers. You can also use a bottled glaze or just olive oil. It’s pretty flexible and up to you, I was just playing around with the above ingredients and thought they worked pretty well. Season them also with salt and pepper and grill on a lightly oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals about 5 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through. If using a grill pan, liberally brush the pan with olive oil and grill each side for about 5-6 minutes or until done.

Transfer burgers to buns and top with drained cucumbers. Put the lid on.

Don’t worry, it flattens down a bit!

This was a meal that exceeded my expectations. I’m not sure why, because I typically love halibut but the salsa was surprisingly good as well. Very fresh and tropical tasting. I ended up using a whole pineapple, as I knew we’d eat the rest during the week but I think canned pineapple would work too. So, go ahead and use that if you have some.

For the glaze, I used my trusty bottle of Ginger People Chili-Ginger Sauce. Because I have some and because I like it a lot. You could certainly make your own chile-ginger glaze, I’m sure, so do that if you are so inclined. You could also use a different brand of bottled sauce or just use some olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and a few red pepper flakes on the fish and grill it just like that! I’d even try rubbing it with a little fresh ginger before drizzling it with the oil. Really, the most important aspects of this meal are the halibut and the salsa.

Chili-Ginger Grilled Halibut with Fresh Pineapple Salsa
2 6-8 oz halibut fillets
1/3 cup chili-ginger sauce (or any of the above alternatives)
1 cup diced pineapple (if canned, drain well)
1 jalapeno pepper, diced finely
1/2 cup yellow pear tomatoes, halved (you could also use cherry tomatoes)
1/2 red onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1/2 an orange
1 red bell pepper, diced finely
salt & pepper

Start with making the salsa. Combine the pineapple, tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, garlic, bell pepper and juices in a bowl. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Set aside.

You can either grill the fish outside or use a grill pan. I used a grill pan, as that is my way. We also only have a little, short outdoor grill that you have to crouch down to cook anything on it.

But I am digressing. Prepare the fish by giving it a little salt and pepper and then slather it with a little chili-ginger sauce or whatever you are using. Mine had skin on one side, so I placed it on the pan skin side up and let the top get some nice grill marks, over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes.

Then I flipped it over, turned the heat down to medium and let it cook for about 10-12 minutes. I had a lid on my pan for a few of those minutes. I let it cook until it was just barely opaque. I would err on the side of pulling it out of the pan a minute or so before you think it’s done, as carry-over heat will finish it off.

Remove from the pan and let it sit for a couple of minutes, tented with foil. Use this time to open a bottle of wine or dress a nice spinach salad.

Serve the fish topped with the salsa.

***

Eeek! I start a new job tomorrow. I’ve worked there before, so it shouldn’t be that weird of a first day but it’s still a big change from what I have been doing. It’s also sort of a “settling” job — I now know that I will probably never work at a museum or in the Arts or Cultural fields.

On the other hand, it’s double the salary of my last job so I think I’m okay with everything. It’s also at a government agency (not NPS…booo!) and I’m pretty sure it’ll be interesting and maybe even a little fun. Sure, I’m cataloging engineering documents and reports rather than Megiddo Pottery but we’ll get the new kitchen floor and my savings account will grow.

Here’s a quick recipe for a Friday cocktail. You will need:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 lemon, zest peeled off
1 big sprig rosemary + 1 small sprig
2 oz vodka (or 3 oz, depending on your mood)
ice

Add the sugar, your strips of lemon peel, rosemary and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil and let sugar dissolve while stirring. Remove from heat and let cool. Dig out lemon and rosemary and discard.

Combine 1/2 of your syrup (or a little less, depending on how sweet you wannt it), the juice of 1/2 a lemon, the vodka and some ice. Mix and strain out into a martini glass. See, you have enough lemon/rosemary syrup to make yourself another. Excellent. Garnish with a small piece of rosemary. I found this really nice as the scent of rosemary was very strong every time I took a sip!

This is intensely peachy and lightly thymey. It’s a great summer treat. I can’t believe how much I love my ice cream maker. It does so many things — gelatto, ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet and even frozen drinks. What can’t it do? Fine. It can’t knit a blanket. Whatever. Who wants to eat a blanket anyway?

I used chardonnay in this recipe but water will work just fine. I just happened to have an open bottle of wine on hand. The basic recipe is from the Ultimate Ice Cream Book, which is really coming quite indispensable around the house. You can peel the peaches if you like, but I think the flecks of darker color makes it look all pretty.

Peach & Thyme Sorbet
1 1/2 lb peaches, pitted and slices (4-5 peaches)
1/2 cup Chardonnay or similar white wine (or water)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
juice of 1 lemon (or a bit less if your lemon is super juicy)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Combine the sugar, wine and corn syrup in a small pan. Place over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Boil without stirring for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Place the peaches in a blender or food processor, along with the lemon juice, salt and cooled sugar syrup. Process until the mixture until smooth. If you think your blender may need a little help, start by only adding half the peaches at first, get those processed and smooth, ten add the remaining peaches.

Freeze in your ice cream maker. As usual, it’ll be soft serve when done. Freeze in the freezer for a couple of hours for a firmer sorbet.

Enjoy with a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

It’s always challenging to make a meal in a kitchen that is not your own. It’s even more so when the kitchen is a 5 foot by 3 foot area, with 2 pans, 1 1/2 feet of counter space, a dull chef’s knife, a yellowed, plastic spatula, and your starting ingredients are a pat of butter and a single-serving of orange juice leftover from the complimentary breakfast that morning.

It’s kind of like Port Townsend Iron Chef with the secret ingredient being whatever you can find within a four block radius of the hotel, carry back and turn into something edible using only the mismatched and bare minimum pans and cutlery supplied by the hotel. Okay, well, there’s not really a time limit or anything and you have no competition and uh, Alton Brown isn’t giving step-by-step commentary or anything but other than that it’s exactly like Iron Chef.

When we first got to the Bishop Hotel, room 14, we noticed a sign out our window announcing the Port Townsend Farmer’s Market every Saturday, from 9:30 - 1:30. That was the real inspiration for making a dinner in our room — well, that and our very nice but a little expensive meal out on Friday.

So, Saturday around 11:00 AM, we trudged up the hill (the market was in “Uptown” — four blocks straight up) and explored. We ended up getting three heads of different garlic varieties (some to bring back!), salad greens, a Hungarian pepper, marjoram, basil, an onion, heirloom tomatoes and some sourdough bread. From the market next door, two chicken breasts, goat cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper combo-pack and an orange. Oh and also some chick peas from the salad bar, along with a vinaigrette.

Fortified with some Port Townsend Amber Ale I began my dinner plan.

Starting to cook in the kitchen in our room

Stuffed Chicken with a Garlic-Orange Sauce and Chick Peas
1 orange, cut in half, slice away 2 nice sections to stuff into the chicken
1 cup orange juice
3 cloves garlic
1 small white onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 chicken breasts
3-4 tbsp goat cheese, herbed or plain
2 springs marjoram or oregano
1/4 cup chick peas
salt & pepper

First step — slice the chicken breast and make a pocket. Place your hand on the top of each breast and slice horizontally (carefully!) about half way across, making a secret area for stuffing with goat cheese and an orange slice. Go ahead and do that and also add your herb spring. Salt and pepper the chicken and set aside for about 5 minutes.

Next, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until soft and just staring to color, 4-5 minutes. Add the chicken breasts, seasoned side down. Salt and pepper the top side now, before you forget. Let brown for about 6-8 minutes, then turn over and give the other side time to brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the orange juice and cover the pan. If you are staying in a hotel room and you have no lid for your hotel room pan, fashion a lid out of aluminum foil. Turn the heat down to medium and give it a good 15 minutes to cook through. If you have a meat thermometer, go ahead and use it and let the chicken reach just shy of 165.

Pull it out and lest rest (covered with foil). Squeeze the orange juice from the rest of your remaining orange into the pan and add the chick peas. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes. If you are feeling decadent, stir in a pat of butter. taste and adjust any seasonings. Pour any accumulated juices from the resting chicken into the pan. Another nice thing? All in one pan!

Serve the chicken with the sauce poured over the top. We had the chicken with a salad, the heirloom tomatoes and some sourdough bread. I was very pleased with the way this turned out. First off, the chicken turned out moist and cooked through perfectly and the sauce was very flavorful. I think pouring the orange juice in while the chicken was cooking helped it meld well with the chicken juices.

I think the wrap up here should be that if you stay in a hotel room with a kitchen and free continental breakfast — save your morning’s orange juice!