Simple, delicious spring vegetables really just need the simplest of bright accompaniments, and this dip really hits the bill.  It is tangy with lemon and perfectly creamy and even has a sunshine-y yellow hue.

I love this at room temperature as a dip for lightly steamed asparagus spears or artichoke leaves.  Put it can also be spooned over as a sauce.  And its uses go far beyond that.  Spoon it over grilled chicken or steamed fish.  I love the use of meyer lemons with their sweet-tart flavor.  This sauce, with the citrus and the wine, is puckeringly tangy.  If you use regular lemons, reduce the amount of juice by a couple of Tablespoons.

Meyer Lemon Chiffon Dip for Spring Vegetables

1 large shallot, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

Leaves from 2 rosemary stems

½ cup freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice

1 cup white wine

1/3 cup heavy cream

6 Tablespoons butter

Place the shallot, garlic and rosemary leaves in a saucepan and add the lemon juice and wine.  Give to a good stir, then bring to the boil over medium-high heat.  Boil gently until the liquid is reduced to ½ cup.  Stir in the heavy cream and cook until the liquid is reduced a bit more and the sauce is thickened.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl or measuring jug and pour the sauce through, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.  Wipe out the pan and return the sauce to it.  Place over low heat and whisk in the butter ½ Tablespoon at a time, letting each piece melt before adding more.

Transfer to a small bowl and let it come to room temperature.  You can serve this hot as a sauce.

Makes about ½ cup dip

There was a pub I frequented when I was a graduate student in England.  I will admit I didn’t eat there as much as my friends and I took a study break for last call at the bar. But they did serve food.  It wasn’t gourmet, it wasn’t even all that great, but they did have these potato cakes that I was very fond of.  They were cheap and filling, which are two of the top criteria for any student’s good food list.  It was only many years later, when I concerned myself primarily in recipe reading and research, that I came across boxty, and realized it was the same dish I’d eaten those years ago. I’ve since searched them out at pubs that do specialize in good food, and found the principle was pretty much the same.

My research revealed that boxty (pronounced bach-shtee) is a classic Irish dish.  A potato cake made with mashed and grated potatoes, often using leftover mash and that last potato in the drawer.  I follow the traditional method I’ve read in recipes over the years, but I add the bite of green onions, as is traditional in Champ, the classic Irish mashed potato dish.  And, as usual, I prefer the tang of buttermilk. Boxty aren’t pretty, but they are tasty.  The creamy mashed potatoes with the texture of the grated potatoes sets them apart from most other versions of potato cake.  I honestly can’t remember how they were served at that pub, but I have since had them as part of a “full English (or Irish)” breakfast, with bacon, sausage, tomatoes and egg all fried in the same pan.  I love them with a good pat of butter melting on top, but they make an excellent side dish, and would be brilliant with corned beef and cabbage or soaking up the gravy from a stew.

Boxty

Irish Potato Cakes

2 pounds (3 to 4 large) baking potatoes

3 spring onions, white and light green part, chopped

¾ cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

½ Tablespoon kosher salt

4 Tablespoons butter

Heat the oven to 200° and line a baking sheet with paper towels.

Peel two of the potatoes and cut large pieces.  Place the chunks in a large saucepan, salt generously, and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook the potatoes uncovered until fork tender, about 10 minutes.  Halfway through the cooking time, drop in the chopped green onions.  When the potatoes are soft, strain them through a colander and return to the pan.  Mash them with ¼ cup of the buttermilk until they are smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.

While the potatoes are cooling, peel and grate the remaining potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. Toss with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and place on a clean teal towel.  Gather the towel into a ball and squeeze out as much moisture from the grated potatoes as possible.

Beat the remaining ½ cup of buttermilk and the egg together in the measuring jug.  Fold the grated potatoes into the mashed potatoes and green onions.  Fold in the buttermilk mixture, flour, and salt until incorporated. You should have a pretty stiff batter.  You can add a bit more flour if needed.

Heat a large nonstick frying pan or griddle over medium heat.  Add enough butter to lightly coat the bottom when melted. Drop 3 mounds (about 1/4 cup each) of the batter into the pan and flatten each to about 1/4 inch thick. Cook until the pancake bottoms are golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Place on a baking sheet and set in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter. Serve warm.

Makes 12 – 16

Glazed carrots are a classic French preparation.  But I don’t always think about.  Not that it’s difficult, but frankly, I tend to use carrots as an afterthought, raw as a snack, chopped with celery and onions, or simply roasted.  But rarely as a stand-alone star.  Which is a shame, because beautiful, richly colored carrots are a taste treat.  Add a bourbon spiked, cane syrup sweet glaze and the humble carrot becomes a stellar addition to your plate.

I see these rainbow colored trimmed carrots more frequently, and they certainly up the wow factor, but regular orange trimmed carrots work beautifully.  You can also peel plain carrots and cut them on the bias into evenly sized chunks.  Whichever you use, make sure they are roughly the same size so they cook evenly.

Cane Syrup and Bourbon Glazed Carrots

12 ounces trimmed carrots

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Tablespoon cane syrup (or maple syrup)

1 Tablespoon bourbon

½ cup water

Salt

Choose a medium sized skillet, and cut a round of parchment paper to fit inside as a cover. Cut a small hole of slit in the center of the parchment to vent steam.

Melt the butter in the skillet, then add the carrots and gently stir to coat.  Add the cane syrup and bourbon and stir again.  Pour in the water, bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cover the carrots with the parchment round, pressing it down around the edges of the pan.  Cook until the carrots are tender, removing the paper once to stir the carrots, then replacing it. This should take 15 minutes or so, depending on the size of your carrots.

When the carrots are tender, remove the paper and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is evaporated leaving a shiny glaze on the carrots.  Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

Serves 4

It has already snowed here in Memphis twice this year, but too early and too inconvenient.  I am hoping for a few more snow days, when I have no need to leave the house and am prepared with a good book, with enough warning for a trip to the grocery.  It doesn’t get cold enough, often enough here to invest in big, heavy wool turtleneck sweaters and thick mittens, but I like to imagine myself in one of those photo spreads, wrapped in a pretty scarf and a sweater, logs burning in the background, laughing over a steaming bowl of warming soup.  This would be the soup in that picture.

Bracing is how I would describe this soup. Perfect after a chilly day outdoors or a warm night by the fire.  Underrated  parsnips have a unique bite and lovely fragrance, the fennel is bright and the leeks add a rich undertone.  The pureed soup is silky and rich. I love the creamy color of this soup, that’s why I gave it a slightly silly name.  It is great on its own, sipped from mugs, but is also a great bowl soup for toppings.  I like some lightly toasted, but not browned, croutons.  Thinly slice some peeled parsnips and fry them until crispy to make chips to float on the top.  Crumbled, crispy smoky bacon is a wonderful addition, and a drizzle of fruity olive oil can add a touch of luxury.  A little shower of chopped fennel fronds add freshness and a spot of green.

Snow White Soup (Parsnip, Fennel and Leek Soup)

Use a light colored chicken broth, one that is too dark will give the soup a muddy color.

1 ¼ pounds parsnips (about 4 medium)

1 pound fennel (about 2 medium bulbs, to yield 12 ounces trimmed)

3 medium leeks

6 cups light-colored chicken broth

1 cup milk

Salt

Preheat the oven to 250°.

Peel the parsnips and trim off the stem end.  Cut into evenly sized chunks.  You should have 1 pound trimmed parsnips. Remove the stalks from the fennel bulbs, quarter them and cut out the tough core.  Rinse the bulbs under cold water, making sure there is no dirt between the layers. Cut into chunks roughly equivalent the parsnips.  Trim the leeks, discarding all but the white and palest green parts.  Slice each leek in half and run under cold water, fanning out the layers to remove any dirt.  Cut into chunks the size of the other vegetables.

Place all the vegetables in a 5-quart oven-safe Dutch oven.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cover the pot and move it to the oven.  Leave the soup in the oven for 3 hours until the vegetables are completely soft.

Remove the pot from the oven, uncover and leave to cool slightly.  Using an immersion blender, or very carefully on batches in a blender, blend the soup until smooth.  Add the milk and blend until completely smooth. Taste and add salt if needed.  Reheat the soup, but do not boil, and serve.

The soup can be made ahead and gently reheated.  Add a bit more milk to thin it out if needed.

Makes 4 bowls

Bag omelets, as we call them, are a favorite project for my family.  The family legend behind this is that my Dad was watching some sort of hunting and fishing outdoor program on a Sunday afternoon and they demonstrated these as a campfire cooking idea.  Dad called my Mom into watch, and they were so intrigued, they made them that night.  Well, they couldn’t stop talking about them, and the next weekend had us all over for a bag omelet party.  And so a family tradition was born.

I tell people about these all the time, but when I do, I can see them nod skeptically, and I just know they aren’t going to follow my advice and make them. Recently, I had a dozen gorgeous eggs from the chickens my friend Kristin lovingly raises, so I invited a couple of those skeptical friends for dinner, and they were finally won over.  We all loved our omelets and the chance to get creative.  They immediately started thinking of reasons to make them.

Bag omelets are a great project for any group meal.  Everyone gets their own customized omelet, all ready at the same time.  Interactive food and lots of choice are always popular with the kids in my family.  And bag omelet party is a great way to jazz up a boring weeknight meal with a special breakfast-for-dinner treat.  I can see this as the perfect project if you are stuck in the house on a snow day.  They are a perfect clean-out-the-fridge meal – great during the busy holidays when you have lots of bits and pieces hanging around, or the night after a big party.  Cut up the leftover vegetables from the dip tray, dice the ham or turkey, grate the bits from the cheese platter.

But this is also a great idea for overnight guests, adults or after a kids’ sleepover.  The same goes for an adult dinner party.  Everyone has fun discussing their creations and all the omelets are hot and ready at the same time.  These work equally as well with leftover salami and string cheese as they do with shaved truffles and duck confit. The omelets slide out of the bags as elegant perfectly shaped cylinders. They are perfect on their own, or with some crisp toasted bread or a light salad.

Tips:

Use a big Dutch oven or pot, nonstick if you have it.  Fill the pot about three-quarters full with water.  When you add the bags, the water level will rise, but you want as much water as possible.  It shouldn’t be a problem if a little splashes over the side.

Use freezer safe bags, which are thicker and stand up to the heat.  Don’t use the plastic slider kind, just the press together seals.  You’ll want to squeeze out air so the bags don’t float too much.

Use a permanent marker to write on the bags.  You don’t want the names to wash off – you might get the wrong omelet!

Set the timer and have it ready to start when to omelets hit the water.  Use tongs to lift the bags out of the water onto a plate or platter.

Wear oven mitts or use a towel to protect your hands when opening the bags and sliding out the omelets.

The Ingredients:

You’ll need 2 eggs per person, and I always recommend the best eggs you can find.  If you have a source at the farmers market or a friend for farm fresh eggs, that’s the way to go.  Have a nice selection of protein, vegetables, cheeses, herbs and seasonings.  Cut everything into small pieces, so when they are in the bag, they will mix together well, and be easy to eat.  I could definitely see doing theme nights with bag omelets – all Mexican ingredients or all Italian.  And don’t forget you can add some toppings on the top of the cooked omelet like and extra sprinkle of cheese, a spoonful of salsa or ingredient you may not want cooked in with the eggs, like diced avocado or some crisp diced tomato. Put out some salt and pepper as well, and maybe a few additional seasoning blends.

When I last made these for the photograph above, I created nice little spread of fillings, some grabbed off the salad bar to fill things out, some bits from my fridge.  Here are some ideas from that meal:

diced ham

chopped chicken

chopped shrimp

crumbled bacon

crumbled blue cheese

grated cheddar cheese

finely diced bell peppers

diced red onion

diced mushrooms

salsa

finely chopped sage, parsley and chives

Creole seasoning

Barbecue seasoning

Old Bay

Hot sauce

Salt and pepper

The Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a full boil.  Each omelet-maker should write their name on the outside of a freezer-safe zip top bag.  For each bag omelet, crack two eggs into a bag. Lightly seal the bag and squish the eggs around a bit to break the yolks.

Open the bag and add your choice of ingredients.  Don’t use more filling than egg, you need a good ratio.  Seal the bag three-quarters of the way and press out as much air out as possible, then seal the bag completely.

When everyone has their bags ready, gently lower them into the water, avoiding touching the bags to the side of the pan, and set the timer for 11 minutes.  Use tongs to gently push the bags down into the water if needed.  Do your best to keep the bags from touching the sides of the pot.  I have done as many as 8 bags at a time.

When the timer beeps, remove the bags to a platter.  Let them cool for a minute, then using oven mitts, gently open each bag and slide the omelet out onto a plate.

I love autumn.  I love wearing sweaters, snuggling under a blanket, comforting, slow-cooked stews, steaming bowls of soup.  And my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, which of course leads to a wonderful Christmas season.  But I will admit, that when fall comes on in earnest, and I see the end of tomatoes at the farmer’s market, my herb garden fades and I am not quite ready to break into the stock of summer vegetables in the freezer I feel wistful.  Then I remember the winter squash.  Orange and amber and green, knobbly or smooth, heavy and solid.  Butternut squash is one of my favorite vegetables.  I love it in soups, pasta sauces, lasagna and even baked in bread.  The color, the flavor, the gentle slow-roasting all sing to me of autumn.

Earthy roasted butternut and slightly sweet, nutty chestnuts are a match made in heaven.  Add some woodsy sage and a swirl of rich crème  fraiche and this is a bowl full of fall.  It is a great alternative to sweet potatoes on the Thanksgiving table, but is wonderful with any roasted meat.

Roasted Butternut and Chestnut Purée

A few sage leaves quickly fried in olive oil until crisp make a nice garnish to this dish.

2 butternut squash, about 1 ½ to 2 pounds each

2 small yellow onions

1 head of garlic

Olive oil

5 – 7 ounces peeled chestnuts, from a vacuum packed bag or jar

10 fresh sage leaves

5 ounces crème fraiche

Salt to taste

½ Tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Peel the butternuts, cut them in half and scoop out the seeds and fibrous innards.  Cut the squash into evenly sized chunks.  Place the chunks on a rimmed baking sheet. Peel and quarter the onions and place on the pan.  Separate the garlic cloves and peel them then add them to the pan.  Drizzle over a little olive oil and use your hands to toss everything around.  You just want to slick the vegetables with oil, so use a little at first and add a bit at a time if you need more. You’ll only need about a Tablespoon. Don’t go all TV chef and dramatically slosh oil in the pan.  You don’t want puddles of oil, or the vegetables will not get the nice caramelization going. Spread the vegetables into an even layer.  Try to tuck the garlic cloves in on top of the squash and onions; they tend to burn if they touch the pan. Sprinkle over a little kosher salt.  Roast the veg for 20 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and flip everything over using a spatula. Add the chestnuts and return the pan to the oven to roast a further 20 minutes until everything is soft when pierced with a sharp knife.  Leave the vegetables to cool.

When the vegetables are cool, transfer them to the bowl of a food processor.  Add the sage leaves and crème fraiche and puree until smooth.  You may have some chunks of chestnut in there, but it adds a nice texture.  Season with salt to taste.  Scrape the puree into a greased 2-quartbaking dish.  You may refrigerate the puree for several hours at this point. When ready to bake, very thinly slice the butter and strew it across the top of the casserole.  Bake until warmed through and golden on top, about 30 minutes.

Serves 6

Field peas are one of my favorite summer time treats.  Though to be honest, I spend enough time in  summer portioning little bags and stashing them in the freezer that I can enjoy them all year round now.  And I’ll be honest; I don’t veer too much off my standard method of cooking them.  Peas, water, a piece of pork of some variety, maybe onion or garlic and hot sauce.  When the farmers market is going full swing, I even pick up a good naturally smoked ham hock from the fine pork purveyor and make some hock stock to tuck away in the freezer with the peas.  Then I can have a quick summery dish of purple hulls or cream peas or zippers or blackeyes or butter beans in the middle of winter.

But I have always wanted to try field peas in a cold bean salad.  It makes so much sense in summer, refreshing when the heat is so oppressive. The idea has been rattling around in my noggin for a while, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on where I wanted to go with it.  Then, as recipes sometimes do, it literally jumped out of my brain, while I was in the car one day, driving around on mundane errands.  I could make a vinaigrette with bacon drippings, coat the peas in rich dressing and add the crispy bacon for texture.  From there, pimento peppers and green onions seemed like the most Southern of additions for flavor and color.

In my book, this is the ultimate summer farmers market salad, incorporating many of my favorite Southern farm products. Bags of freshly shelled field peas, the magnificent Berkshire hog bacon, shiny red pimentos and good ol’ green onions (we don’t call them scallions around here). Purple Hulls seem to be the most readily available field pea, but any variety will do.  Just adjust the cooking time accordingly, cooked, but still with a little bite.  If you can’t find fresh pimento peppers, use jarred and drained pimentos, or keep it fresh with a chopped red pepper.

Purple Hull Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

2 pounds purple hull peas

2 cups chicken broth

2 fresh pimento peppers

4 green onions

1 pound bacon

For the Vinaigrette

¼ cup bacon drippings, not solidified

½ cup vegetable oil

4 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon sorghum or dark honey

1 teaspoon hot sauce (or more to taste)

Generous grinding of black pepper

Salt to taste

For the Purple Hull Peas:

Place the purple hulls in a large bowl and cover with water.  Let the peas settle, then remove any floaters and pick out any trash or bad peas.  Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a large pan, leaving behind any debris.  Cook the peas with the chicken broth and  enough fresh water to cover by an inch and bring to a boil.  Spoon off any scum that rises, then reduce to a simmer and cook until just tender, about 30 minutes.  For a cold pea salad, you want a little bite to the peas, so don’t let them get mushy. Drain the peas in a colander, rinse them well and drain again.  Transfer the peas to a large bowl and chill in the refrigerator.

Cook the bacon until crispy, then remove to paper towels to drain.  Save ¼ cup of the drippings for the dressing and set it aside to cool, but not solidify. Dice the crispy bacon into small pieces.

Remove the seeds and the ribs from the pimento peppers and cut into a small dice.  Dice the green onions, whites and some of the green parts.  Toss these into the bowl with the chilled peas to combine.

For the Vinaigrette:

In a jar with a tight fitting lid, mix all the dressing ingredients and shake vigorously to emulsify the dressing, making sure the sorghum is blended in.  Pour the dressing over the peas and stir to coat.  You may not want all the dressing.  Taste the salad and add some salt if needed.  These peas tend to need quite a bit.

Chill the salad until ready to serve.  Toss the crumbled bacon into the salad right before serving.  The salad (without the bacon) will keep for up to 2 days covered in the fridge.

Serves 8 – 10

When tomatoes are is season, or growing on my vines if I’m lucky, I preserve them in any way I can think of.  I make sauce, tomato soup base and just plain old puree and stack them up in ziptop bags in the freezer.  Sometimes I can whole tomatoes, but now I’ve learned you can freeze them whole for later cooking.  This year, I’ve been looking for a new and different idea, and I set my mind on Bloody Mary mix.  I know many people are very happy with, even prefer, the standard bottled mixes.  But I think once you give a real, homemade version a try, you’ll be hooked.  Packed with fresh, in season tomatoes and lots of flavorful vegetables, it’s a very special treat.  A little warmth from the banana peppers and ginger set this blend apart.

I made a few adjustments to my standard recipe to make it suitable for canning, so a few lucky folks on my list will be getting some for Christmas (let the competition begin).  And how much of treat will fresh tomato Bloody Marys be at a holiday brunch? You can also make this for serving as soon as it’s chilled, or pack it into ziptop bags or freezer jars to store.
Stick with the basic quantity of vegetables, sugar and lemon juice for storage, but feel free to add more hot sauce, Worcestershire, or stir in a spoonful of prepared horseradish.  Remember, you can always add a dash of hot sauce when you’re mixing the drink. To make a Bloody Mary, fill a tall glass with ice, add vodka, top with the mix and stir. Pepper or lemon vodka add a nice twist if you are so inclined.  After storage, the mix may get a bit thick, just thin it out with a little water, it can handle it. I like to garnish a good Bloody Mary with Pickled Asparagus or Dilly Beans, but the traditional celery beautifully complements this mix.

Homemade Bloody Mary Mix

After storage, the mix may be a bit thick. Just thin it with a bit of water, and of course, vodka.

8 pounds plum tomatoes, quartered

3 green peppers, seeds and ribs removed chopped

3carrots, diced

3 ribs celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 bunch Italian parsley leaves, torn

1 –inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

3 small or 1 large banana peppers, seeds removed, chopped

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Generous grinds of black pepper to taste

½ Tablespoon hot sauce (I like Crystal)

1 tablespoon Worcestershiresauce

Place all the chopped vegetables in large Dutch oven.  Add a splash of water, cover the pot, and cook until the vegetables are mushy, 30 – 40 minutes.  Stir occasionally, breaking up the vegetables with the back of a spoon.  When everything is mushy, leave to cool for a few minutes.

Working in batches, carefully puree the vegetables in a blender.  Fill the blender half full, vent the top and hold it tight covered with a tea towel.  When each batch is done, press it through a fine sieve, extracting as much liquid as possible.  Discard the pulp left behind. If you have a food mill, this is a great time to use it. Return all the extracted liquid to the pot.  Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Bring the mix to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.

You can now cool the mix, pour it into a pitcher, chill it and use it right away, or can it in quart jars for long term storage. You can also cool it, pour it into ziptop freezer bags or freezer jars and freeze it for up to six months.

To can the mix, clean and sterilize the 3 (like to have an extra, just in case) quart jars.  I do this in the dishwasher, timing it so the jars are still warm when I am ready to pour the mix in. While your Bloody Mary mix is cooking, get a boiling water canner or big stockpot of water going.  Here are step-by step instructions for processing in a canner. When the mix is almost ready, pour some boiling water over the lids to your jars to soften the seals and set aside.

I like to ladle the hot mix into a large measuring jug for easy pouring. Fill each of your warm, cleaned jars with the hot mix, leaving a ½ inch head space.  Dry the lids with a clean paper towel and place on the jars.  Screw on the bands, then process the jars for 40 minutes in a boiling water bath.  If you have a bit of extra mix, pour it into a refrigerator container and keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Makes 2 quarts (plus a little extra)

To make a Bloody Mary, fill a tall glass with ice, add 2 ounces vodka (or as much as you like) and top with Bloody Mary Mix and stir. If the mix is thick, add a bit of water to thin it out.

I have a shopping problem.  Fortunately, it’s not for shoes or designer handbags, it’s at the farmers market.  I am so enamored of all the beautiful fresh produce and artisan made foods that my eyes are often bigger than my shopping bag.  I try to go with a plan and a list, but I just get so enticed by all the wonderful things.  The fire-engine red tomatoes in every size and shape.  Electric purple and snowy white eggplants.  Rainbow collections of knobbly peppers. Pink and red and soft and fuzzy peaches.  Plums with an inner glow.  Sunshine yellow squash.   And when I see the speckled green zucchini nestled up next to their crookneck cousins, a few inevitably make it home with me.

I have a large repertoire of squash preparations, but my zucchini menu is limited. I haven’t mastered the right zucchini bread recipe.  I love them on the grill, if I have the grill going.  I’ve done a beautiful shaved salad dressed with a light vinaigrette, but found it prettier than it tasted.  So this is my solution for an abundance of summer zucchini.  A simple casserole that highlights the flavor of zucchini, beautifully set off by fresh oregano and salty parmesan. It’s rich with eggs, so it’s sort of a soufflé.  But it’s bit denser, and a lot less trouble to make.  I served this recently to some almost- teenagers, and I’ve got to tell you I was a little surprised, but they cleaned their plates.

Zucchini Sort of Soufflé

3 medium zucchini

1 medium onion

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

¼ cup milk

4 eggs

¾ cup dry breadcrumbs (purchased work best)

¾ cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 2 quart baking dish.

Cut the ends off the zucchini and cut into large pieces.  With the grating disk on a food processor or the medium holes on a box grater, grate the zucchini.  You should have roughly 6 cups.  Toss the grated zucchini with 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a colander and leave to drain for at least 10 minutes.

While you’ve got the grater out, grate the onion.  If you prefer, you can dice it finely.  Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet and cook the onion until it is soft and translucent but not brown.  In the last few minutes of cooking, toss in 1 Tablespoon of chopped oregano and stir to combine.  Remove from the heat.

Place the zucchini on a clean tea towel, roll it up, and squeeze out the moisture.  Place the zucchini in a large bowl, add the onion and stir. Measure the milk into a jug, then crack in the eggs and beat together. Add to the zucchini mixture and stir to combine.  Add the bread crumbs and the remaining chopped oregano, a few grinds of black pepper and a sprinkling of kosher salt and stir to combine.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the top with parmesan.  Bake until puffed and golden, another 10 – 15 minutes.

Serves 6- 8

Summer food for me is all about bounty.  There is so much fresh, healthy food available, I worry about how I can enjoy as much as possible more than the idea that I might not have access to it at all.  I cook fresh meals for myself, and spend a lot of time putting things up for winter, like these simple Dilly Beans.  Not because I have to, but because I want to.  Sometimes I have so much fresh produce in the house, I have a hard time deciding what to cook next.  Making dinner is a joy, not a worry, because my choices are so vast and diverse.

But for millions of American kids and families, summer is about the opposite of bounty.  It’s a frightening time, when the school lunch program is not an option,  parents worry about how they can feed their families, kids have to skip meals and they don’t get the proper nutrition growing bodies need.  Summer is a struggle, not a carefree holiday. 

Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Summer Meals campaign works to combat this problem.  So do your local food banks, and many food pantries are faced with empty shelves in the summer months when demand is high.  So as we all enjoy the beauty and bounty of summer cooking, please remember those who don’t have that pleasure.  Donate to Share Our Strength or your local food bank.  Organize a food drive in your neighborhood or workplace.  I think there is an idea for a fun summer project for the kids in there!  Please, share ideas you have for helping local kids and communities in the comments section.

Dilly Beans

Old fashioned versions of this always look so pretty with full heads of dill tucked inside, so if you have dill growing or a place where you can buy full dill seed heads, use about three of those with one dill sprig.

¾ pound fresh green beans (enough to fill a quart jar)

2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 cups water

4 Tablespoons canning salt or 3 Tablespoons table salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon dill seed

2 cloves garlic

4 – 5 stalks fresh dill

Trim the ends off the beans, making sure they are a length to stand in the jar. Blanch the beans in boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and cover with ice cubes to stop the cooking. Toss the ice around to get to all the beans.  Drain.

Clean a one quart jar with two piece lid.  Stack the beans, the garlic cloves and the dill sprigs in the jar.  I find it easiest to do this with the jar on its side, so the beans stack on top of each other and stay upright. 

Bring the vinegar, water, seeds, salt and sugar to a full rolling boil and boil for 2 minutes.  Carefully pour the liquid over the beans in the jar to cover, leaving a ¼ inch head space at the top.  Immediately put on the top and screw on the band.  Leave to cool 8 hours or so, then refrigerate.   There may be more pickling liquid than you need, just discard the remainder.

To can the beans for longer term storage, process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes immediately after pouring in the hot vinegar and screwing on the lid and band. Here are step by step instructions for canning.