squash patties

                                What to do with all those summer squash? . . . Squash patties!!
                                       Here is my French Grandmother's recipe.
                           You are supposed to score the squash and dice it very fine, like this

but that takes lots of time when you're making a huge batch., so today I tried something different.
I cut the squash into quarters lengthwise, and then put it into the shredding disc of my food processor, and it turned out like this.  My mom would not approve of doing it this way, and I'll admit, hers are always better than mine, but this is SOO much faster when feeding a family of 7!

Then you drain the water from it by adding 1.5 tsp salt and stirring the squash while in a colander set over a bowl.

This is how much water I got out of my 4 1/2 zucchinis.

next, add flour (about 5 TBS)

Then add the basil and 2 scrambled eggs and some pepper
Fry them in oil on a griddle on high heat, about 3 minutes on each side (or until nice and brown).

Directions:
combine 4-5 medium zucchinis and 1 1/2 tsp salt and let it sit in a colander for about 30 minutes to drain excess water.
add 5 TBS flour
add 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil and pepper
add 2 eggs
Fry.

Lentil Tacos

These are quick, easy and delicious!
Ingredients:
1 cup lentils
8 oz extra sharp cheese (“seriously sharp” cabot is my favorite)
flour tortillas
tamari or soy sauce
salsa verde *
Directions:
1.  Bring lentils to a boil (in about 4 cups of water).  Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
2.  Drain the water out, then add about 2 tbs tamari to the lentils and let sit for a few minutes.
3.  Lightly butter 1 side of the tortillas and put buttered side on a griddle. 
4.  Sprinkle 1/2 the tortilla with cheese.  Add two scoops of lentils on top of the cheese and spread evenly over 1/2 of  the tortilla.  Sprinkle the lentils with a little more cheese, then fold the other half of the tortilla over and grill until crispy.
5.  Serve with salsa Verde *

*Green salsa, made with tomatillos instead of tomatoes, is essential to this meal!  Ortega’s is the best, but its very difficult to find.   I just tried it with Goya salsa verde and the flavor was great, but a little too spicy for me.
Tomato soup goes great with this!

Sausage and Lentil soup

My husband LOVES Carraba's Sausage and Lentil soup, and I was trying to duplicate it.  I came across this Rachael Ray’s recipe for “Hungarian Stoup”, and it looked like it could be a winner- and it was!

Ingredients:

2 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 lbs hot Italian sausage (I ‘ve used turkey sausage the last couple times I’ve made it and it turns out great!
3 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 portabella mushrooms (I’ve made it with or without this)
1 cup carrots chopped or shredded
1 cup lentils
1 large potato chopped (I’ve made it without this, and my hubby liked it even better)
salt, pepper, bay leaf
2 tsp smoked paprika *
3 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1 14 oz can fire roasted chopped tomatoes (hunts makes these)
6 cups chicken stock
4 cups kale, chopped
*make this yourself by combining 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 3/4 tsp paprika and pinch of cayenne pepper

1. Heat oil, brown and crumble sausage (removing casing first if using real sausage)
2. add garlic, onion, mushrooms and cook for a few minutes
3. add everything else, EXCEPT the kale, cover and boil for 15 minutes.
4. Add kale and let stand 5 more minutes.  Take rosemary stems out.

Creamless Creamy Potato Soup

The trick to making this soup creamy is to mash most of the potatoes before adding to the rest of the soup.  Sometimes I will mix a little cornstarch with water and add to the soup at the end if it doesn't seem thick enough.

Every time I make this soup, people ask for the recipe.

A guilt-free creamy potato soup is hard to find!

3 Tbs butter
1 medium carrot, diced or chopped
1/4 cup onion
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbs flour
1 qt 1% or 2% milk*
1/2 chicken boullion cube (depending on what kind you use)
6 medium potatoes, peeled diced and cooked in salted water
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
fresh ground pepper, to taste

1. Peel potatoes (although if I'm using red potatoes I like to leave some of the skin on for extra nutrients and texture) and cut into quarters.  Boil in salted water for about 10 minutes, or until fork-tender.

2.  Meanwhile, melt butter in a large dutch oven or soup pot.  Add carrot and onion and cook on low heat until tender (about 10 minutes) add garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Stir in flour

4.  Gradually stir in milk and boullion cube.  Cook over low heat while you get the potatoes drained and ready to go.

5.  Drain the potatoes and mash MOST of them, but leave 1 to dice, so you can have some chunkier potatoes in your soup too.

6.  Whisk the mashed potatoes into the soup, then add the diced.

7. stir in the cheese, parsley and seasonings.

8. At medium-low heat, gradually bring the soup CLOSE to a boil, but don't boil, or else the texture of the soup will change.  It is okay to eat it like this if you accidentally boil it, (as I have done many times), but the texture is much creamier and more delicious when you cook it on a lower heat.

*if you use 1% milk, you will probably want to add a cornstarch/water mixture to thicken it up a bit.  However, after refrigerating it, this soup will be much thicker the next day even without cornstarch

**for extra yummy soup, top with cheddar cheese and chives or scallions

Dhal Curry

Note: I've labeled this dinner "quick and easy", but you do have to plan ahead a little to include simmering time.  It's not nearly as quick as it is easy.
 
My kids have grown accustomed to lentils.  Some of them love lentils, while one of them used to hate them, but doesn’t mind them so much any more.  I make sausage and lentil soup, sweet and sour lentils, lentil tacos, lentils with onions, so they have gotten used to eating this kind of stuff. 
My husband loves Indian food, and this is one of his favorite lentil dishes, from Extending the Table.  It is very easy to make, but you have to plan ahead, because it simmers for about 35 minutes, then you remove the lid to let it thicken for over an hour, stirring occasionally until it is the consistency of refried beans (though sometimes we don’t have enough time to let it get to this consistency but it still tastes fine.)
I usually serve this with a salad and/or creamless cream of tomato soup.
Directions:
Fry in 2 T. oil until golden brown:
1 onion
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 tsp ginger root, finely grated (optional)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
Add:
1 cup dried lentils or split peas
2 1/2 cups hot water
1 tsp salt or to taste

Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 35 minutes.
Remove cover and simmer over very low heat, stirring frequently, about 1 hour, until lentils are mushy and thick, about the consistency of refried beans.  Garnish with onions, thinly sliced and browned, or a squeeze of lemon.  Serve with rice.

Delicious Indian dinner with mango Lassi for dessert!

Mango Lassi

from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking

 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup plain yogurt

1 cup chopped, ripe mango

3 Tbs sugar or to taste (I used 1 1/2 and it was great!)

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

8 ice cubes

I just bought a whole box of mangoes last week, so I figured I ought to finally learn how to properly cut a mango.  Here is the best instructional video I found if you are wondering how to cut a mango!

All Natural Fruit and Veggie Smoothie

 This is one of our new favorite times of the day ever since we got our Ninja blender.

This is an all-natural sugar-free smoothie, and you would never know there are veggies in it.

I wait for bananas to get nice and ripe, peel them and cut them in half and then freeze them.

$5.00 for ALL of these this week!!

I have been getting strawberries at the local flea market for $5.00-$15.00/flat (8-12 boxes of strawberries), depending on the week!!! I used to think Aldi had a good price, but now I’ve been spoiled by the flea market. 
I wash them and remove the stems, leaving them on a cooling rack to dry.  Then I freeze them for smoothies!

Here is my general smoothie recipe (I never actually measure the ingredients, so this is a rough estimate):

4-5 heaping scoops of yogurt (I use a soup spoon)
2 scoops frozen juice concentrate (lately we have been using Welch’s grape juice, but any juice is fine)
handful of kale


about 1/2 cup of water
1/2 frozen banana
1 peeled carrot
handful frozen fruit* (mixed berries, strawberries, grapes, or whatever you have on hand)

*I use frozen fruit so that it makes the smoothie nice and icy without watering it down with ice.