Tasty Tuesdays: Summer Zucchini Salad

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I made this salad this weekend and loved it.  For so few ingredients, it packs in a ton of flavor.  A great recipe to enjoy summer produce at it's best!  And the best part about it?  It was super easy to make - only takes a few minutes to pull it all together.

{ recipe adapted from the August 6, 2012 issue of People magazine }

Ingredients:

- 1 medium zucchini

- 1 cup arugula

- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

- 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 2 teaspoons lemon juice

- salt, pepper

- Parmesan or similar cheese

1.  Halve zucchini.  Place 1 inch of water in saute pan and place zucchini in pan, skin side down.  Cover and stems for a few minutes.  Zucchini should be tender but not mushy.

2.  When zucchini has cooled, cut into paper thin slices.

3.  Place zucchini slices on a plate and top with arugula.  Add basil, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.  Top with cheese and serve.

{ makes one serving }

What did you cook this week?

Party Rules:

1.  Add a link to the post you are linking up back to this post

OR

2.  Add the Tasty Tuesday button to the post you are linking up.  You will find the button on my sidebar.  Thanks!

Tasty Tuesdyas: Zucchini Lasagna

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

Is your garden overflowing with zucchini & tomatoes?  If so, I have the perfect recipe for you.  This original recipe is from Williams Sonoma and can be found here.  I did adapt the recipe a bit, changing up the ingredients.  Also, I cut the recipe in half for me but will write out the amounts for a full size recipe. 

Ingredients:
- olive oil for cooking


- 4 lb. zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices

- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

- 4 cups ricotta cheese

- 1/3 cup unsalted butter

- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

- 5 cups milk, warmed

- 1 1/2 lb. fresh pasta, cut into lasagna noodles, cooked until just tender

- 4 lb. tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1/2 cup smoked Gouda cheese; sliced thinly or shredded

- several fresh basil leaves

1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

1.  Prepare tomatoes by seeding and coarse chopping.  Mince garlic and add to bowl with tomatoes.  Set aside.

2.  Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees.

3.  In a large saute pan over medium heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Working in batches, add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and repeat with the remaining zucchini; set aside.

4.  In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, then cook until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until smooth. Cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper; set aside.

5.  Cover the bottom of the lasagna pan with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread one-third of the ricotta over the noodles. Spread one-third of the tomatoes over the ricotta, then top with one-third of the zucchini. Pour one-third of the sauce over the zucchini. Add one third of the basil leaves.  For the first layer only, add smoked Gouda cheese.  Repeat the layering twice more. Top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake until the lasagna is golden and bubbling, about 50 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 10 to 12.

First layer with smoked Gouda:

Final layer topped with mozzarella:

Right out of the oven:

I served the lasagna with a simple garden salad.  Everything in the salad was fresh from the farmers market along with a few tomatoes from my garden.



 

 

What did you cook this week?

 

Party Rules:

1.  Add a link to the post you are linking up back to this post

OR

2.  Add the Tasty Tuesdays button to the post you are linking up.  You will find the button on my sidebar.  Thanks!

Tasty Tuesdays: Peach Blueberry Almond Galette

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

Are you enjoying summer?  Can you believe we are turning the calendar to August tomorrow?  I can't! 

Today I have a summer dessert to share with you.  The original recipe is from the July/August 2012 issue of Country Living Magazine - you can find it here.  I adapted the recipe a bit to include blueberries.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 recipe for basic pie pastry - directions and ingredients found here

- 1 cup blueberries

- 4 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup almonds

- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

- 1 large egg yolk

- 1 teaspoon almond extract

- 2 tablespoons honey

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-1 tablespoon sugar

1.  Prepare pie patery and refidgerate until ready to use.

2.  Grind almonds to a fine meal using food processor.  I don't have a food processor, so I bought slivered almonds. put them in a Ziploc and used a rolling pin to grind them up.  Place almonds in bowl.  Add confectioners sugar, egg yolk, and almond extract.  Stir to combine and set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, combine peaches, blueberries, honey, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

4.  Heat oven to 400 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 14" circle.  Fit into a 9" pie plate.  Spread almond paste over the dough.  Add peach blueberry mixture.  Fold edges of dough over fruit to form a rustic flat pie with a 2" border, as shown in photos.  Brush edges with water and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake until pie is bubbling and crust is golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes.  Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or freshly made whipped cream.

 

What did you cook this week?

Party Rules:
1.  Add a link to the post you are linking up back to this post
OR
2.  Add the Tasty Tuesday Button to the post you are linking up.  You can find the button and code on my sidebar.  Thanks!

Tasty Tuesdays: Garden Fresh Summer Salad

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I'm happy to actually have a recipe to share with you this week.  This salad was delicious and is just perfect for all of the fresh produce in season right now.

{ Adapted from recipe by Ann Gentry published in the June/July 2011 issue of Ready Made Magazine }

Ingredients:

- 8 oz slender green beans, trimmed

- 4 med. red-skinned potatoes, cut into ½-inch-thick wedges

For Vinaigrette:

- ¼ c fresh lemon juice

- 1 green onion, minced (about 2 T)

- 2 t Dijon mustard

- ¾ t sea salt

- ¼ t freshly ground black pepper

- ½ c extra virgin olive oil

For Salad:

- 1 large head butter lettuce, leaves separated and larger leaves torn in half

- 3 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges, or 10 to 12 cherry tomatoes, halved

- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

- 6oz goat cheese, sliced into rounds

- ⅓ c kalamata olives

- 4 radishes, thinly sliced

- 1½ T minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1.  Cook the green beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and submerge the green beans in a bowl of ice water just until they are cold. Drain beans again and pat dry. Set aside.

2.  Place the potatoes in a steamer basket set in a saucepan filled with 1 inch of simmering water. Cover and steam until they are just tender and still hold their shape, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.

3.  Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice, shallot, mustard, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil to blend well.

4.  Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter or in a large shallow salad bowl. Place the green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes in a large bowl. Toss with enough of the vinaigrette to coat, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the beans, potatoes, and tomatoes atop the lettuce. Arrange the cheese slices amid the vegetables. Sprinkle the olives and parsley over the salad. Spoon on more vinaigrette and serve immediately.

I loved this salad.  It was a great way to enjoy fresh summer flavors.  I ate it for a few days after I made it leftover, and it was just as good.

What did you cook this week?

Party Rules:

1.  Add a link to the post you are linking up back to this post

OR

2.  Add the Tasty Tuesday button to the post you are linking up.  You will find the button on my sidebar.  Thanks!

Tasty Tuesday #79

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I have been a complete slacker this week.  I don't have an excuse for not having a recipe to share today - I guess I have just been enjoying Summer too much!

Looking forward to seeing what you cooked this week.

Party Rules:

1.  Add a link in the post you are linking up back to this post

OR

2.  Add the Tasty Tuesday button to the post you are linking up.  Thanks!

A Quilt for Baby S

I recently made a baby quilt for one of my very best friends, Sandy.  She is expecting her first in a few short weeks.  San and I  {and our friend Ann} have known each other since our freshman year of High School.  I can't believe we were only 14 when we met.  It's so exciting to see her enter this new phase in her life.

San & her husband aren't finding out what they are having, so the most challenging part about his quilt was deciding on a gender neutral theme.  I decided on grey, aqua, orange, and yellow and started searching for fabric.  No green - can you believe it?! 

I don't have exact names of fabrics, but I purchased almost all of the fabric from Fabric Worm in their Children's Fabric section.  I just fell in love with the colors and patterns!

For the front of the quilt I followed the same pattern I used for the last baby quilt I made.  The pattern was designed by Vanessa Christenson of V and Co. and was featured on Moda Bake Shop.   You will find directions and templates for the letters there.  I altered the size of my quilt a bit, but followed the idea of her design for the front of the quilt. 

One note about the letters - I used Heat n Bond Feather Lite iron-on transfer.  I hated it.  The letters did not stick and I ended up having to redo most of them.  I will definitely not use it again.  I've never had any trouble with the other Heat n Bond iron-on adhesives I've used, so next time I will be sticking to them!

One thing I am really disappointed about - I used a pale yellow for the word 'sleep' and it's very hard to see!  You don't even notice it in the photo above.  I wanted to use an orange, but could not find the right shade, so I went with yellow.  Pretty bummed about it!  Luckily, I don't think Baby S will notice.

 

And the back of the quilt:

 

 

I didn't follow a pattern or the back, just had fun piecing different size strips together.  I knew that I wanted a full panel of the fabric below....Isn't it adorable?  The pattern is Jay-Cyn Designs for Birch Fabrics, pattern: Commute, Organic; color: To Work.  Find it HERE.

 

 

I used free motion quilting techniques for the quilt.  Free motion quilting is a lot of fun.  You put down the feed dogs on your sewing machine and you move the fabric with your hands to create the quilt pattern.  If you'd like to learn more, this is a great post from Oh, Fransson.  There is also a very helpful series on YouTube.

 

 

 

 

 



The only quilt batting I've ever used is from Warm & Natural.  I really like the feel of it and it washes up really nicely and gives the quilt a pretty puckered texture.

 



 



 

 

I had a lot of fun sewing this - I can't wait to make another quilt.

 

Here's a picture of us at Sandy's shower:

 

{ Ann, San, me }

 

I can't wait to meet Baby S!