Spaghetti with Lemon Butter & Shredded Zucchini

The other night I made this again and used yellow summer squash instead of zucchini. I doubled the squash and, at the request of 10-year old Taylor, dropped a bit of the lemon zest. He felt the last batch was "too lemon-ey." Using yellow squash instead of green definitely lowered the eye appeal of the dish, but the results were pure nirvana. I had the rest for breakfast the next day. I like how quickly this recipe goes together, the fact that it uses up some of that ubiquitous yellow squash, and that it's easy to get my kids to eat it, since it's basically buttery noodles.

butteryzucchininoodles26.05
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic.

12 ounces spaghetti, spaghettini, or vermicelli

4 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 small or 1 medium (about 6 ounces) trimmed and shredded zucchini

Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente, or firm to the bite, 7 to 10 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, press excess liquid from shredded zucchini. Melt butter in a skillet over low heat. Stir in zucchini. Heat, stirring, until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon zest and juice; toss with the hot pasta. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper and a little red pepper, if desired. Serve.

Adapted from “365 Ways to Cook Pasta” by Marie Simmons, Harper & Row, 1988

For The Lancaster News

Cold Marinated Broccoli

The staff photographer was giving me tips to avoid having the back of close-up photos wash out like this. I didn't tell him that was what I was going for here. I actually like this photo a lot.

This is a good recipe to take to a family reunion. It's good cold or at room temperature.

Marinated Broccoli 6.18.05
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
fresh black pepper, to taste
1 large head broccoli
red pepper flakes, to taste

Mix together all the ingredients except the broccoli and red pepper flakes.
Prepare the broccoli by cutting into 2-to3-inch florets. If using organically grown broccoli, soak the florets in cold, salted water for a few minutes to scare out any garden pests. Steam or quickly boil broccoli until tender-crisp. Drain and chill in ice water to stop the cooking process. Toss with marinade and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Let stand at least 1/2 hour. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Adapted from “From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm-Fresh, Seasonal Produce” by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition, 1996.

For The Lancaster News

Swiss Chard Pies

This is not a great photo, but I enjoyed taking it and I don't have a better one. These are very very good pies. I made one with monterey jack and the other with a medium cheddar. The kids liked them very much. I ended up freezing one and we pulled it out a week later for a quick meal.

piesinoven6.05
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic.

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch swiss chard, trimmed from ribs and chopped
6 eggs, divided
1 cup finely-shredded cheese
dash of nutmeg
2 pie crusts

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Sauté the onion and garlic in oil. Add the chard and cook down until wilted. Beat 3 of the eggs and set aside. Place half the chard mixture in the bottom of each pie crust. Sprinkle a little nutmeg over the chard. Sprinkle each pie with half the cheese. Pour the beaten eggs into one pie. Beat the other 3 eggs and pour into the other pie crust. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in to the center comes out clean.
Adapted from “From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Farm-Fresh, Seasonal Produce” published by the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition.

For The Lancaster News

Peach Pound Cake

Peach Pound Cake
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic.

This is a good way to eat yourself to death

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
2-1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh peaches, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Grease a tube pan with the 2 tablespoons of butter. Sprinkle the pan with 1/4 cup sugar.
Cream the remaining butter; gradually add remaining sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix well.
Combine 2 3/4 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating until well-blended.
Dredge peaches with remaining 1/4 cup flour. Fold peaches into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Serves 16...or 4
Recipe from http://www.thatsmyhome.com

For The Lancaster News

Turnip Turn-around

Roasted Spring Turnips
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic.

We've definitely experienced a breakthrough on the turnip front. Up until now I've struggled to find a way to get anyone else in the family to eat turnips. Each year we get them in our farm box and each year the farmer says "These spring baby turnips are so sweet and tender you don't need to peel them. Just slice and sautee in butter for a few minutes."

Well, the guys won't eat them.They also don't like to find them in their stir fry, mashed potatoes or anything else. I was seriously thinking about throwing in the towel. Which I've never done on any vegetable.

So last week I roasted them with the beets. Just scrubbed them lightly, pricked them with a fork, drizzled with olive oil and roasted them for an hour at about 375. After they cooled I peeled and sliced them and THEN sauteed them in butter.
What a treat!

By the way, these are a variety of red turnips. They didn't get that way from roasting. The turnip I recieved that was bigger than a softball(what was the farmer thinking?), I cut into chunks and put in my vegetable stock).

I have one other idea, that involves roasting, crispy bacon and grits. I'll try that at some point, too.