Friday, July 17, 2020

Summer Squash Fritters

We ate two dinners out last week, and somehow that caused Massive Vegetable Backup. When my Hungry Harvest delivery arrived today I realized I now had 4 large summer squash, 3 heads of broccoli, a cauliflower, asparagus, sweet potatoes, still working on a giant head of kale, plus a bunch of fruit. Had to throw out several clementines that arrived last week already starting to rot, and there's a couple bananas that aren't gonna make it. I've been pretty good not wasting food the last few months, but got into a backlog. Time to eat this stuff!

I managed to use up 3 of the summer squash in these fritters. I prefer zucchini over yellow squash - you can use either here. When you grate it, season it and fry it up, it's hard to tell one way or the other! As per usual I looked at several squash fritter recipes online and then did my own thing. Quantities varied a lot - some used 2 eggs, some used one (I ended up using 1 plus some packaged egg whites); some used over a cup of flour and some 1/2 cup (or bread crumbs, or cornmeal, or crushed crackers)...this is all pretty flexible.

After you salt and drain the squash you end up with considerably less than you start with. 3 medium-large squash made 10 fritters. Also, these would probably be great with some kind of yogurt or mayo-based sauce/drizzle, but I just squeezed some fresh lemon over and called it done. Oh, and I totally meant to add parmesan and/or cheddar cheese but forgot. Cheese would be good, if you remember.

- 3 medium-large summer squash, grated
- salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 onion, minced
- a few shakes of garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne
- 1/2 cup or more flour
- optional: 1/4 tsp baking powder (I don't know if this really does anything; I saw it in a couple recipes and added it)
- optional: grated cheddar or parmesan cheese
- veg oil for frying

1. Put the grated squash in a colander, sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and let stand about 15 minutes. Press out moisture with a large spoon - or put the squash in a clean tea towel and squeeze.

2. Beat the eggs and mix in onion, seasonings and flour (I added a little more salt too; well-seasoned is good!). Mix in squash, and cheese if you're using. If you want the batter a bit thicker, add more flour.

3. Heat a large skillet (cast iron if you have it) on medium high and coat with a thin layer of oil. Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter and flatten into pancakes. Don't crowd the pan; I did 4 at a time. Fry until nicely browned and then flip.

4. Move to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain. You can serve right away, or I removed the paper towels and stuck the baking sheet in a 350 oven for about 15 minutes while I made other stuff for the meal. It cooks the insides a bit more.

I served this with sauteed asparagus with garlic and [instant!] mashed potatoes. Good veggie meal. If timed right, I get nice rays of setting sunshine on the table:




Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Lemony White Beans with Kale

Back in mid-March when I did a grocery trip a couple hours before the governor announced our state was locking down, I "had a feeling" and loaded up on a bunch of non-perishables, including a few bags of dried beans (even though I usually just use canned). I did use some of the lentils at one point, but now 4 months later I'm finally breaking into the dried beans :) .

I think I would cook dried beans more often - they're not that hard - except that I'm not a planner when it comes to soaking them overnight. And canned beans are pretty cheap, and usually the right quantity for a 2-person household. I've thought about getting an Instant Pot mostly for cooking beans, but I don't think I can justify the counter space in our tiny kitchen.

We also got an enormous bunch of kale in our last Hungry Harvest delivery...and white beans and kale are a thing. It's too hot for soup, but I did sort of a saute/braise. You can definitely use canned beans with this (I'd rinse them), and throw in any other vegetables you want. I saved my bean cooking liquid and used it to create a bit of a sauce. If you use canned tomatoes instead of fresh, that would probably be sufficient - or you can add some water or broth if you want a more saucy consistency.

- ~2 cups cooked white beans, or 2 cans rinsed & drained. If cooking dried beans, save the cooking liquid. I added bay leaves to mine which gave it a nice flavor/aroma.
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 yellow squash, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch kale, stemmed & chopped
- 2-3 tomatoes, chopped (or use canned diced tomatoes)
- juice of 1 lemon

Saute onion & celery in a generous amount of olive oil until just tender. Add squash, season with salt, and cook a couple of minutes. Add garlic & red pepper flakes & stir briefly. Add kale and cook until wilted. Add beans and tomatoes. Add some of the bean cooking liquid (or other liquid) if you want it a bit saucier. Cover and simmer for just a few minutes. Add lemon juice, a bunch of fresh ground pepper, and taste for salt.

I served this over couscous with parmesan cheese, and topped with a bit of feta I had hanging around in the fridge.


Monday, July 6, 2020

Deviled Egg Tuna Pasta (or Potato) Salad

I have a bunch of fresh produce on hand I should probably be using/cooking, but I have been craving something like this during hot weather. I made a potato salad version of this (without tuna) a couple weeks ago, and it was delish. The "deviled egg" component is that the hard-boiled egg yolks are mashed into the dressing, like how you would make deviled egg filling. When you add chopped hard-boiled eggs to a pasta or potato salad, the yolks tend to disintegrate anyway, so why not? It gives a nice yellow hue to the salad.

The ingredients and quantities are suuuuuper adaptable. For potato salad, use maybe 6 medium/large potatoes, cubed and boiled in salted water until just tender (I don't peel). You can use less or more mayo depending on the consistency you like (I don't like it super-gloppy), and/or sub in some sour cream or plain Greek yogurt to lighten it up (lowfat versions if that's your jam). Leave out the tuna if you're not a fan, or add another can if you want some more protein. Use less or more eggs (I have seen variations of this recipe online that use up to 12 eggs. That seems...eggy), less or more celery. You can also add whatever else you like in your pasta or potato salads:
- pickles (yum) or olives (meh)
- fresh herbs like parsley or dill
- other chopped veggies like bell peppers, cucumber, carrot, even some finely chopped raw broccoli

If you add raisins though, I'm not sure we can be friends.

Deviled Egg Tuna Pasta Salad

- 1/2 box pasta (shells, elbows or other small shape)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (sub with part sour cream and/or plain yogurt if you like)
- 1 Tbl mustard (I like Dijon)
- 2 Tbl vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
- salt & black pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- dash of hot sauce
- 2-4 ribs of celery, thinly sliced (I like the crunch of celery so I use a lot)
- 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 can tuna, drained

1. Cook pasta in well-salted water until just al dente. Drain & rinse under cold water, let it hang out in the colander.
2. Hard boil the eggs (cover eggs with water, bring to boil, turn off heat, cover & let sit 12 mins. Then cool in ice water). Peel, halve and scoop the yolks out into a large bowl. Roughly chop the whites and set aside.
3. Mash the egg yolks in the bowl and add the mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar & seasonings. Mix well. Taste and see if it needs anything (it will coat a lot of stuff, so make sure it's well-seasoned).
4. Add the celery, green onions and tuna; mix until combined. Then stir in the cooled pasta. Gently stir in the chopped egg whites last.
5. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving. The pasta will absorb more dressing the longer it sits. Sprinkle with paprika before serving, if you like.
6. Let your cat go to town on the empty tuna can. 😻