Simple Baked Zucchini Recipe

Just want to write down this really simple healthy zucchini recipe. You just need zucchini (chopped into cubes about a half inch square) plus a fat (butter or oil) and a bit of flavor (even just a few shakes of salt and pepper). Chop the zucchini into small pieces, toss it with the oil, salt, and pepper -- maybe throw in some chopped onion or garlic, or sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top -- and bake for 15-20 minutes at about 375 degrees, until the zucchini pieces reach your desired tenderness. I like them to cook pretty much all the way through but not completely soggy. Use a decent amount of oil/butter/salt for a stronger flavor if you prefer. Use this little starter recipe with whatever else you want to throw in -- tomatoes, red peppers, fresh basil, etc...

chopped zucchini

tossed with oil, salt, pepper, and chopped onion

glass baking dish, about 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes

done, super easy, less than 5 ingredients, from the yarden to the table

served with steamed homegrown broccoli and a pizza from Donatelli's

Open for Business

I just divvied up this week's harvest into manageable packages to distribute among friends. Nice...

Everyday I'm Harvestin'

With my Bloomfield urban yarden fully popping off as we roll through these lazy, hazy days of Summer, and Weird Al Yankovic releasing 8 new videos, I really wish the master of parody had turned Rick Ross's 'Everyday I'm Hustlin'" into 'Everyday I'm Harvestin'" so I could use it as my theme song this Summer...

Anyway, I have harvested three of these massive zucchinis already, and I can see at least 2 more fully developed on the plant. The zucchini plant went into the ground last and it has already produced a massive amount of fruit. Absolutely tremendous yield. I've sliced-and-grilled it, chopped-and-baked it, and cooked it in tomato sauce ... so far. What else lies in store for this classic Italian summer squash, a casserole perhaps, or maybe a loaf of bread? I went ahead and pulled out a carrot or two as well, although they will certainly grow larger over time.

My green pepper plant has produced two solid peppers so far. I'd call them larger than a baseball but smaller than a softball -- about the size of a standard coffee mug or a decent sized apple. Yesterday I chopped one up and tossed it in a salad. Now that I've picked it (and will soon pick the other one) the growing power will shift to the smaller peppers already starting to blossom at the top of the plant. This plant appears to have a great yield in store!

Oh, and lest we forgot the broccoli! I planted both seedlings and seeds this year, to spread out the yield, and it worked out well. I've harvested the seedlings several times already, and now the ones planted from seed have produced their first heads. This broccoli has gone on the grill, in the steamer, in tomato sauce, pasta dishes, and even a quiche (which turned out really well). Super high yield again on the broccoli this year. It has become my most tradeable item.

Broc and Zook from the yarden for tomato sauce

Now on to the herbs. I love saying herbs with a voiced H. I got a bit lazy with the cilantro and it all flowered. I think that means no more cilantro this season. I did just cut all the tops off so maybe it will restart the growing process? Thank god I put the mint into a pot, else it would take over the world. The oregano grows steady and wide so I can clips sprigs any time I need it fresh. Very high yield there. I usually tie up a bunch to include in my veggie giveaways since I have so much. 

I don't know exactly how to handle the stevia. I planted to seedlings from Home Depot early in the season and they have done quite well. Each one had a few stems growing so I have about 5 or 6 tall stems producing broad leaves. I clipped about 6-8 inches off the top a few weeks ago and let the leaves dry out. I'll probably do the same thing again this week, and then continue clipping the tops every few weeks. I don't really know. I plan on grinding the dried leaves into powder, which I can use as a sugar replacer. I highly recommend mojitos with mint and stevia from the garden!

top of stevia plants flourishing

cut the tops off the plants

what a lovely herb

dried and ready to grind into powder

Joe's Amazing Chicken -- First Cook Outs of the Season

Yeah Buddy! Cookouts have returned to Heady Place! (Oh, by the way, some people refer to my house as Heady Place.) Temperatures topped out around 50 degrees a few times last week so I fired up the ol' grill.

The first cookout of the year featured Joe's Amazing Chicken (of course) and vegetable skewers: one of red pepper, one of zucchini. For the chicken, I used giant boneless breasts, marinated overnight in soy sauce and painted four times per side with Joe's Amazing Sauce while slow cooking for about 45 minutes. I sliced the zuke in wheels, sprinkled with coarse sea salt, and lined 'em all up on a skewer. I cut the red pepper in large chunks and skewered them, cooking unseasoned. Red pepper grills so well without seasoning, and the zuke really just needed a light salting. The grill brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetables. 

Joe's Amazing Chicken

This version of Joe's Amazing Sauce included roughly equal portions of: sriracha, teriyaki sauce, corn syrup, and olive oil. The key to Joe's Amazing Sauce lies in the four categories that these ingredients represent: spicy, salty, sweet, and stretch. You want a spicy ingredient (e.g., sriracha or hot sauce), a salty ingredient (e.g., teriyaki or soy sauce), a sweet one (e.g., corn syrup, brown sugar, stevia), and something to stretch the sauce and give you enough to coat the meat several times (such as olive oil, lemon juice, wine or beer). Heat one side the grill to high and the other to low, keeping the meat on the low side. Cook slowly, turning and coating with sauce often. Each layer of the sauce will cook into the chicken, or even start to glaze depending on your choice of sweetener. This re-coating and glazing makes the chicken ... amazing. As you continue to cook and add more sauce, try to drip or spread the sauce down into any crevices the meat might have. Depending on your meat you can find lots of little places to cook the sauce into. For example, bone-in thighs with the skin on make a great choice for grilling with this technique. Peal up the skin and spread the sauce underneath. Repeat every time you turn it, and you will have ... well ... Amazing Chicken. Finish it up over high heat to give you a nice set of grill marks across the meat.

The following day I made a jerk seasoning dry rub for cookout numero dos. You can make a really easy, delicious jerk seasoning with: ground cloves, salt, sugar, black pepper, cumin, and a little chili powder or hot red pepper flakes. Do not skimp on the sugar -- try brown sugar or stevia and little cinnamon too. The salt, sugar, and cloves make up the bulk of the seasoning. First rinse and pat the chicken dry. Then cover the chicken in the seasoning and press it gently into the meat. Turn and repeat a few times -- you want to coat the chicken completely. Grill the chicken as described above, or over a higher flame if desired.

Of course, as the season change comes along, so does my cold. It seems like every year both the Fall and Spring season change knock me out with a major cold. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

TriciaSoGarden

Early this morning I went over to take a look at the Melon St. Garden aka TriciaSoGarden. I feared the tomatoes might have taken over the world. The zucchini, cabbage, beans, peppers, and cucumbers have come along nicely! [EDIT: Later, she came home and chumped me.] :( 

Cookout with Av and Mick

word to your mother

Avniel decided to drive out to Pittsburgh for a visit this weekend and we ended up assembling an epic cookout feast Saturday night. We got fresh sausage -- 1 pound each of hot Italian and spicy Sicilian -- sweet red peppers, and old style whole grain dijon mustard from Donatelli's in Bloomfield. At the grocery store we picked up all natural chicken thighs, yellow squash, green peppers, and a sweet red onion. I had asparagus, zucchini, and potatoes from the Bloomfield farmer's market, and we used cilantro, oregano, and mint (for mojitos) from the garden.

I skewered and brushed the potatoes with olive oil and Old Bay seasoning: 

Av chopped the onion, green peppers, and squash into large kabob chunks and tossed them with olive oil, coarse sea salt, fresh ground rainbow peppercorn medley, and fresh herbs from the garden. I used my Amazing Sauce on the chicken. 

I sliced the zucchini lengthwise and just brushed it with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

I grilled the asparagus in foil with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and just cooked the sweet red pepper plain and whole on the top rack of the grill. The chicken of course I cooked slowly, turning and re-applying sauce half a dozen times.

I made more mojitos with the mint from the garden.