eat your chips !

What to do with the plethora of zucchini and eggplants which are probably overrunning your summer garden .

With Autumn around the corner and the rather extraordinary summer we have had this year in the mid-west I wanted to find another exciting way to enjoy the constant zucchini harvest .

During one of my Pinterest journeys I came across a recipe that was so simple , I had to re-read it . So simple I thought it cannot be that simple . So simple that when I made it ............ I regretted not making it sooner .

 

 

A few very simple steps, plenty of hands off waiting time and you will enjoy the most delicious "chips" that you will be bugging your children and significant other , along with any picky eaters to indulge .

 

This recipe is so simple , 3 simple steps to chip nirvana.

 

step one : procure zucchini and or eggplant

 

step two: buttermilk or regular milk

 

step three : panko breadcrumbs and grated pecorino cheese

 

 

 

Preheat oven to 420F, place a cake rack  ( lightly sprayed with canola oil) within a sheet pan and place to the side . Wash and dry your vegetables and slice about quarter inch , place in milk and toss to coat well.

 

Put enough panko breadcrumb in a bowl to coat and approximately equal amount of finely grated pecorino ( I happened to have that on hand) or parmesan cheese .

 

Take zucchini slice from bowl of milk, pat into breadcrumb mixture , pressing lightly , place on cake rack .

 

Place in oven for about 20-30 minutes , depending on your oven until they start to brown slightly and the smell will overwhelm your senses !!! You can flip them over if the underside is not browning. You can use the convestion setting , however they will need to be monitored a lot more closely and flipped half-way through the cooking process .

 

Allow to cool slightly , enjoy at room temperature along with some tzatziki dip .

 

 

Now how often do you tell your children to eat their chips !!!!!!

 



Caulifower Toastie

There are not many people with an affinity for cauliflower . Try as you may , that it is a long lost cousin of the broccoli , you will still struggle to win over any friends . However , one of the buzz words for healthy eating , high in anti oxidants and a good fighter against cancer is anything from the cruciferous family - and I believe cauliflower falls in that catergory .

I grew up eating steamed cauliflower with a simple adornment of freshly squeezed lemon juice and only the best extra virgin olive oil . A spectacularly simple and delicious side dish , that I still enjoy to this day .

As the quest of motherhood came upon me and raising little gourmets followed close at hand , I have pondered many ways of how to introduce this wonderful vegetable to the family . Then I remembered reading about this simple and unusal take on cauliflower , from a book that escapes my memory. It is a fusion of steamed caulifower florets, some mayonnaise, good dijon mustard, tiny little cubes of celery and red onion and freshly ground pepper and a sprinkle of salt.

One day , with much trepadition , I purchased a beautiful white head of cauliflower, came home, and with much aplomb cut off the florets and proceeded to steam them ,until fork tender .You add to this a fusion of

aromatics ,toast some nice hearty whole wheat bread, pita or sourdough bread and proceed to slather on this delicious spread . You can also elevate this to super health food snack ( thus momentarily forgetting the much maligned use of mayonnaise ) by topping the delight with some grated carrot and sprouts.

I must confess that I have yet to serve it with these accroutements , to my immediate family - as we at baby step stage - when we reach toddler stage Iwill break out the frills and spills.

But more importantly , I was completely floored when the family scoffed this down without a second of hesitation . I am still in recovery - I was expecting resistance from my little little gourmet - more like downright refusal- and to my complete delight she thoroughly enjoyed eating it like this . Needless to say my little gourmet cannot eat enough of this - I am sure she will be the first to embrace the accroutements as mentioned above . And daddy enjoyed it also - he falls in the slot just before my little little gourmet when it comes to pickiness ..... somehow this dish has won everyone over .

It is not a dish with exact measurements, it is made with a little bit of this and little bit if that and commonsense .

I urge you all to give this  a try and I am sure you will in wover fervent haters of cauliflower and it will become a staple, quick , go to meal/snack for your family and friends .

Cauliflower Toastie

a recipe inspred by a book that escapes my memory !

1 head of cauliflower - florets only

mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard - or to taste
1 stalk celery - diced

1/2 scant cup red onion - diced

small handful of chived - fine dice ( optional)

salt and freshly ground pepper

whole wheat breat or pita - toasted

Cut florets from the cauliflower head and steam to fork tender.

Meanwhile ,clean and wash a stalk of celery , then cut down the length of the celery long strips and then crosswise into very small dice . Fine dice your onions and fresh chives if you are using them . Place all the ingredients in a large bowl , add the mustard and about 1/2 cup of mayonnaise - to begin with .

Once the cauliflower is cooked , remove from the steamer and place on a chopping board to cool down , at this point you can also start to roughly chop through the cauliflower - this will accelerate the cooling down process .

Once it has cooled down enough - you can then mash it with a fork or continue to finely chop it with a kitchen knife . Add the cooled cauliflower to the rest of the ingredients in the bowl .

Do not add the caulifower to bowl , steaming hot as it will make the mayonnaise go runny and par cook the onion and celery and the mix will not have the crunch it needs .

If you see that the mayonnaise is not enough - just add more so that it coats the cauliflower but does not swim in it .

Toast some of your favourite bread or Pita - or you can even enjoy it with some Wasa Crispbreads.

This can be enjoyed at room temperature or kept in the fridge and enjoyed cold as well .

Harvest Apple Sauce

I love apple sauce , it is comfort snacking at its simplest . What I do not like is the store bought apple sauce - way too much added sugar and things that do not belong .

My girls also like apple sauce - but growing up I spoiled them . Unlike all their friends who would open a packet of sauce and immediately start devouring the contents - my little pumpkins wanted the homemade - real deal - so every so often I whip up a batch .

Now that we have just enjoyed a wonderful apple season - what could be better than apple sauce made with apples from the orchards ( thank you for the contribution Kelly ! ) , fresh , unwaxed, crisp apples - it does not get better than that !

Preparations are simple , clean out the fruit bin of all the odds and ends of apples -I always seem to accumulate plenty

wash well , quarter and roughly cut out the core

place in saucepan with a cup of water

bring to a boil and simmer until everything is soft and mushy

by leaving the skins on the applesauce takes on a lovely pink/rosy hue

Allow to cool slightly then pass through a coarse sieve using a spatula , scrape all the goodness into a container , store in refrigerator and eat with abandon !!!

Enjoy on its own , with granola , and of course with roast pork and even roast turkey.

Please make some, you will never go back to the mass produced stuff again.