Elle's New England Kitchen

And they have nothing to do with each other, but I've been meaning to post them for a while now. I took a look at my last post this morning and almost fell off my chair when I realized it was posted last Wednesday! That's almost a week! Where has the time gone? I guess part of it is because my husband had a three day weekend last week. We were busy with a day trip (zoo) on Friday, and then the hours and days seemed to flow together and before you know it, it's Tuesday.

I hate that the summer seems to be flying by. And what do you see in every store? Summer stuff on clearance, and big displays of back to school stuff. God, I used to hate that when I was a kid. It always gave me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Summer went fast enough, and to see retailers pushing it in our faces made me so mad, hehe. I always feel badly when my kids have gotten down to their last one or two weeks of summer, and you can just see it in their eyes. It's looming ahead and they know it. Poor kids, hehe.

Anyway, the recipes. One is for Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread. It's the one I always make, and my kids love it--it's really moist and nice and chocolatey. But I call it "Chocolate Bread" for the benefit of my two youngest kids. They don't know they're eating a healthy dose of a green vegetable, but I do. My two older kids are sworn to secrecy. They don't mind that it's in there--they love the bread! This one was found in the Food Network Kitchens book. They add cinnamon and cloves, but I prefer it without. And so do the kids, in fact. So I've gotten rid of them. Tossed 'em to the curb. (The spices, not the kids.) This also makes two loaves. I love recipes like that, especially with a big family. We can make one loaf disappear just by looking at it. And it also freezes well, so you can put one away for later, too. Also, I think you could substitute plain yogurt for some of the fat in this and it would be great. I'm going to try that this week, and I'll let you all know how it goes. If you want to add the spices (1/2 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves), sift them into the dry ingredients.



This one is posted for Ben at What's Cooking? for his I Love Baking bi-weekly blog event. Send him your baked goodies!




Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
adapted From Food Network Kitchens
Makes 2 loaves

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (NOT dutch process)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups zucchini, unpeeled and shredded
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (they call for finely chopped, but I like to leave some larger chunks, too)



1 Heat oven to 350°.
2 Butter and flour 2 loaf pans.
3 Whisk the flour with the cocoa and baking soda in a medium size bowl.
4 Beat butter and sugar in a medium bowl with a mixer on med high until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
5 While you're mixing, drizzle in the oil, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6 Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk.
7 Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.
8 (Like this--flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour) Scrape the sides of the bowl when needed.
9 Fold in the zucchini and chocolate.
10 Divide batter into the 2 pans.
11 Bake until tester comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
12 (be careful, the tester may look chocolatey from the chocolate in the bread--don't over bake) Cool in pans on rack before removing and slicing.





The next recipe is so simple, you don't even need a recipe. Its from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks. If you're not reading that blog, you should be! Amazing food, gorgeous photos, wonderful writing--it's got it all. The recipe is for Lori's Skillet Smashed Potatoes.

You take small potatoes, boil them for a bit, then drain and smash them with the bottom of a glass or a custard cup, and then cook them in a skillet until they're all crunchy and golden brown. A sprinkle of coarse salt and whatever else you like, and you're done. (Herbes de Provence is so good on these...) (hahaha! Spell checker thinks I should change "Herbes" to "Herbies!" Doesn't sound very sophisticated that way, does it?)

They are SO freaking delicious. Like candy. It's hard for me to leave them alone before we even sit down to eat. "What? No, really, we only had ten potatoes to start with! Uh-huh. It looked like more? Way more? Well, what do you know, I'm doing the cooking!"

Go check out the recipe at Heidi's blog and please, please try these. You won't be sorry!

Prepare for Potato Porn...

After being boiled and smashed.

And shown here, with a grilled steak...

This tag is from Pixie at You Say Tomahto, I Say Tomayto. Actually not really a tag, more like she left it open to anyone that wanted to do it, in turn. I really like this idea! That way, there's no pressure on anyone to do it. But it's a fun tag! The idea is to post your ten favorite food photos.

1) Fresh Summer Salad


2) Date Bars



3) Garlic Shrimp


4) Guacamole



5) Whole Wheat Brownies



6) Chili and Cornbread



7) Lime Bars



8) Parm Crusted Chicken with Lemon Vinaigrette over Mixed Greens



9) Jams and Citrus Curd



10) American Chop Suey

So there are my ten faves, so far. Whoever wants to go ahead and do this tag, go for it! It's fun and easy, and not too much thinking, which can sometimes cause my ears to let off smoke. ;) And if you want to tag five people, feel free!




Quickie Recipe! Zucchini Faux Pasta with Italian Sausage



This is one of our favorite recipes. Not only is it quick and easy, but it's good for you, low in carbs, and a great way to use up zucchini, which will be invading everyone's kitchens very soon! You know it will. You'll come home to find your sweet neighbors have gifted you with mutant zucchinis the size of a small car. You can only eat so much zucchini bread! (Though I have a *killer* recipe for that, too!)

The faux pasta is ribbons of zucchini that you make simply with a vegetable peeler. Just start peeling strips and keep turning the zucchini until you get down to the center. Also, there's no boiling pasta here that'll heat up your kitchen on hot days!

The sauce is a snap to make, and it's delicious! It would be great to whip it up and use it on any of your favorite pastas, or over chicken for chicken parm. The fresh basil that's added at the end gives it a very fresh flavor.

You can use your favorite Italian sausage here--this particular time I used a chicken Italian sausage, flavored with asiago and basil, I believe. (I actually made this weeks ago, and am just getting around to posting it now, hehe) So use whatever looks good! The ones I used were precooked, so I just sliced and added them in. Looking back at the photos, I think I'd brown them up anyway, to give them a little more color--but they were still delicious, even as is. And you could leave out the sausage if you want to make it meat-free.

Zucchini Faux Pasta with Italian Sausage


4 small zucchini
2 Tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1/2 lb Italian turkey sausage, cooked and sliced
salt and pepper
1 bunch fresh basil, torn
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese


Directions

1. Slice clean, unpeeled zucchini into ribbons, using a vegetable peeler, and turning the zucchini as you go.
2. Warm 1 TBSP olive oil in a saucepan, on medium heat.
3. Saute the garlic for a few seconds, don't burn it--then add tomatoes and oregano.
4. Simmer uncovered for a few minutes.
5. Heat the remaining oil in a separate, large skillet.
6. Add the zucchini to the skillet.
7. Stir for a few minutes, until zucchini is soft.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste, then add the tomato sauce to the zucchini in the skillet.
9. Add the sausage, stir well.
10. Stir in basil, and transfer to a serving dish.
11. Top with parmesan cheese.

pretty, aromatic basil

zucchini ribbons, your "pasta"