Yellow Squash Lunch – 5 Minute Vegetarian Meal September 12, 2013

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So much squash, tomatoes, onions, and basil coming out of the garden.  This is my attempt at making a small dent in our bounty !  To make this meal a little heartier, you could add some pre-cooked chicken or black beans.

Yellow Squash Lunch

1 medium yellow squash, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 small onion (mine was a Walla Walla Sweet)
2 large basil leaves, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp butter
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add onions and sautee until they are translucent and begin to caramelize.

Add squash, salt, and pepper to pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes. I like my squash “al-dente”, so it doesn’t take long. Add the tomatoes and basil at the very end.

Super-delish, Super Easy !

Low Carb Mini Pizzas ! July 14, 2013

Fat 12.96 | Carbs 8.60 | Prot 17.45 | KCals 212

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We have an abundance of squash coming from the garden right now, what to do !  I started digging through Pinterest to see if anything looked good (honestly I am not a fan of squash, but my gardening hubby is).

So, I stumbled across a few promising recipes.  This one comes from Kalyn’s Kitchen.

The end product is pretty darned tasty….and for those of you missing pizza while low carbing, this might hit the spot.  I grilled my zucchinis, and had to store in the fridge while I waited for my cheese to defrost (you can buy mozzarella on sale and freeze – it does fairly well).

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Low Carb Mini Pizzas

1 large squash, cut into 1/4″ thick rounds
Pizza Sauce (I used Ragu)
1 oz mushrooms, sliced into thin strips
1.5 oz shredded mozzarella
8 slices turky pepperoni
Kosher salt

Lay the zuke rounds on a baking pan, and sprinkle both sides with Kosher salt.  Let sit for about 30 minutes.  It’s amazing how much moisture you will extract.  Pat dry with a towel.

Light Barbeque, and set to high.  BBQ the zukes until you get nice grill marks, turn, do the same for the other side.  If your BBQ is super hot/dry, you can spritz the zukes with a little olive oil before placing on the grill.

Lay your grilled zukes out on a baking sheet, add the pizza sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni, and cheese to each mini round.  Broil for about 2 minutes – they are done when the cheese is bubbly and slightly brown.

Makes one serving, but can easily be adapted to make two entire sheet pans, AND, you can add YOUR favorite toppings.

Garden goodies. July 9, 2013

The Jabberwock has been off vacationing for the last 11 days, and is finally back home!  Four days of boat camping plus 7 days of houseboating did take a toll on my way of eating.  Read S’mores, chips, bagels, sandwiches ….the list goes on.  The good news is that the garden didn’t die off while we were gone, and the better half harvested some cute purple potatoes today and stunted red onions.

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Recipe is very simple…thinly slice the potatoes – I used a mandolin slicer.  Over medium heat melt 3 Tbsp. butter, add potatoes and thinly sliced onion.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, thyme leaves, and paprika.  Cover and cook for about 10 minutes.  Remove cover and turn potatoes.  Cook for another 10 minutes, sprinkle with a bit of Kosher salt and serve.

Pesto covered Klickitat River salmon November 21, 2012

Our wonderful neighbor Ron brought over about 6 or 7 pounds of freshly caught  Klickitat River salmon (filleted !).  This is the quickest possible meal a working mom can make on a weeknight, and of course it’s delicious.

My pesto is homemade, however,  store bought tastes just as great !

Pesto covered Salmon

1.5 pounds Salmon
1/4 cup pesto

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Place salmon skin side down in 9×13 baking dish. Cover top of fish with Pesto.  Cook for 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.  Salmon will be cooked when you can flake away a piece from the thickest part.

Jabberwock’s Pesto

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What to do with an overabundance of fresh basil from the garden ?  Make Pesto of course !  I prefer to use walnuts over pine nuts since they are less expensive and keep better.  I typically make as much as I can once the basil comes on, and freeze it.  Usually I have enough to last the entire year.  The batch in the picture is 2 quarts.

Jabberwock’s Pesto

2 cups fresh basil, packed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts
5 cloves garlic
1 tsp. Kosher salt

Pulse the walnuts, garlic, salt, and Parmesan together until finely chopped.  Add basil leaves, and put the lid on the food processor.  Drizzle the olive oil in and pulse until all ingredients are blended.

Store pesto in a small mason jar, topping with a layer of olive oil to fully cover the top (this prevents browning).