Sweet Zucchini Muffins

Were you wondering what happened to the zucchini guts (shown below) from my stuffed zucchini?  I made muffins to celebrate some little successes in our family.  Including... Mazel tov on the one month anniversary of my blog!

I share Hannah Z.'s view expressed in her post "Odds and Ends Make the Best Muffins Ever" (Keen On Quinoa.)
"... You cannot mess them up. The following is merely a record of what I did- you can play with these however you want to. I'd recommend sticking with the basic proportions (2 eggs: 1.5 tsp baking soda: 1.5 cups flour, etc) but then make a mess of it!"

However, I was also inspired by Miriam Kresh (Israeli Kitchen) via Hannah K. (Cooking Manager) to actually measure and write down what I did.  So here it is, as close as a get to a recipe.  In theory you could actually do what I did and the same results.  (Like a delicious scientific experiment!)

1. Shred/grate:
3 zucchini or the guts of 4 zucchini (about 2 cups or 475 ml). 
3 carrots (about 1 cup or 240 ml).

2. Blend/mix, then add to above in a bowl:
2 eggs
1/2 cup (120ml) oil.  (I used olive oil and canola oil)
7 prunes
3/4 cups (175ml) brown sugar

 

3. Mix separately in a measuring cup:
2 cups whole wheat four
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (That's all I had.  You could use 3/4 tsp baking soda and 1/3 tsp baking powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar (alternatively you could add vanilla extract straight to the set of ingredients in step #2.)
1 cup raisins

4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet by hand until the flour is just incorporated (don't blend smooth.)

5. Pour into greased muffin tins or a pan and bake at 350 F or 175 C for 14-25 minutes depending on how big your muffins or loaf.

 

Makes 24 large muffins.

 Last night I was telling my son he needed to go to bed so I could make "cup cakes".
Him: But you need to buy them.
Me: I'm going to MAKE them.
Him: Then you need a recipe.
Very keen.  And now I have one!

Homemade "Mayonnaise" with Dill and Onion on Whole Fish

I've mentioned my technique for making a sauce for fish from mayonnaise.  I thought it was time to demonstrate. 



Traditional mayonnaise would include whipping a pasteurized egg yolk into an emulsion, adding a couple drops of vinegar (or acid of your choice), then VERY slowly at first adding an entire cup of oil.  You can do this with a whip attachment on a hand blander or food processor.

Comfort Food: Sweet Potato & Lentil "Salad"

This dish was inspired by Miriam Kresh's mush more elegant dish Sweet Potato and Lentil Salad on IsraeliKitchen.com.  I ignored Miriam's warning against overcooking the sweet potatoes and ended up making a delicious mush I would never serve to guests.  I'm almost embarrassed to post it, but it was yummy, easy, and healthy.  I would go as far as to say this may be a new guilty pleasure.

I simmered black lentils with a large red onion in a small pot and cubed sweet potatoes (yams/batata) in a larger pot.  I never would have thought of mixing lemon juice with date syrup and sweet potatoes, but it made a perfect dressing to add some complexity to the sweet potatoes.  I skipped the scallions and most of the olive oil, since my sweet potatoes had enough lubrication on their own.

Do you have any less than gourmet guilty pleasures?

Guilt-free Banana Ice Cream

My high school friend, Emily, likes her bananas a little green and crunchy.  She'd have it easy in my house.  I like my bananas freckled.  But no matter how many bananas I buy, either my son gobbles them all up, or they go bad before they get freckly.

On Friday afternoon my neighbor brought me around two dozen over-ripe bananas ready for freezing.  I've already been baking more than usual, so banana bread was not the solution.  Unfortunately for me, it is still warm enough where I live to eat ice cream.

Last night I took several of the bananas out of the freezer and left them in my food processor to begin to soften.  Then I just turned it on.  It's that simple.  Frozen bananas in a blender (or food processor).  You can add just about whatever you want.  Yesterday added vanilla and cinnamon.  Today, vitamin D and probiotics.  You could add mint extract and chocolate chips.  Or you could pulse in frozen or fresh pitted cherries after the bananas are smooth.  Top it with hot fudge or sprinkles.  A banana split might be going a little overboard.

Don't try to save leftover ice cream because it will freeze solid if it has even slightly started to defrost first.  (I tried it yesterday.)  Today our guest had to go home to do her homework right before I served the "ice cream" so I put it in the freezer, still in my food processor, and periodically took it out and blended it. That worked very well to delay eating it for several hours, and it may have kept overnight after that.  You could freeze it into ice pop molds.  Kind of defeats the purpose of the creaminess, though.  You might as well just eat a cold banana on a stick.

UPDATE: I had some moms and little kids over last night, but something came up and I couldn't get to the grocery store to pick up fresh fruits and veggies to put out.  Luckily, the night before I had frozen 4 ripe bananas (peeled) in a zip-top freezer bag.  When the crowd was over I blended them up with natural peanut butter and vanilla soy milk.  Most of the kids were too busy playing, but the moms loved it, even on this January evening.

Also see my post on freezing fruit and more ice pop ideas.

Stuffed Zucchini: Part 2

As I said in my original stuffed zucchini post, I suggested to my friend Tzippy that we both make stuffed zucchini and then compare what we did.  I filled my zucchini with a rice mixture and baked them.  When we ate ours they were still crispy and juicy.  Below is what Tzippy did, along with her gorgeous pictures.

Uncommon Uses: Medicine Syringe and Melon Baller

In this post I want to feature two things you probably have in your kitchen and don't use often enough: A melon baller and a medicine syringe.

The medicine syringe I just thought of today.  I have a 1.5 kilo container of honey and I wanted to get a tiny bit on some pears.  I strongly recommend it the next time you want to drizzle any syrupy substance on cake, toast, etc.  I also plan to try it for piping icing and filling donuts.

The melon baller I use all the time.  Anytime I want to carve out a zucchini or winter squash, or make avocado salad.  When pears are in season I use it several times a day.  Just slice the pear in half, pull the stem with your fingers toward the center and use the melon baller on the seeds.  Look how much less waste I have when I use a melon baller to scoop the seeds out of these apples instead of cutting pieces from the core.

My kids like when I put cinnamon in the middle.

When my kids come home from school I try to have fruits and veggies ready.  Today for a treat everyone (including my husband) got a drizzle of honey and cinnamon in their little apples and pears.  My son loves red bell pepper and my daughter likes avocado.  You can see I used the melon baller to scoop out the avocado.

 

Asian Inspired Noodle Salad

My Aunt Nan recently got back from a trip to China and informed me that my blog is blocked in China.  Now that I have more confidence that authentic Chinese residents will not see my blog and be offended by my faux Chinese food, I will surely post more.  Here is a noodle salad good warm or cold.  Many of the ingredients can be substituted or skipped to make the dish healthier or cheaper.  Here are some suggested ingredients:

- Lo mein, soba noodles, whole wheat or Barilla Plus thin spaghetti
- Teryaki dressing/marinade and/or:
   - date syrup or molasses
   - soy sauce
   - a little vinegar
- Sesame oil (I don't know if this is a waste)
- Another oil, peanut would be good if you have some.
- Sesame seeds
- Bean sprouts
- Cranberries
- Chopped chives or scallions
- Fried Chinese noodles (very optional and only if you don't mind having them in the house.)

1. Start boiling water for noodles.

2. Toast the sesame seeds.  You can toast them in the oven or dry in a metal bowl or pan on the stove.

3. Wash and start cooking bean sprouts. 

4. Mix everything together when the noodles are done.

Easy Prep Chicken

This was an easy and tasty chicken dish I made as I was rushing to get dinner in the oven and shower in the time before sunset on Friday night.  But mostly I want to show off my new silicone brush.  I really wanted a green one, but my daughter was with me and she felt the pink would be a more prudent choice.

I covered the bottom of the pan with frozen green beans, then put on "fresh" chicken drum sticks and topped it with chopped onions and tomato paste.  I covered it and cooked it for quite some time.  The onions were sweet and juicy and the green beans were tasty... if you don't mind them limp.

Kid tip - When I use tomato paste, I call it ketchup and my kids are more likely to eat it.  My son insists he hates tomatoes, though he loves sun-dried tomatoes, tomato sauce, and ketchup.

Soft Pretzels

I don't do much baking, but of course I wanted to participate in "Challah for Healing", so my kids and I made whole wheat soft pretzels/bagels.  I used the basic recipe and method shown in the Good Eats episode "Pretzel Logic" with some changes.  Did I mention I have trouble sticking to recipes?  This was my first time trying to make pretzels and I think they were pretty good, but I think I will try a different recipe next time, or increase the kneading and rising.

Take any recipe for bagels, pizza, or soft pretzels that looks good to you, let it rise, then start having fun with the dough.  This is my favorite shaping technique:
1. Roll two skinny snakes around 6 inches each.
2. Dampen the dough and roll each snake in a different colored topping, like poppy seeds and sesame seeds, or paprika and curry.  Push it in well, or it'll fall off when you boil the pretzels.
3. Twist the two snakes and bring the ends together to form a circle.

Stuffed Zucchini: Part 1

Last night my friend Tzippy and I were at the shuk around closing time.  I pointed out some zucchini that were different from what I was used to in the States.  She said they are very good for stuffing.  We both bought some and I suggested that I would post what we each did with ours.

Here are mine:



I filled mine with 2/3 brown rice and 1/3 short grain white rice, a mix of dried vegetables and spices from Pereg and canned corn.  Then I baked them uncovered, but not long enough according to my husband.  He preferred the rice while my daughter preferred the zucchini, my son didn't eat much and I liked it all.

Tzippy's still look like this as of this posting:

Click here to see how Tzippy made her zucchini.