Lots of Food!

Although I haven't been posting of late, I've been taking lots of pics. It's to the point that when I set a dish on the table, and go running for the camera, Mister goes "No! I want to eat this, and I want to eat this now! Are you going to delay my eating this?!"

So first up, is the Zucchini/Ricotta Cheesecake, or, as Mister has dubbed it: "Zu-quiche-y" (feel free to add your own spelling... as that looks retarded).



Isn't that beautiful? I am in love with the way that looks. I also added a WW crust to make it more quiche-like. However, if I was to make it again, I would play around with different flavors. This particular one has dill and lemon zest -- was not a fan of that combo. Perhaps some warmer spices now that we're heading to fall -- coriander and bay? But bay works best when infused... perhaps bay-infused olive oil? I'll have to play.



So, all in all, tasty, but redesigning is due.

Next up for food is the Bacon/Cheese Scones.



A couple of notes on this recipe as it turned out. Firstly, there were three substitutions. We only had WW flour in the house, so in it went. As I was using a ghetto kitchen and a) didn't feel up to cutting in butter and b) added the eggs before the butter 'cause I'm an idiot, I melted the butter before adding it. Also, I am not a fan of swiss, so I used Extra Sharp Cheddar. (This one was not a surprise to Mister, as I left the recipe up. So while I'm mixing away in the kitchen, he goes "Are you going to use the Marigaux?" "What?" "It calls for Swiss. Are you using the Marigaux?" "Oh no. I'm using cheddar!" "Oh, ok.")

This was a very tasty recipe, but if I were to do it again, I would probably add more STUFF. More bacon (I used half a pound and could barely taste it), more cheese, and probably more butter. The WW flour added a nice touch, and I have no complaints on that front (although it may be the cause of my need for more dairy).

And here's where my week of food fell awry. Thursday, after having the most productive day of my life on Wednesday (don't ask how much laundry I did. Really, don't), and getting up early to make scones and then go to a doctor's appt., I then goofed off the rest of the day with a friend M. So when Mister came home from work and was like OMGSTARVING I had nothing even close to ready to be cooked. And I was a little over the joy of cooking, so I suggested that we eat out. This lead to an hour of nothing. Of me going "HUNGER" and him going "THINKING" and nothing actually happening. This lead to us going out to a place down the street which wasn't what he wanted, but it was there, and the both of us being in kind of bad moods.

I have never had such a clear delineation of why a meal plan is such a good idea. Wednesday was beautiful and wonderful, and Thursday was hell on wheels. So back to the grindstone it was!



While kicking around the house Friday, I dried in a low oven some rose hips that I had gathered.

Friday I was working in the evening, but I had planned Lasagne Tart. So I prepped and got it all set for Mister to pop in the oven when he got home (and he was going to bring me some at work). I even took WIP pics!



Having sliced the zucchini (on the cheese slicer part of my box grater -- never again slicing with a knife!), and tossed it with salt, it is draining.



Had some leftover crust from the ZuQuiche-y, so rolled it out for the tart. Note to self, WW flour sucks in a crust. It was hell. Literally. And the fact that I was using an empty Brandy bottle for a rolling pin... (Mister was like, "Most people go out and get a rolling pin!" I was like "well, most people learned how to make do when you're in the middle of doing something!")



The layering went off without a hitch, and here it is, ready to go into the oven.



Here it is after being cooked and nommed. Thoughts on this recipe: omit the crust. Unnecessary, and wound up not being overly tasty. ... I think that's it. It was very tasty overall.

This weekend we went out a fair amount (mostly because I love going out for Breakfast and such), and we've made a goal to not eat out this week. It is also Mister's turn to cook this week. He offered, and I accepted. We'll see how that goes.

Food!

As it is trash day tomorrow morning, I cleaned out the fridge, and took stock of what's in there. (I also discovered that Mister DOES have ketchup and mustard -- which I was lamenting all summer that he didn't...) To keep track of my plans involving food, I'm just gonna throw stuff at this post.

Monday: leftover chicken stew
Tuesday: leftover pancake for breakfast, fried sausage for dinner (perhaps a starch of some sort as well?)
Wednesday: Eggs/bacon for breakfast, fried pickles for lunch, Zucchini/Ricotta cheesecake for dinner
Thursday: bacon/cheese scones for breakfast, hummus/chips for lunch, pizza for dinner
Friday: brekkie? Lasagne Pie for dinner (but with the top coat of mozz.)
Saturday: brekkie? blackbean/andouille sausage soup w/ corn bread for dinner
Sunday: brekkie? Sausage Kebabs for dinner

Shopping List: more ricotta, dill?, lemon, eggs, goat cheese?, tomato sauce, dried beans, fig preserves, cherry tomatoes, pita chips

Also, here are some interesting recipes:

ANDUOILLE, KALE, WHITE BEAN, & POTATO SOUP......MMMMM EXCELLENT!

Ingredients; I use mostly organic prepared ingredients because they contain far fewer ingredients/additives and generally no wheat or other gluten laced additives.

1 lb of 1/4" sliced organic Andouille Sausage. I used the Uncle something or another brand that's readily available.
8 cups of low sodium organic chicken broth
1 head Kale washed, chopped in strips and remove tough stems
4 roma tomato's, drained, seeded, and diced
2 cans of white beans washed and drained
1 large white onion chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
Kosher salt at the end so not to over salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
2-3 cap fulls of balsamic or red wine vinager
2 thick cut Russett Potato's or Yukon Gold (Wait a little longer to add the Yukon as they are much softer...much tastier as well)

Directions:
Brown sausage in large soup pot
Add chopped onion to pot and cook for 2 minutes
Add garlic and potato chunks and sautee for 2 minutes
Add Kale and sautee for 2-3 minutes stirring until wilted evenly coated
Add chicken broth and vinegar and bring to a boil and then simmer with cover for 40 min.
Add chopped tomato, white beans, and kosher salt and simmer covered for 20-30 minutes or until desired doneness.

Serve with warm crusty bread or corn bread. Enjoy!


Dill Pickle Soup (Zupa Ogorkowa)

And some lovely Wiki info:

Hot soups


Shchi
Shchi (cabbage soup) had been the predominant first course in Russian cuisine for over a thousand years. Although tastes have changed, it steadily made its way through several epochs. Shchi knew no social class boundaries, and even if the rich had richer ingredients and the poor made it solely of cabbage and onions, all these "poor" and "rich" variations were cooked in the same tradition. The unique taste of this cabbage soup was from the fact that after cooking it was left to draw (stew) in a Russian stove. The "Spirit of shchi" was inseparable from a Russian izba (log hut). Many Russian proverbs are connected to this soup, such as Shchi da kasha pishcha nasha ("Shchi and porridge are our food"). It can be eaten regularly, and at any time of the year.
The richer variant of shchi includes several ingredients, but the first and last components are a must:
Cabbage.
Meat (very rarely fish or mushrooms).
Carrots or parsley roots.
Spicy herbs (onions, celery, dill, garlic, pepper, bay leaf).
Sour components (smetana, apples, sauerkraut, pickle water).
When this soup is served, smetana is added. It is eaten with rye bread. During much of the year when the Orthodox Christian Church prescribes abstinence from meat and dairy, a vegan version of shchi is made. "Kislye" (sour) schi are made from pickled cabbage (sauerkraut), "serye" (grey) schi from the green outer leaves of the cabbage head. "Zelyonye" (green) schi are made from sorrel leaves, not cabbage, and used to be a popular summer soup.

Ukha is a warm watery fish dish, however calling it a fish soup would not be absolutely correct. "Ukha" as a name for fish broth was established only in the late 17th to early 18th centuries. In earlier times this name was first given to thick meat broths, and then later chicken. Beginning from the 15th century, fish was more and more often used to prepare ukha, thus creating a dish that had a distinctive taste among soups.
A minimum of vegetables is added in preparation, and in classical cooking ukha was simply a rich fish broth served to accompany fish pies (rasstegai, kuliebiaka, etc.). These days it is more often a fish soup, cooked with potatoes and other vegetables. A wide variety of freshwater fish is traditionally used.

Rassolnik is a hot soup in a salty-sour cucumber base. This dish formed in Russian cuisine quite late—only in the 19th century. About this time the name rassolnik was attached to it, originating from the Russian word "rassol" which means brine (pickle water). Pickle water was known to be used as base for soups from the 15th century at the latest. Its concentration and ratio with other liquids and soup components gave birth to different soups: solyanka, pohmelka, and of course rassolnik. The latest are moderately sour-salty soups on pickled cucumber base. Some are vegetarian, but more often with products like veal or beef kidneys or all poultry giblets (stomach, liver, heart, neck, feet). For best taste there has to be a balance between the sour part and neutral absorbers (cereals, potatoes, root vegetables). Typical rassolnik is based on kidneys, brine (and pickles), vegetables and barley.
Kal'ya was a very common dish first served in the 16th–17th centuries. Subsequently it almost completely disappeared from Russian cuisine. Often it was incorrectly called "fish rassolnik." The cooking technique is mostly the same as of ukha, but to the broth were added pickled cucumbers, pickle water, lemons and lemon juice, either separately or all together. The main characteristic of kal'ya is that only fat, rich fish was used; sometimes caviar was added along with the fish. More spices are added, and the soup turns out more piquant and thicker than ukha. Formerly kal'ya was considered a festivity dish.

Solyanka is a thick, piquant soup that combines components from schi (cabbage, smetana) and rassolnik (pickle water and cucumbers), spices such as olives, capers, tomatoes, lemons, lemon juice, kvass, salted and pickled mushrooms are make up a considerably strong sour-salty base of the soup. Solyanka is much thicker than other soups, about 1/3 less liquid ratio. Three types are distinguished: meat, fish, and simple solyanka. The first two are cooked on strong meat or fish broths, and the last on mushroom or vegetable broth. All the broths are mixed with cucumber pickle water.

Lapsha (noodle soup) was adopted by Russians from Tatars, and after some transformation became widespread in Russia. It comes in three variations: chicken, mushroom, and milk. Cooking all three is simple, including preparation of noodles, cooking of corresponding broth, and boiling of noodles in broth. Noodles are based on the same wheat flour or buckwheat/wheat flour mix. Mixed flour noodles go better with mushroom or milk broth.

Borsch is made of broth, beets, and tomato juice with various vegetables. Vegetables include onions, cabbage, tomato, carrots, and celery. Broth is usually made from beef and is heated while ingredients are added. Borsch can be made vegan, served hot or cold. Typically, it is served with white bread and Smetana.

Zucchini Recipes

Snagged a recipe from the Tasty Kitchen blogpost on Zucchini

Zucchini Pie

Pie filling:
8 cups peeled, chopped (1/2 to 1″ cubes) zucchini (I removed the seeds)
2/3 cups lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cook zucchini and lemon juice over medium heat until tender (20-30 minutes) Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, simmer 1 minute, remove from heat.

Crust:
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cold margerine or butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon and fold in butter until all mixed up.
Put 1/2 cup of this mixture into the pie filling mixture.
Take remaining 1/2 of the crust and press into a greased 15″ x 10″
pan.
Add zucchini pie filling.
Pour remaining crust mixture evenly over the top.
Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.