Zucchini and Potato Pancakes

So I finally used the zucchini I bought at the farmer's market.  I came across a recipe for zucchini pancakes in a book I found at the library last week.  The author, Joy Wilson, also has a food blog full of all kinds of yummy recipes.  Check it out.

For the pancakes, which sort of came out like hash browns, I needed zucchini, potatoes, onion, eggs, flour, salt, pepper, garlic, baking powder, and oil.

I grated the potato and zucchini in the food processor and placed the mixture in a strainer in the sink.  This way the liquids could drain out while I sauteed the onions and garlic in the olive oil.

After I sauteed the onion and garlic, I let them cool a bit while I pressed the extra liquid out of the zucchini and potatoes.  Once that was finished, I added the mixture to a large bowl, then added the remaining ingredients (flour, eggs, salt, pepper, baking soda, and onion mixture) and mixed until just incorporated. 

When everything was mixed, I added a combination of olive and vegetable oils to a frying pan and heated the oil.  Once the oil was ready, I scooped out the mixture using a tablespoon and added it to the oil.

 After a few minutes, I turned the cakes over to brown on the other side.

I drained the cakes on paper towels, then placed them in the oven in a 13 by 9 pan to keep them warm while I cooked the other batches.  When the last cake was finished, I served the cakes with a side salad and crusty rolls.  My children chose to put ketchup on their cakes; I ate mine with sour cream and Tabasco sauce.

My children have already asked me to make these again.  I'm thinking of adding a bit of shredded carrot and/or a grated sweet potato to the recipe.  We'll see. 

Overall, the cakes were a hit, with all 10 being eaten that night.  (I may have to double the recipe next time!)

Spinach and Cheese Casserole

Yesterday I made what I call a Spinach and Cheese Casserole.  It's sort of like a savory bread pudding.  As I've made it over the years, I've adjusted the original recipe and created several variations.  This is one of the variations.

I don't have a picture for the ingredients this time; it was one of those days I changed my mind in the middle of what I was planning.  Here is what you will need:

5-6 slices of bacon
1 bunch of spinach, washed and trimmed
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tablespoon olive oil (eyeball it)
1 loaf Italian bread
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella and sharp cheddar because that's what was in my refrigerator; use what you like.)

First I put the bacon on a cookie sheet lined with foil and baked until crispy.  While that was happening, I chopped the onion and grated the garlic.  I also cut the bread into 1- to 2-inch cubes and set aside in a large bowl.

Once the bacon was done, I put several spoonfuls of the drippings into a pan along with the olive oil.  I sauteed the onions in the drippings and oil until translucent, then added the spinach and the garlic.  (In the past I've also added a pinch of red pepper flakes at this point, but not yesterday.)  Once the spinach was wilted and the garlic lightly browned, I turned off the heat and set the mixture aside to cool. (You don't want to add hot things to your eggs; they won't like it very much!)

In a medium bowl, I beat the eggs until blended and added the milk.  I then chopped the bacon to be added and measured out the cheese.

In the bowl with the bread, I added the spinach mixture, the bacon, the cheese, and the egg mixture.  I then mixed everything with a large spoon until the bread was coated.  (Don't worry if it looks a little runny; the bread will absorb the extra liquid as it cooks.)

I turned the mixture into a greased (with cooking spray) 13 x 9 baking dish, making sure the mixture was in a single layer.

 I baked the casserole for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees.  (Check for doneness as you would a cake.)

Once I took the casserole out of the oven, I allowed it to sit for 10 minutes before cutting.  I served it plain.  (Although I have served it with a side salad or steamed vegetables at times.)

Variations of this recipe include: cheese and onions, cheese and bacon, spinach and cheese, and cheese.  I have used different kinds of cheese as well: mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, and "mac 'n' cheese" mix. 

It's a simple recipe that's easy on your pocketbook and creates a lot of servings.  My family of four ate it last night and tonight, with seconds for everyone.

Try it out and let me know what you think!  

A Taste of Morocco

Yesterday I broke out the crock pot for my take on a Moroccan dish called Chicken Tagine with Apricots.  The original recipe calls for chicken breasts to be browned in a frying pan with spiced butter (made with cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and cayenne) and onions.  Chicken stock is then added along with fresh apricots and honey.  The dish is covered and allowed to simmer until the liquid thickens.  When finished, portions are served over couscous and sprinkled with slivered almonds.

Sounds yummy, right?

My version uses most of the same ingredients, sans the butter. 

Chicken thighs, onion, garlic cloves, lemon, olive oil, honey, apricots, and garam masala.



I use a spice mix called garam masala.  It has cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, coriander, and some other spices in it.  Technically, it is an Indian spice mix, but it has many of the same spices as ras el hanout, which is a Moroccan spice blend.  Since I couldn't find ras el hanout at the grocery store, I bought the garam masala.

I prepared the chicken for the crock put by taking the skin off the chicken thighs.  Then I put them in a bowl and added olive oil, about a tablespoon of garam masala, a grated garlic clove, and the zest of half a lemon.  I mixed everything together and let it sit while I sliced the onions and the lemon.

Once I sliced the onions, I put them in the crock pot to cover the bottom.  Then I added the chicken, two smashed garlic cloves, and the lemon.

 

 After three hours on high, I added the dried apricots and about a cup of honey.

After another hour, I served each portion with a side of steamed rice. 

 



 

 A tasty dinner with leftovers for the next evening.

A Trip to the Farmer's Market

This morning I went to the farmer's market to see what kind of inspiration would strike me for meal planning this week.  Oh my.  I came back with quite a lot.

I spent a little over $15 for all of this, including some lettuce and bananas not pictured.  I love the farmer's market because of the variety of fruits and vegetables, most of which are locally grown, but also because of the prices.  They really can't be beat unless you belong to a farming co-op or you grow things yourself.

So what am I planning for this week?  Well, I bought the onions, lemon, and garlic for a Moroccan chicken recipe I'm making in a few days.  I also picked up the spinach to go along with some feta cheese I have in the fridge from last week.  Not quite sure what I'm going to do with that yet; maybe a quiche or spinach triangles.  The tomatoes and avocado are for a Mexican food night; I already have tortillas in the fridge.  The tomato will also be used to try out a zucchini and tomato gratin recipe I found in a cookbook.  (Oh, and I've decided not to make the zucchini pancakes I mentioned in my first post.  I saw a recipe for zucchini and fennel cakes that looked tasty.  Except the market was out of fennel, so I will probably substitute some onion and a bit of shredded potato.  I know, I know.  Here I go again!)

As you can tell from the previous paragraph, I am pretty eclectic in my cooking.  Thanks to my plethora of cookbooks, recipes found online, and ideas gleaned from Food Network and the Cooking Channel shows, my family has eaten dishes from Greece, Morocco, Spain, Mexico, India, Italy, the Caribbean, etc. They never really know what they're going to have for dinner until I start breaking out ingredients.  Truth is, I don't always really know what I'm serving because I'll plan one thing but a different idea will come to me and I'll change the plan--sometimes in the middle of prep. 

It's always an adventure.

Crispy Rosemary Potatoes

Today's adventure began as a quest to decide which side dish I was going to serve with dinner.  Rice? Nope. Macaroni? Nope, just had that.  Potatoes?  Sure, but what kind?  Crispy potatoes sounded good.  But I couldn't decide how to season them.  I had seen a recipe in a magazine that used salad dressing for flavoring and grated Parmesan cheese to add crispiness.  Thing is, no matter how many times I've tried that recipe, it never came out right.  The dressing pooled on the bottom of the baking sheet and burned, or the Parmesan caused the potatoes to stick.  I love crispy potatoes, so something had to be done.  A peek into the spice cabinet revealed rosemary.  Perfect!

I already planned to make smothered pork chops for dinner, so rosemary potatoes would be a great accompaniment.  But I couldn't just throw the rosemary on the potatoes and bake them.  I decided to toss them with the rosemary, olive oil, salt, pepper, a grated garlic clove, and half of a chopped onion.

After chopping and seasoning, the potatoes looked like this:



I baked them at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until they were golden and crispy on the edges.  I stirred once.  Here's what they looked like:

I served them alongside steamed green beans and the pork.

Delicious.

Adventure Awaits!

So you've stumbled across my blog and were taken in by the title or graphics or both.  Good.  Now the adventure can begin.

What, you may ask, is a recipe pirate?  The idea came to me from a cartoon my children were watching at one time.  (They have since stopped watching because the series began to get increasingly inappropriate.)  Anyhow, the show was based on a chef and his apprentice.  In one of the episodes, the chef has to go back to school to get recertified so he can keep his catering business open.  Being the creative soul he is, he deviates from the recipe with dire consequences from the teacher.  By the end, he does not receive his recertification because he is dubbed as a "recipe pirate," or someone who does not always follow the exact recipe.  That, my friends, is where I come in.

I love cooking.  I can spend hours walking through the farmer's market or grocery store just thinking of all the culinary possibilities awaiting my kitchen.  I swoon over cooking shows and recipe books.  I also love kitchen gadgets. It's gotten to the point that my family will leave me in the kitchen section of a store and come back for me later, much like you do when you leave your children in the ball pit at IKEA and come back when you are finished shopping (or their time  is up).  They just check in on me to make sure I haven't wandered off or anything.  Truth be told, they pretty much find me where they left me, even if they've been shopping a while.  Sort of sad, really.  But I do it in the name of culinary exploration.

I can say a plus side to my fascination is the fact that it's rubbing off on my children, who have also begun their own culinary journeys.  My oldest has finished home economics class in school and isn't shy about stepping into the kitchen to make simple recipes.  My youngest has dubbed himself my honorary sous chef and helps out quite a bit.  We try out new recipes and critique them according to our tastes.  Everyone gets involved.

My latest critique was of homemade granola, tried out last week.  I found a recipe on Food Network and decided to give it a try.  Once tasted, my palette and my mind automatically went into overdrive thinking of ways to improve it for next time.  (And I confess, I didn't exactly follow the recipe then.  I didn't add any of the dried fruit, I added one cup of sliced almonds instead of the cashews, and I put in some crispy rice cereal.  It was good.)  I think I will add in some golden raisins, a touch of cinnamon, and possibly some flax and/or wheat germ the next time I make it.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

All of my recipes are like this.  I start with one thing, then I tweak and adjust until it's my own.  Check out what I mean:



This was in a magazine I used to get from Kraft Food and Family.  The original recipe wasn't bad, but I needed a bit more.  The final result was delicious.  My kids even ate it! And yes, I am aware that I spelled "zucchini" wrong in the recipe.





Quite a few of my recipe books are like this.  Some aren't marked at all; I just keep the changes in my head and add them as I make the recipe.  I keep thinking I need to write them in so someone else can make the recipe but I haven't done it yet.  Honestly, it might not get done at all.

Now this doesn't mean that all of my recipes are like this.  Sometimes I just need a starting point for what I'm thinking of making.  I take the basics and adjust them, much like many others have done with the basic cake or cookie recipe.  Sometimes I have a flavor profile in mind and create recipes to reflect those flavors.  Other times I feel a bit more adventurous and challenge myself to create a meal out of whatever I find in my pantry and fridge, sort of like a mad scientist.  All part of the creative process.

I've got some recipes I plan to try in the next week or so.  One for zucchini pancakes looks heavenly.  And I just bought some zucchini at the farmer's market, so the test run may be sooner than later. 

Stay tuned.