Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

I recently picked up a nasty ‘bug’ that threw me into a six-day fever. No idea what it was, but I’ve never been laid-out so badly, or so little interested in food - all I could taste was salt, and salt was revolting. I finally hit on vanilla ice cream as tolerable, and ate nothing else for days. There are still some ‘notes’ that I can’t taste, and I’m craving the weirdest things: “MacDonald’s Fish Sandwich???” - my husband must feel that he’s got a pregnant lady calling him at work and demanding this-or-that be picked up on the way home. But, things are improving.

After visiting the doctor I had a prescription to be filled and, too sick to wander the store while it was prepared, I settled into the little waiting area by the Pharmacy. I can’t stand to sit and do nothing even when ill, and looked around for some diversion.

Across from me was an older Hispanic man slumped in his chair with his eyes closed, looking like a saint in an old Spanish painting. I wondered what malady had led him to sharing that space and existential misery with me; but he seemed so intent upon withdrawing entirely from earthly matters that I felt no invitation to conversation would be welcome.

Across the aisle were the Clearance Racks, which I had inspected earlier in the week. NEVER leave a drug or grocery store without checking these out – you can find some great deals for pennies on the dollar. I have gotten higher-end cosmetics that I might never have tried, toys for kids for Christmas, great stocking-stuffers, and a lot of closeout seasonal items, for almost nothing. My best buys this Summer were some leggo-like kits for my nephews, and a big supply of canning-jar lids, all gotten for 75 per-cent or less of retail.

By my elbow, I found a little diabetes pamphlet that included recipes, including one for Summer Squash; I modified it slightly, and came up with this:

Summer Squash with Feta Cheese

2 Summer squash and 2 Zucchini, shaved into thin, broad strips – you can use a mandoline (please don’t), a vegetable peeler, or one of the new spiral veggie slicers.

½ C. fresh Parsley Leaves, chopped

½ C.freshly -squeezed Lemon Juice

1 clove Garlic, minced

1/4 C. Olive Oil plus 1 tsp.

¼ tsp. Crushed Red Pepper

Salt and Black Pepper

1/3 C. crumbled Feta Cheese

Whisk together the ¼ C. Olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and red pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the 1 tsp. Olive Oil in a frying pan until shimmering, and saute the squash just 3 or 4 minutes, until slightly cooked and translucent. Let cool slightly, and then pour the reserved marinade over the squash, season with salt and pepper, toss well, and let chill for several hours. Before serving, toss the squash with the feta, adjust seasoning, and serve.

_______________________________________________________________________

Fried Zucchini Blossoms are something I’ve always wanted to try, and this looks like a good recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/squash-blossoms-stuffed-with-ricotta-354966

________________________________________________________________________

Plain, steamed zucchini can be livened-up with this sauce. I originally found this in a low-fat cookbook back in the 1980s, so it didn’t include the butter, which can be added to make a richer sauce:

Mustard Sauce for Steamed Zucchini (Low Fat, but you can add butter :-)

Mix in a saucepan:

½ C. Chicken or Vegetable Broth

1 Shallot or Scallion, minced

1-1/2 tsp. fresh Tarragon

2 T. Dry White Wine

1 T. Arrowroot (or cornstarch)

1-1/2 tsp. Fresh Tarragon (or ½ tsp. dried))

1/8 tsp. Black Pepper

Cook uncovered 2 or 3 minutes. Melt in 1 T. butter, if desired.

Serve over steamed vegetables; especially good with Zucchini.

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

This week: Recipes for the Summer Squashes no doubt burgeoning in your gardens.

(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread ping-list, please send a private message.)

-JT

[Talisker]

FYI, keep some Lugol’s iodine around for food-related sickness.

Six drops in a small glass of water, and the gut bugs are Dead Right There.

Seriously good medicine. Also good for building up healthy iodine in your body if you take it daily.

[NEMDF]

Loved your description of waiting in the pharmacy, and hope you are feeling better soon. But I can relate to cravings for such things as fish sandwiches and vanilla ice cream, and I have not been pregnant in many, many years.

You are right about checking out the clearance stuff (Walgreens for me). Can also buy some very inexpensive clothing items such as Tshirts, which I can then use for fabric for sewing projects.

We do not grow zucchini but sometimes get some from friends. Other than using it in grilled vegetables or sweet bread, probably my favorite is to cut into 1/4 inch slices and cook in a big can or 2 of (Hunts) Italian stewed tomatoes, let it cook down until the zucchini is tender.

Thanks for this thread.

[miss marmelstein]

Hmmm...can we include eggplants? They're in season too. My local farmer's market is overloaded with tomatoes, eggplants, corn, the most amazing-tasting cantaloupes which we immediately served wrapped in prosciutto! Also, all kinds of beautiful peppers. I'm not a summer person except for the fruits and vegetables.

[Jamestown1630]

Thank you. I’ve actually been curious about iodine lately; but I’m wondering if the Lugol’s kills the good gut-bugs, too? (I’ve been taking probiotics to counteract the antibiotic that my very conservative doc finally gave me after *six days* of fever - I started getting better within hours, and could’ve *kicked* him! ;-)

-JT

[miss marmelstein]

Hope you’re feeling better!

[Jamestown1630]

Thanks. I went back to work yesterday, but was so light-headed and weak, I decided to stay home again today. I slept until 2 PM, and am feeling very good now.

The benefit of sleep is underrated in illness, especially by people like me who need to be ‘doing something’ with spare time. I’ve learned a lesson; and just lying in bed halfway- listening to weird talk radio for days on end can be productive :-)

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

This has been my favorite for Eggplant recently:

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Dressing

2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds total), trimmed and halved lengthwise

coarse sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

DRESSING:

3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons hot water

1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

For Eggplant: Heat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (It helps to first sprinkle the eggplant halves with salt, and let them “drain”, flesh side down, in a large colander for about 30 minutes before roasting. It helps to reduce the moisture content of the dish.)

Put eggplant pieces on prepared baking sheet, flesh-side up. With the tip of a sharp knife, score flesh, about 3/4 inch deep. Season eggplant with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil. Roast, rotating pan once halfway through, until eggplant flesh is soft and collapsed and edges are deep golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

For Dressing: While eggplant is roasting, in a bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients. Remove eggplant from oven and sprinkle with salt.

Transfer to serving plates, drizzle with half of the dressing and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with remaining dressing.

-JT

[Ellendra]

I use summer squash instead of cucumbers when making pickles. I can’t actually eat the pickles I make because the recipes all call for peppers and onions, which I’m allergic to. But my Mom likes my relishes so much that I make at least a dozen pints per year for her.

[Trillian]

I hope you feel better soon. Our whole family was hit by some respiratory bug that has left me with barely any sleep in a week since I’m taking care of everyone. I hate being sick and not being able to get rest.

I’ll try to post a zucchini recipe later.

[trisham]

Mustard Sauce for Steamed Zucchini (Low Fat, but you can add butter :-)

*************************

LOL! I love it! Hope you're feeling better soon, JT!

[pugmama]

Hope you feel well soon JT. I had lots of squash blossoms this year, but thought the effort of making them into a recipe of some kind was not worth the time. I tasted some at a recent dinner and thought they were not remarkable.

We are drowning in squashes.I added them to the tomato sauce I froze as well as lots of chili and stir fry recipes. I also made lots of quick breads using squash with bananas, and froze them too.
I’ve made most of NY Times recipes-liked the muffins and the tacos a lot. Hubby always needs to have some kind of protein with his dinner, so added that to his plate.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/27/a-bounty-of-summer-squash/

[miss marmelstein]

Very nice. I usually just stick to eggplant/onion chutney and eggplant parmigiana.

[pugmama]

This is an easy “go to” recipe. I bake the veges the day before. I use our small Japanese eggplants as well as whatever squash there is. We did grow some mini butternut squash this year as well as patty squash etc. I add grilled chicken or or ham/panchetta for hubby.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/penne-with-butternut-squash-and-goat-cheese-recipe.print.html

[miss marmelstein]

Oh, rest is essential to good health. It’s underrated in America which is a problem.

[Jamestown1630]

My Grandmother always said that the best sleep is that which you get before midnight. I’ve never understood that - sleep is sleep - but I’ve often found it strangely true.

[miss marmelstein]

Yes, that’s acknowledged now by the medical community.

[Jamestown1630]

I thought about that while I was sick - ‘bugs’ tend to whip through families, and women with children have to take care of kids - and hubby! - while they’re still so worn-out themselves.

-JT

[lizma2]

I’m craving the weirdest things: “MacDonald’s Fish Sandwich???”

LOL! Two sometimes three times a year I get that craving!!! It's a dang powerful one!