Caprese and Roasted Veggies (purple cauliflower)

It's officially September! I can't believe how fast this year is going by. We only have another few weeks of farm stand goodness, so I've been cooking veggies like crazy! Last night, the neighbors and I decided to have a veggie dinner. We started off with Caprese, my favorite summer salad. We also had grilled sweet corn, marinated cukes, cantaloupe and Parmesan zucchini crisps. It was wonderful!

Earlier this week, I turned on the oven and roasted the veggies I had lying around. I tossed a sweet onion, yellow summer squash, purple bell pepper and purple cauliflower in olive oil. I then spread it out on a pan and baked it at 350°F for 30 minutes. Then I cut up a golden tomato and threw that on top with some garlic and herb seasoning. Returned it to the oven at 400°F for about 20 minutes and it was HEAVEN! This really isn't the best picture in the world, but you get the idea.

Caprese:

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, sliced

1-2 Tomatoes, sliced thick

Fresh Basil

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

1. Put the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan and reduce by at least half to make a sweet syrup. Set aside to cool.

2. Layer cheese, tomatoes and basil on a platter or plate.

3. Drizzle with balsamic and olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Done!

Marinated Cucumbers:

Peel and slice a cucumber. Place in a bowl with enough seasoned rice vinegar to just cover. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let stand about 10 minutes and serve. Sometimes I also like to add a bit of sweet onion or fresh dill. Yum!

Parmesan Zucchini Crisps (Ellie Krieger, Food Network): Look it up! For some reason, it won't let me cut and paste anything into Blogger. :(

Soup is on the horizon, but not for a few weeks. We'll be in the 90's this Labor Day weekend and that's just too hot for soup! :)

Fresh Apple streusel Pecan Cake

This was the perfect recipe for a cool day like today. It wasn't difficule to put together, smelled heavenly while it was baking, and tasted great with a cool glass of milk. I was a bit suprised with how it turned out. The dough was very stiff for cake batter. I plopped the batter in the pan and greased my hands so I could spread it around without it sticking to my fingers. Glad it turned out so well! Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Streusel Topping:
2/3 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats (I used old-fashioned)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped
3 Tbl canola oil

Cake:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 container (6 oz.) Yoplait Greek Fat Free Honey Vanilla Yogurt
2/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups finely chopped, peeled apples (2 medium- I used Pink Ladys)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix streusel ingredients with a fork until crumbly; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla and eggs with an electric mixer until blended. Add all remaining ingredients except apples; beat on low speed about 1 minute or until blended. Stir in apples. Spread batter in pan. Sprinkle evenly with topping.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with an ice cold glass of milk.

Makes 16 servings.
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40-45 minutes.

Sweet Potato Soup

Though the temperatures in the Treasure Valley are still in the mid to low 90's, I've been craving fall foods! I cannot wait until the temperatures begin to cool, the breeze kicks up, and the leaves begin to turn. I love comforting fall foods like sweet potato soup, jambalaya, zuccini breads, acorn squash, etc. Here's a very versitile recipe that you can customize to whatever mood you're in:

Sweet Potato Soup

1 medium sweet onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbl olive oil

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1" chunks

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" cubes

2 quarts chicken stock

salt

pepper

1. Heat oil in the bottom of a large stock pot. Add onion and garlic and cook on medium-low heat until onions are soft and just begin to turn brown. Add a little sprinkling of salt- this will help pull the moisture from the onion so it breaks down and caramelizes faster.
   
2. Add carrots, sweet potatoes, and chicken stock. Cover, bring to a boil. Once to a boil, remove the cover from the pot and simmer on low for about 20 minutes or until the carrots and sweet potatoes are soft.
3. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender or blend batches of the soup until smooth. Now flavor as desired and enjoy! If doing the sweet versions, you may need to add a bit of sugar.

Suggestions for flavors:

• fresh herbs such as rosemary or thyme
• Indian spiced (curry and ginger)
• Thai spiced (curry paste and coconut milk)
• Mexican spiced (cumin and chili powder)
• Sweet Spiced (cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar & cream-- serve with a spoonful of marshmallow fluff or a toasted marshmallow on top)
• Praline Pecan (make the sweet version and add toasted caramelized pecans to the top)

Josie's Tropical Cupcakes

Today was Tamra's 2 year anniversary with Heinz. You know what that means-- an excuse to bake! Hooray!

I made Tropical Cupcakes. Very easy and light- just perfect for summer. They really hit the spot.

After work, Tamra and I are going shopping. $2 camis at Old Navy! Sa-weet!!

JOSIE'S TROPICAL CUPCAKES

Cupcakes:

1 box angelfood cake mix

20 oz. can crushed pineapple

Frosting:

2 tubs Cool Whip (fat free or sugar free is ok)

2 tsp. Coconut extract, divided

2 tsp. Vanilla, divided

Sweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 3 cupcake pans with liners.

2. Dump the cake mix into a very large bowl. Add the crushed pineapple and mix on low with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. The cake batter will triple in size so you really need a big bowl!

3. Fill prepared cupcake cups 3/4 full with the batter. Bake for 20 minutes.

4. Let cool 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.

5. While cupcakes are cooling, lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Spread the coconut on a sheet pan and bake for 3-5 minutes. Stir well and let cool. Set aside.

6. Meanwhile, thaw the cool whip in the refrigerator. Once thawed, stir 1 tsp coconut extract and 1 tsp vanilla into each tub.

7. When cupcakes are cool (just before serving), top each with about 2 Tbl flavored cool whip and a bit of toasted coconut.

8. Enjoy!

BLT-A's

Easy and delicious! I took two slices of Parma Sourdough bread and toasted them. Then I cooked turkey bacon in the microwave and added fresh sliced tomato & lettuce greens from the veggie stand. Instead of mayo, I used a freshly mashed avocado. Absolutely wonderful! I also served corn on the cob and marinated cucumbers (seasoned rice vinegar, salt and pepper). Watermelon for dessert. Perfect meal for a hot summer day!

The veggies of Fruitland

Hooray! The veggie stands in Fruitland are FINALLY open! Currently in my fridge: orange cauliflower, fresh broccoli, cucumbers, zuchini, green beans, lettuce greens, patty-hat squash (that's what a little kid called them), corn on the cob, a sweet onion, and a jar of dilly beans. Going to be some good stuff. I also got some Parma Sourdough bread and Chocolate milk. Yum!

Last night, I cut up two small zucchini and sauted them in a pan with canola oil, a little garlic, and some Lawry's seasoning (reduced sodium). When they were almost done, I threw in a tomato I cut up. It was devine! Tonight for dinner, we'll put the Sourdough bread to good use and make some BLT-A's (BLT with Avocado). Can't wait!

I've made some really good friends here that live just down the street. Aimee and Corby are great and their pup, Eddy, loves Ralfie and Tobie. We went on a drive out to Steck Park last night (about 20 miles outside of Weiser, ID). Tobie went directly into the water. He loves to swim! Ralfie doesn't even like to get his feet wet. Here are a few photos.

That's all for now. I'll dig out the camera and post some pics of the produce and dishes I make out of them.

Taco Soup

I bought a tube of the Jenny-O Taco flavored ground turkey and cooked it up last night. It was pretty good-- the other toppings masked the softer texture of the ground turkey (softer when compared to ground beef). With only 2 people in the house, I had a lot left over. So, I decided to make Taco Soup for lunch today. Due to the high garlic and onion flavors already pleasant in the meat, I should only have to add a few spices. This is what I did:

I added 3T. chili powder, 1T. ground cumin and 2tsp. ground coriander to the meat in a saucepan. Then I added 1 (15 oz can, no salt added) tomato sauce and 1 (14.5 oz can) low sodium chicken broth along with one can of red kidney beans (drained and rinsed). I'll let ya know how it turned out after lunch today!