Zucchini Pancakes

Source: Sarah Brown & allrecipes.com

Servings: 3-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• (optional) sour cream and/or marinara sauce

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. Combine the zucchini, egg, onion and mayonnaise; stir into dry ingredients until well blended.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter. Drop zucchini mixture by cupfuls into skillet; press lightly to flatten. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.
3. Serve with sour cream and/or marinara sauce, if desired.

Comments:

I discovered these pancakes last summer when my friend Sarah Brown brought them to our Relief Society potluck luncheon. I couldn't get enough of these (especially covered in marinara sauce)! At the time, I had tons of zucchini on my hands, so this was a really yummy alternative to sauteing zucchini or using it in pasta or bread.

Honey Glazed Roasted Vegetables

Source: www.eggplantrecipes.net

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes (or more depending on how many veggies you use)

Ingredients

1/4 cup Honey
1/4 cup Olive Oil
3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
Salt, Pepper, and Dried Thyme, to taste (I didn't use any of these)
4-6 cups mixed halved Red Potatoes, sliced Zucchini, thickly sliced Onions, Red Peppers, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, sliced Eggplant (I did big chunks of everything, and I sweated my eggplant first.)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 2. Combine honey, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme in small bowl. 3. Mix well. 4. Arrange red potatoes, zucchini, onions, red peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, and eggplant in roasting pan. 5. Brush honey mixture over vegetables. (I just spooned it over and stirred it around well.) 6. Bake 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. (I only stirred it when I made the 9x13; the 8x8 didn't need it.)

Comments: The recipe is AMAZING. Seriously, it's a new favorite for Ryan and me. We got an eggplant with our CSA veggies, and I had no idea what to do with it (Can't have Eggplant Parmesean with Katie's milk allergy). I found this recipe and knew I would like it (I have a pretty big sweet tooth.) The great thing is, you can use whatever veggies you have in the house. I used potatoes, carrots, sweet red peppers, eggplant, and onion. The first time I just did an 8x8 and the 30 minutes of cooking time was plenty. The second time I did a 9x13 (doubling the glaze recipe), and it took at least an hour (the carrots were the real problem--I finally covered the pan in foil, which helped). Also, the second time, we served the veggies over Ry's incredible garlic (non-dairy) mashed potatoes. It was so amazing! The vegetables taste like candy, and with the mashed potatoes, it was so filling and the perfect comfort food. I can't wait to make this in the winter!

Plum Cake

Source: Allrecipes.com

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups plums, pitted and sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 inch tube pan.
2. Separate the eggs. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Beat in the egg yolks and the lemon zest.
4. Stir together the flour and baking powder and then beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. There will only be a little over an inch of batter. Arrange the plums, skin side down, attractively over the batter.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes or until cake tests done. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Comments: Ry had plum cake on his mission in Germany that he loved, and we found some in Brussels (incredible!) but he hasn't had it since. We had some really flavorful plums from our CSA share last week, so I made him a plum cake to come home to after traveling for work for a couple days. It's not really European style, but it's still incredible! (I had one tiny crumb---I'll be making this again after Katie is weaned!) Be sure to really load the plums on the top---they shrivel a little when cooked, so you definitely want to crowd them on the top before you put it in the oven.

Insanely Naughty Pumpkin Cake

Source: Angel Shannon on abc4.com

Servings: 12+
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients & Directions:

Crust:

• 1 box yellow cake (set aside 1 cup that will be used for the topping)
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 egg

Mix cake mix, melted butter, and 1 egg well. Pour and press into lightly greased cake pan.

Filling:

• 3 c. pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ c. sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 1 ½ t. cinnamon
• 1 t. ginger
• 12 oz. can evaporated milk

Mix pumpkin, 2 eggs, sugar, salt, spices, and evaporated milk. Pour over crust mix in pan.

Topping:

• 1 c. cake mix (reserved)
• ¼ c. sugar
• ¼ c. butter
• 3 T. flour

Mix these until crumbly. Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool and serve with whipped topping.

Comments:

I just barely got this recipe today. . .and it's already a family favorite!

Cathi Chipman, a beloved sister in our ward, has been ill for years with pulmonary sclerosis (I believe) and probably won't be with us for very much longer. The other sisters and I in our ward love to serve her because she is such a joy to be around. I called her yesterday to see if there was anything I could do to help or if there were any foods she was able to eat had been craving, and she requested this cake. My friend, Monette, in our ward had made it for a Relief Society activity once, so I called her up; she was so helpful and searched around for it for me.

Cathi only wanted a few pieces -- she doesn't eat much at all these days -- so I served the rest tonight at a Wihongi family get together. This stuff got inhaled! It was so yummy, similar to a chocolate molten lava cake, only pumpkin. We've already decided this needs to be served at Halloween, Thanksgiving, or any other fall family function.

A delicious dessert that will now always remind me of an incredible woman and friend.

Speedy No-Knead Bread (The easiest recipe ever!)

Source: NY Times

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Rise Time: 4:30 (in 2 rises)
Cook Time: 45 min

Ingredients
3 cups flour (white or wheat)
1 packet (1/4 ounce) yeast
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 cups water
oil

Directions

1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it; fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes more.

3. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6-to-8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under dough and put it into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

4. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Comments: This bread is so good, and this is my new favorite recipe because it is SO easy! Sure, you have to plan ahead with the rising time, but no kneading? Love it! You get a really beautiful, olive-oily, cripsy crust too. So good with hummus or chicken borscht, and we're going to try it with bruschetta!

Chicken Borscht

Source: Allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 120 minutes

Ingredients

2 lbs skinless chicken thighs
8 cups chicken stock (I dilute mine, and I added an extra 1.5 cups of water)
2 lbs potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes (use good quality, like Yukon Gold for better flavor)
1 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes (not drained) (I skipped this ingredient)
3 large beets peeled and shredded (I diced)
1 large carrot grated (I diced)
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 tbs. red wine vinegar
3 tbs tomato paste
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place chicken thighs in the chicken stock in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover, and simmer until the chicken thighs are no longer pink at the bone, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken, and set aside to cool. Stir in the potatoes, tomatoes, beets, carrot, cabbage, onion, garlic, red wine vinegar, tomato paste, and bay leaf. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, chunk the chicken, and discard the bones. Return the chicken thighs to the soup, and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Comments: I've only had borscht once (and loved it!), and it was nothing like this, but this was still really good. I picked this recipe because it called for chicken instead of pork or beef (which we don't eat much of) and because it took 2 hours to make instead of all day like a lot of recipes I found. We loved it, and we even got Katie to eat it, which is saying something! Again, I highly recommend using good potatoes like Yukon Gold---you'll never go back to Russet!

Oatmeal Wheat Bread

Source: Janet Markham

Prep Time: 2:30 hours (includes two rises)
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Servings: Two loaves

Ingredients
2 cups very hot water (near boiling)
1 cup oats (regular is best, quick oats work ok)
1/2 cup warm water
4.5 tsp yeast
1 tsp white sugar
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup or more whole wheat flour (I usually use about 2.5 cups whole wheat)
1 tbsp salt
4.5 cups white flour (more or less depending on how much whole wheat you use)

1. Put 1 cup oats in large bowl. Pour 2 cups very hot water on top and stir. Let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile put 1/2 cup warm water in a smaller bowl and add 4.5 tsp yeast and 1 tsp white sugar. Whisk together with a fork and well stand until frothy.
2. Add 2 tbsp oil, 1/2 cup brown sugar and wheat flour to the large bowl and stir.
3. Add the yeast mixture, stir, and then start adding white flour. (I usually add it about 1/2 to 1 cup at a time). Add 1 tbsp salt and keep stirring. Add more white flour until the dough gets less sticky, starts to form a ball, and is hard to stir in the bowl.
4. Sprinkle a generous amount of white flour on a counter top. Dump the dough out on the flour and start kneading. Sprinkle more white flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the counter top. Knead for about 5 minutes. (I like to think of kneading as stretching the fibers of the dough in a circular motion- fold the dough in half, push down and backward into the ball with your palm, and let the fibers from the bottom be pushed to the back and around to the top, if that makes any sense.) The dough should be sticky but smooth when fully kneaded. (Adding too much flour will make the bread drier.) When fully kneaded the dough will spring back gently when you push into it with one finger and will be "soft as a baby's bottom" to quote my mom.
5. Sprinkle a little more flour around the inside of the large bowl and place the dough in the bowl to rise for 1 hour.
6. After 1 hour, take the dough out, knead it gently, and cut in half with a knife. (Don't pull the dough apart- that breaks the elastic fibers that you worked so hard to make while kneading.) Shape two loaves by flattening it out into a rectangle on a floured surface and rolling it up.
7. Place in greased bread pans and let rise 35 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped on bottom. Let cool before eating- this lets the bread structure "set up" before cutting it.

Comments: I've always loved homemade bread, but I've always been intimidated to make a rising bread. My friend makes this weekly, and Ry and I love it so much I finally was motivated to try it. I still can't make it as good as she does (she uses a different kind of wheat, which is part of the issue), and I don't make it very often, but we still eat the two loaves fast when I do get around to it!