Mediterranean Stuffed Ball Zucchini with Lamb

This morning I trekked to the farmer’s market in jeans, leather shoes and a rain coat. Looking at me you’d have thought it was April 1st instead of July 1st. But what I found at the market convinced me that somehow it was summer after all: zucchini, a type of summer squash!

Every summer I look forward to Green Acres Farm’s selection of vegetables (I bought these garlic scapes from them a few weeks ago), especially their summer squash. This vendor usually has a few varieties to choose from and I like them all, but today I was most inspired by the ball zucchinis.

The plan was to hollow and fill the zucchinis in a way similar to the bison-barley stuffed peppers and stuffed buttercup squash, but this time with ground lamb, eggplant, tomatoes and a lot of fresh oregano. These Mediterranean flavors remind me of foods common in Italy and Greece creating a dish that is hearty, savory and summery all at once.

To complete the meal I served the stuffed ball zucchini with bulgur, a fantastic earthy compliment to the lamb and vegetables. Another way to make this dish would be to dice regular zucchini, saute it with the rest of the ingredients and serve it as a stir-fry over cooked bulgur.

As for why I chose to stuff the ball zucchinis, the answer is because it’s fun!

Here’s the recipe:

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Mint Pea Soup with Greek Yogurt

Peas. Mint. Yogurt.

I couldn’t get those three ingredients out of my head all weekend. I didn’t know how they got in there to begin with, all I knew was that I wanted – no NEEDED – to make something with them

Sure, I could have prepared some interesting pesto-type sauce or a dip, but I wanted something a bit simpler that wouldn’t require extra ingredients to enjoy my concoction. The result: Mint Pea Soup with Greek Yogurt.

Essentially a simple puree of peas (either fresh or frozen work; I used a combination of both because that’s what I had) with mint and aromatics (yellow onion, garlic and ginger), this was a clean and refreshing soup finished nicely with a dollop of tangy Greek yogurt.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s bright green? No? Sorry about that, it should have been the first thing I said because I think the color makes the soup kind of fun.

Here’s the recipe:

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Pavlova Clouds with Strawberries & Balsamic Drizzle

I sort of lost my cooking mojo this week. Similar to writer’s block it wasn’t that I couldn’t cook, just that I was having a difficult time finding inspiration and the dishes I did prepare were just okay, certainly not worth blogging about. And I’d hate to waste your time on just a so-so recipe.

So I’m sure you can imagine how thrilled I was when the idea for meringue hit me out-of-the-blue last night. I hadn’t made meringue in a long time but I’ve always loved the simplicity of whipping some egg whites with sugar and getting a dessert. I also decided to make a strawberry topping to celebrate the end of strawberry season in my area, and also because I had a lot of them sitting around.

(Short story: I was very late arriving at the market last week, in fact I didn’t get there until a half hour before closing. I usually try to go early because the produce can get picked over, but that just wasn’t going to happen. Anyways, as I was leaving I passed a farmer trying to unload the last of his strawberries. Being the sucker that I am (for strawberries and in general), I agreed to buy three quarts for the price of two. I valiantly made it through two of the quarts all by myself, but I still had one left and the berries were beginning to go bad. Needless to say, I was desperate to find a proper use for them.)

Pavlova is essentially meringue (egg whites and sugar) with a small amount of corn starch and vinegar baked at a low temperature. The result is a crispy shell surrounding a marshmallow-like center. The Pavlova originated in Australia or New Zealand (apparently both countries take credit for it) and is traditionally made in one large circle and is topped with whipped cream and fruit.

Today I made it a bit differently, first by making 10 small abstract “clouds” instead of one large round disk. And second by topping the clouds with macerated strawberries and a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar, which allowed me to omit the whipped cream making the dessert a bit lighter and healthier.

The Pavlova clouds are a lot of fun to make and very simple. The batter comes together in less than 10 minutes and bakes without a lot of fuss. All-in-all, a fun and whimsical summer treat.

Here’s the recipe:

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Risi e Bisi

It seems as though I’ve been in a bit of an Italian-food mood recently with the garlic scape pesto, fresh tagliatelle, bison ragù and finally the risi e bisi I made Saturday.

Fresh Spring Peas

The idea for risi e bisi, an Italian dish from Venice, came after I bought a container of fresh shelled peas from the farmer’s market. I love fresh peas and the ones I bought today were wonderfully sweet and a little peppery, and nothing like frozen peas. But I remembered from last year how quickly the peas went bad so I wanted to be sure to use at least some of them right away. Originally I had planned on making risotto with peas and mushrooms but somehow forgot to buy the mushrooms.

It was then that I remembered risi e bisi meaning “rice and peas.” The rice is arborio, the same short grain, starchy rice used in risotto. But the differences between risotto and risi are that the later has a thinner consistency (think really thick stew) that is just thick enough to be eaten with a fork, and also that the rice is cooked by simmering in water rather than the slow-stirring risotto method (see: Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Risotto).

Making Risi e Bisi

This truly was a simple, filling, tasty dish that seemed just right for the tail-end of spring.

And it turns out it goes really well with BBQ, go figure. I served the leftover risi e bisi at my family’s request with our BBQ dinner (thanks, Twin Anchors) on father’s day and it was a huge hit!

Here’s the recipe:

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Hello friends,

I’ve never done this before but I need to ask for your help. I recently submitted a minute-long video for Murphy-Goode winery’s “A Really Goode Job” challenge, basically a video application for an incredible job: six months as their Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent! The winner gets to live in Sonoma County and report about the area, the wine and so much more using social media.

While I have to admit my video isn’t the best of the 700+ submitted, I know I’d be “really Goode” in this position (okay, I’d be freakin’ incredible!). Please take a minute to view the video and vote for me!

Thanks so much!

Jackie

Bison Ragù & Homemade Tagliatelle

Spaghetti with meat sauce is something I never order in restaurants. The few times I’ve tried it I’ve always found the flavor shallow and bland. But that’s not to say I don’t like meat sauce. I do, I just prefer when it’s homemade.

I’ve made meat sauce, or ragù as it’s known in Italy, many times before but usually with ground beef or a combination of beef and veal. But this time I wanted to try it with bison, which is one of my favorite proteins both for it’s beef-like taste and healthy properties (see Bison-Barley Stuffed Peppers). In a nutshell, bison is nutrient-dense, especially in iron and essential fatty acids, and is lower in fat, calories and cholesterol than chicken.

With all the positive traits and delicious taste of bison it shocks me that people still see it as an “ew, gross,” food, which is the exact response elicited from my sister when I invited her to dinner. I keep forgetting she’s a recovered vegetarian so I’ll go easy on her, I just hope her views don’t reflect the majority because that would be very sad.

Back to the sauce. I was a little unsure of how it would work to use bison because it’s such a lean meat, meaning very low in fat. I didn’t want the sauce to be dry and was concerned I’d have to add more oil to make up for the lack of natural fat, which would defeat the purpose of using bison in the first place. Luckily, it wasn’t an issue at all. I used a generous two tablespoons olive oil to sweat the vegetables and brown the bison, and then added a good amount of liquid from the wine, tomatoes and juice. The end result was a rich, tasty, long-simmered bison tomato sauce that was fantastic served over homemade tagliatelle.

The tagliatelle was made from frozen pasta dough (see fresh pasta video) by rolling it thin using a pasta roller, gently folding into thirds, then hand-cutting the dough with a knife in 1/3-inch wide strips. Separate the noodles immediately and sprinkle with flour to prevent them from sticking together.

The tomatoes used in the sauce were fresh but of course it’s fine to use canned tomatoes with their juices (omit the tomato juice from the original recipe). But if you do decide to use fresh tomatoes, you will want to remove the core and the seeds.

Here’s the recipe for Bison Ragù:

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Lemon-Lavender Frozen Yogurt

The sun peaked out a bit and the temperature neared 70°F (gasp) today signaling that it was time for me to break out the ice cream maker. The poor thing has been patiently waiting in the freezer since last October.

By now it’s well-known that I have dairy issues and try to stay away from dairy-laden recipes (see Mint Chocolate Chip Soy Ice Cream). But every once in a while I throw caution to the wind, pop a few Lactaid, and live on the edge.

That brings us to today’s successful (and Friday’s failed) experiment of making a refreshingly tart frozen yogurt. My goal was to create a very simple recipe where you wouldn’t need to cook, puree, infuse, strain or chill anything.

Well, let’s just say I came close and the cooking, straining and chilling are optional. Basically, I just couldn’t get the idea of light and refreshing lemon-lavender frozen yogurt out of my head.

I first tried making this with fat-free yogurt into which I mixed in mint extract, lemon juice, minced dried lavender and honey. It was a big fat failure. The mint overpowered all other flavors and the texture of the dried lavender was awful.

Today’s attempt was much better and still very simple. If you want to avoid those few extra steps then simply omit the lavender, but I think it adds a nice, fragrant touch and makes this frozen yogurt a bit more special.

Also don’t be afraid to play with the flavors and sweeteners to fit your mood. Amounts don’t have to be exact either so long as you’re careful not to add too much liquid. Taste the mixture before pouring it into the ice cream maker and adjust the seasonings, just remember that cold subdues flavor so make the batter a bit stronger than you’d ideally like.

Here’s the recipe:

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