Dinner tonight was so good tonight that I decided to post it! I have to say, adding ricotta to quiche works really well, I was surprised. I purchased it for a new Smitten Kitchen recipe for raspberry scones with ricotta, but I had half of the container left. I also only used 2 eggs, as I was hoping it would turn out a bit lighter and summer-like. I think it did! You can use any vegetables you want, but this combo worked really well, and everything was in season and local. Our sweet neighbors left a bag of green beans and a zucchini by our door yesterday--so that was my main inspiration...The green bean salad was inspired by a traditional Caprese salad--substituting peppers for tomatoes and adding green beans for a more substantial side dish. I used local fresh mozzarella that came in small balls that I sliced into fifths. You should try these recipes--so many yums!

Green Bean Salad:
1/2 lb. - 1lb. fresh green beans, snapped in half
1 small red pepper, chopped bite size
1 small yellow pepper, chopped bite size
1/4 small white onion, sliced thin
2 tbs. basil, chopped coarsely
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, chopped bite size
scant tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Lightly steam the green beans. Drain well and add all of the other ingredients. Add salt and pepper to season.


Summer Vegetable Ricotta Quiche with Whole Wheat Crust:

Crust:
1 c. white whole wheat flour
1/4 c. oil or melted butter
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. cold water
Herbs of choice (I used 1 tsp. dried oregano)

Preheat oven to 400. Mix together flour and salt. Add oil and water. Mix (but don't over mix) until it all comes together. Press dough into the bottom of a pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 4oo. Take crust out to cool while preparing the rest of the quiche. Then turn oven down to 350.

Quiche:
2 eggs
1 c. ricotta cheese (I used organic, whole milk)
1/2 c. milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
1/4 c. parmesan. separated
Fresh herbs, as much or as little as you like (I used chopped basil)
1/8 tsp. sea salt, a few shakes of black pepper
1 small zucchini, sliced thin
1 baby eggplant, sliced thin
3 mushrooms, sliced thin
1/4 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp. butter

Saute the onion in butter for 1 minute, then add mushrooms and and eggplant. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add zucchini and saute for another 3-4 minutes under slightly tender, but still a bit crisp. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk eggs and milk, add salt, pepper, herbs and ricotta. Whisk until ricotta is broken up into small-ish pieces. Add half of the parmesan to the mixture.

Arrange the vegetables on top of the crust. Pour the egg mixture on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. You did it!

Meyer lemon fresh squeezed lemonade + mint tea + honey = yum!

Maybe it is because I am new to this whole living in California, lemons in your front yard thing--but sheesh--I feel like lemon trees are gifts that keep on giving, and I don't stop getting excited about them! I could probably start a blog that is entirely about Meyer lemons. There are so many things you can do with them: marmalade, scones, lemon tahini dressing, lemon and any vegetable risotto, blueberry lemon bundt cake, strawberry lemon cheesecake....lemonade!

So, we had picked a lot of them (maybe 12) last week and I needed to figure out what to do with them fast! Since the candied lemon peels were so good and such a hit, I decided that I would make a bunch more and store them in the freezer for gift giving.


There was a lot of juice this time around, so I froze about 3 cups ice cube trays. I will let them set and then put them in a freezer safe bag so that I can pop them into whatever I want to use them in later.


The last cup of juice got me to thinking about refreshing summertime drinks. But I didn't want just plain old lemonade. I had thought about infusing rosemary or lavender (which we have abundantly growing on the side of our building) into a lemonade concoction, but instead decided on something minty. I am pretty sure lemonade combined with iced tea is called an Arnold Palmer, no? But I wanted it to be caffeine free and super refreshing--so i decided on lemonade with mint tea and honey! It turned out really good--tart and lightly sweet with a really subtle mint taste. I would say brew more teabags and add fresh mint if you want it mintier. Anyway, here it is:


Meyer Lemon, Mint Tea and Honey Lemonade:

1 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (5-6 lemons)
1 c. water
2 teabags (i used mint)
4 c. cold, preferably filtered water
1/2 c. honey, agave, or sugar (or more/less to taste)

Squeeze the lemons--use a juicer or reamer if you have one, but if not, gently roll the lemons on a counter with your palm to soften and free some of the juice before slicing in half and juicing by hand. Boil the 1 c. of water in a small saucepan. Take it off off the heat, and steep the teabags for about 10 minutes. Add the honey to the still-warm tea water and stir to dissolve. Find a container (pitcher, larger tupperware, etc.) and add the lemon juice, brewed tea with honey added, and 4 c. of water. Stir it all together and chill. Add ice if you want it colder and adjust the sweetness to your liking!

Blackberry/Chocolate Chip/ Hazelnut Muffins

During an attempt to begin beautifying the small patch of outdoor space in the back of our building, I had an amazing discovery... In the back corner I noticed berries growing, and as I moved closer, I found it to be a really large patch of blackberries! Really lovely, really delicious blackberries. Super perfect, actually. :)


So I picked a bowlful, brought them inside, and pondered what to do with them. Our local Trader Joe's just started carrying raw hazlnuts, which I had purchased. I had a bag of high quality chocolate chips on hand. I have a super good recipe for vegan muffins. Perfect! Not to mention I had a date the next morning with some people in our building to watch the WWC final between the US and Japan, so I had a perfect excuse to bake that night.

The recipe is one that I have developed and tweaked over the years. It works really well every time, regardless of how I switch up the ingredients. I have made them with a variety of fruits (dried and fresh), nuts, spices, chocolate or not. Feel free to mix it up as you want. This combo though, was particularly delicious. Something about chocolate and hazelnuts is so good, and the addition of the berries perked the flavor up and made it feel more summery. Oh, and toasting the hazelnuts is key--plus it makes them easy to skin. Give them a whirl!

Vegan Muffins:

1.5 c. unbleached flour (I actually used white whole wheat flour this time)
1.5 c. whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. non-aluminum baking powder
pinch of sea salt
1/2 c. canola oil (or other fat of your choice)
3/4 c. maple syrup (or other sweetener of your choice--I sometimes use organic sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or any other extract you prefer)
1 tsp. vinegar (I use apple cider)
1 c. soy, rice, or almond milk
1 mashed up, ripe banana
1/4 c. chopped hazelnuts (or any other nut)
1/2-3/4 c. chocolate chips
3/4-1 c. berries

Preheat oven at 325. Sift dry ingredients together. Whisk wet ingredients. Combine. Put in muffin pan that is either greased or use muffin cups (I never use muffin cups!) Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Makes 1 dozen large-ish muffins! Yum!

p.s. This recipe also works well as bread if you prefer that shape over muffins. You may have to increase the bake time by 5-10 minutes, just check that they are done by poking a skewer or toothpick into the bread, baking until it comes out clean!

I'm baaaaaack!

I've been on the east coast, visiting family and pals for the last 3 and a half weeks...wheeew! it was a crazy-paced, but super fun trip. I visited peeps in Boston, camped in Maine for a week, visited Ithaca (yay!) and felt ridiculously nostalgic for summertime there, and rounded off the trip with family in Buffalo. Overall it was really nice and very relaxing--but I am happy to be back home (even if it IS only in the 50's here--sheesh!). Time to get busy! I only took a handful of photos (boo...), and I will post a few of them (along with some I will steal from Raf's family) soon...