Zucchini

Living in a condo, there is not much of a garden we can have, so when people offer us goodies from their gardens, we happily accept. That's how I came to get this beautiful zucchini. Not being able to have a garden or even a yard, for that matter, is one of the only things I regret about living in a condo. I grew up in apartments and condos my entire life, so I am fairly accustom to it. But as a child, I remember having a garden at my Grandmother's house in Connecticut. I remember the rows of squash and string beans; vines of tomatoes and cucumbers. Maybe because it was many years ago and I was young, I don't remember anything else but those vegetables. If it were my garden now...it would be vastly different. But I digress and must rely on good produce stores and generous "gardener" friends, like my zucchini "connection". Along with my gifted zucchinis, squash and cucumbers came an array of recipes that my friend thought I might like to try out. One in particular was a recipe for Greek Zucchini Cakes. I tweaked the recipe just a smidge by omitting pine nuts and using seasoned breadcrumbs in its place. They were delicious! The feta cheese with the tang of the dill really gave it that Greek flavor that they were named for. What was supposed to serve 4-6 people quickly turned into serving 2! This recipe is definitely going in my "keeper" file and the zucchini cakes will be making a repeat performance very soon!

Greek Zucchini Cakes Recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/greek-zucchini-cakes-recipe/index.html

Sea Beans

I'm wandering through the produce section of Whole Foods the other day and out of the corner of my eye I see a basket of these odd looking things just sitting there. Bright green and looking like some kind of cross between a cactus and a piece of seaweed. There it was, right between the ginger root and rosemary skewers, looking so out of place. There wasn't even a tag or description associated with the contents of the basket. I had no idea what they were but I knew I wanted them. I had to hunt down a employee of the produce department just to tell me what the unusual looking item was. When asked, he looked as confused as I was but then proceeded to tell me that they are really good sauteed with some butter. "But what are they?" I continued to ask him. He finally fessed up and told me that he had no clue! Figuring someone in this store had to know what they were, he set out to get the answer. He was back 10 minutes later with a print out on a receipt indicating that they were, Sea Beans. "What the hell are these things" I thought to myself as I scooped up a handful and planning on figuring that out later. The minute I got into my car, it was time to go to the Google! I found out that these quirky little veggies are neither seaweed or a cactus but a succulent that grows near the beach and in marshy areas. This is where their intense salty flavor comes from. Right from the start, I figured these edible beach flora would probably be better cold then cooked. Thinking that boiling them might make the sea beans too soggy and lose some of their crunch, I decided to steam them for a few minutes. There is something about the saltiness that lends itself to an Asian flavor so I added some sesame oil, a touch of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame seeds. Letting it chill in the fridge for a little while, it made a tasty salad. Apparently, these funky vegetables are seasonal and are only around in the summer months, so track them down now if you're interested. I'm thinking next time they might be a good edition to the lobster pot along with some steamers!

Kirby Cucumbers

Growing up, I can remember that one of my favorite salads was, cucumbers with french dressing and that's it! The thought of that now makes my stomach turn. I am so glad that my palate has matured and I no longer eat mayonnaise sandwiches or egg noodles with ketchup. I do still love both ketchup and mayo and often label myself as being "condimental". Also as a kid, and still to this day, I love pickles. Needless to say, vinegar is high on my list as well. I am always making salads with different kinds of vinaigrettes to go with them. I rarely buy bottled salad dressing anymore but go through gallons of olive oil and vinegar in a years time. So after a day of fried clam strips and french fries, a little vinegar to cut through all that grease was just what I needed. When I make a salad and know that I will be the only one eating it, I always add extra vinegar and plenty of garlic. I tend to tone down the more robust flavors of the dressing when I know my husband is going to be having some. My salad was extra tangy tonight and adding some dill to the mix made it taste more like a pickle than a cucumber salad. Long gone are the days of mayo sandwiches and noodles with Heinz but I will never give up a kosher dill or a salad that tastes like one!

Snap Peas and Pea Tendrils

Michael Jordan's Steakhouse, Michael Buble and Mohegan Sun...oh and Peas too! This made for an incredible night. I will be honest, as good as these beautiful Snap Peas and Pea Tendrils were, the highlight of my night wasn't the legumes on my plate. Michael Buble was even yummier looking and sounding then those veggies and took center stage for me. Dinner at Jordan's was delicious, as it always is, but it was exciting to find something somewhat unusual on the menu for my 365 Vegetables. These snap peas were offered as that evenings vegetable on the specials menu. I'm sure our waitress was wondering why I was asking so many questions about vegetables at a place that most people are quizzing her on the different cuts of steaks but she played along and was happy to humor me. She had to explain to me what the "tendrils" part of that evenings' veggie was. It sounded just unusual enough, so I ordered it along side at incredible piece of steak. As I sat there, with a great glass of red, enjoying my dinner and anticipating the concert, I realized something. A delicious main course, albeit, a New York strip or Cornish game hen, is only as good as the vegetables and sides to back it up. How boring would it be to sit there and chew on a piece of steak the entire dinner with nothing to compliment the flavor of the meat. It's the combination of the wine, the steak, the peas, the bread, that make the meal, the meal. It would be like listening to Michael Buble sing without a microphone and no band to back him up! Who am I kidding? I could listen to him sing in the shower...wait...yup that's sounds about right!

Okra

I don't know how I started eating Okra years ago but since I can remember, once every few months I pick up a jar of pickled okra. It's contents barely last a day in the fridge as I am constantly snacking on the peculiar pickles. This vegetable, with it's fuzzy texture and odd innards are something that I would have NEVER been offered up at our family dinner table. It remains a mystery where the love for pickled okra came from. However, pickled is the only way I have enjoyed okra all these years and I figured it's time to change that. I'm sure there are plenty of ways to prepare these odd, furry vegetables but time and again, I hear about fried okra, so I gave it a shot. It's funny, ever since I started this vegetable "project", I have fried more times than I care to admit in my house, something I never usually do. But you can't steam or sauteed everything and it has definitely made the other "resident" in this house very, very happy. Not being 100 percent sure the best way to go about frying up the okra, I did a little research online. A handful of recipes suggested cutting the okra into little "wheels" and letting sit in cold water in the fridge for an hour or so and then drain. What I saw then was like something out of a science fiction movie. I knew okra "innards" could be somewhat "slimy" but it turned my stomach at the amount that oozed out of the bottom of the strainer when I poured the okra-water mixture out. I quickly threw the okra wheels into a bowl with cornmeal seasoned with smoked paprika, salt and pepper, just so I didn't have to look at those little, slimy, green chunks. Tossing the okra until completely coated and barely any green shown through, it was now ready to take a dive in the vegetable "jacuzzi" heating up on my stove. The okra hung out in the bubbling vegetable oil for roughly 5 or 6 minutes, just until they were a nice golden color. Out they came, drained on a paper towel and sprinkled with salt and pepper. After a minute or two to cool, the taste test commenced. At first bite, all I could think of, was what looked like an "alien attack" in my sink earlier but I quickly got past that after the second bite. Long gone was the "slime" and in is place was a soft center with a crispy flavorful outer coating. The only thing missing was something sinful to dip them into, as if the frying didn't do enough damage to my daily calorie count! Maybe I should stick to the pickled okra just for the sake of my waistline and only "jacuzzi" them once a year....ok maybe twice a year!

Broccolini

I always thought that Broccolini was a cross between broccoli and asparagus. At least that is certainly the way it appears. With the head of a broccoli floret and the body similar to an asparagus spear. Surprisingly, it's actually part of the cabbage family. It's a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese chard. Regardless of where, what or how, it's delicious! I've been buying broccolini for years now and have been preparing it the same way each time; steamed with fresh lemon squeezed over it. As yummy as it is like that, it can get boring, especially when I steam it to death, that's how my husband likes all his vegetables...mush! I however, prefer a crunch still left to my veggies and that's just how I prepared the broccolini this time. Trying something different, I roasted the bunch in oven with some olive oil. Something, I always do with asparagus but never with broccoli. After about 20 minutes at 450 degrees, I tossed the broccolini with some balsamic vinegar and a little salt and pepper. The roasted spears had an texture unlike what I'm used to, I definitely got my "crunch"! The crisp floret was a nice change from the typical soggy head doused in lemon juice. However, like asparagus, if the spear isn't cooked well enough, it tends to get a little stringy. Regardless, the flavor offered up by roasting along with a good balsamic, has changed the way I cook broccolini. The days of vegetables cooked beyond recognition, like baby food are over. Someone (you know who are) better get used to it!

Grape Tomatoes

Again, tomatoes became my "go to" vegetable. Granted these little guys, which came out of my friend's garden in Florida, are very different than the few I had last week. It was another late night and the day got away from me. I had a butternut squash that was calling my name and a great recipe for it but we got a little sidetracked at a friends house and ended up coming home way past dinner time, certainly too late to put a squash in the oven. Having a fresh bunch of basil in the fridge along with a container full of these guys, I couldn't help myself making a tomato salad at 10:30 pm. With a little vinegar, some good olive oil, fresh garlic and salt and pepper, it made a nice vinaigrette for the tomatoes. I have been making tomato salads like this for years now but the one part that was always a pain, was cutting each one of these guys individually in half. Then one day, I caught a Rachel Ray episode (before my "beef" with her started...that story is for another time) and she offered up a little trick to making this task easier; Take two medium size storage container lids, put a handful of tomatoes in one on the counter top, with the lip facing up so they don't roll out and the other one on top of the tomatoes (kind of like a sandwich), gently press down, taking a long knife, slice through the entire bunch at once! It saves so much time and is a great trick, even if it came from "her"!