Summer Weeknight Supper: Zucchini, Tomato and Ricotta Tart

Friends, Labor Day may have come and gone, but summer is still around for a couple more weeks! If that whole solstice thing doesn't convince you, there's always the continued presence of summer squash and fat red tomatoes in the farmers' market. Faced with an overflow of both and a shortage of time, I decided to throw these two together into a quick and easy tart that is suitable for brunch, lunch or a quick weeknight dinner. 

There are a number of zucchini tarts out there, not to mention tomato ones, but I found a limited number of recipes that combined them and none that wowed me.  I started with a smitten kitchen recipe, as I often do, and let creativity (and laziness) lead me from there. I'll have to admit that the main thing I did was include tomatoes in an otherwise perfect recipe, but I also took a shortcut and used pie crust.  On some other night I will whip up homemade dough and make the rustic galette as Deb describes. 

 I also changed this up a bit from my usual ricotta routine. When there is ricotta to be eaten, I almost always hit up my old favorite, the Valley Shepherd Creamery.  This time, I was planning to cook before I could get to the Valley Shepherd stand.  I took a leap and tried the Amish ricotta cheese available at a grocery and specialty foods store near my office.  There's no messing around with this ricotta.  It's not the part skim that you're used to.  It was rich and creamy and really made the tart.  If you have it in a store near you, I recommend giving it a try. I used more than the original recipe called for because, well, I'm an addict.  

Rainbow Chard with Anchovies, Pine Nuts and Cranberries on Polenta

On a cool rainy morning, it is hard to believe it is summer.  I'm sure many of you out there are grumbling and a bit blue, but, aside from the fact that I generally love cool rainy mornings most of all, I'm particularly satisfied because I'm stuck at home for a little while and I don't feel like I'm missing out on quite so much outdoor fun when it's gloomy. 

The other upside is that I have a chance to explore some summer comfort food.  Even on cool days like this, summer comfort food can't be too heavy or thick.  I crave warmth and a smooth texture, but still some lightness.  What could satisfy that call better than polenta? 

I used to buy the pre-prepared tube of polenta from Trader Joe's to keep on hand for these sorts of meals.  After buying a box of polenta, I realized how silly I was.  The biggest pain is that you have to keep stirring the polenta to discourage clumps, but otherwise there is no finesse and hardly any time involved in making a nice base for all manner of soothing meals. 

For this one, I took advantage of the beautiful rainbow swiss chard that we picked up from Phillips Farms at the farmers' market and turned to my friend Mark Bittman for inspiration.  I'd like to say that I tinkered and played with his recipe and improved on his perfection.  It's generally not possible since Bittman has a nice healthy simple (Minimalist, if you will) approach and his recipes generally do not go wrong.  I did use anchovy paste instead of anchovy fillets, cranberries instead of raisins and the polenta was all me.  His recipe was also for greens generally and I, of course, used the chard.  

I was drawn to this recipe because of the anchovies.  As gross as I always believed them to be, I can no longer deny that they are good for you.  Even my husband asked me to somehow slip more of them into our food after reading Real Food by Nina Planck (I haven't even read it yet and I'm eternally grateful for its effect on my household).  I use the anchovy paste to sneak some into pasta dishes and have come to like it.  This recipe was my attempt to go more full throttle into the world of anchovies.  Expect more to come.  

The most exciting addition was 1/2 of a Hot Portugal chili pepper straight from our garden.  I only used half because I had never worked with a Hot Portugal before, but they are on the light side, so I would use at least a whole one in the future.  If you don't have fresh chilis on hand, you can substitute about 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes or as much or as little as you prefer. 

Rainbow Chard with Anchovies, Pine Nuts and Cranberries on Polenta (adapted from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist Cooks Dinner)

• At least 2 servings prepared polenta (find your favorite slow version, it's worth it)
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp anchovy paste or up to 8 anchovy fillets to taste (or more if you're really a fan)
• 1/2 fresh small red chili pepper, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 4 cups trimmed rainbow swiss chard or other greens, washed, dried and chopped
• sea salt
• freshly cracked black pepper

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, chili slices and anchovies.  When garlic is pungent and anchovies dissolve into oil, turn heat to low. 
2. Stir in cranberries and pine nuts.  Cook for one minute. 
3. Add greens and 1/2 cup water.  Cover and cook until chard is tender (about 10-12 minutes). 
4. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. 
5. Serve greens over polenta in a bowl with greater proportion of greens than in the picture above.  Pour broth generously over each bowl. Enjoy!

Pineapple Mango Smoothie: An Experiment with Rice Milk

Too hot to cook.  Too hot to write.  Too hot to even think about the back-logged posts that I have with some delicious recipes waiting to share.  And yet, here I am with a new post! A suitably frozen one, at that. 

Over the past few weeks, A and I have been independently reading and discussing the various problems that people have with dairy.  Don't worry - I'm not giving it up (although I am as convinced as ever that organic is really the only way to go for milk if you're partaking).  I did, however, pick up some rice milk at Trader Joe's to give it another try.

I had tried rice milk on its own quite a few years ago and found it tasted like watery rice.  Which it is, so I guess I got what I deserved. I'm not sure how vegans take their rice milk, but I think that once one is committed, you might not be craving a glass of milk with your PB&J in quite the same way that I do now.  After this attempt, as an ingredient with other tasty ingredients, I'm sold on rice milk. 

The other thing that made the rice milk enjoyable is that I bought myself a little treat.  I love toys.  That's why I have too much stuff in the kitchen, but this one additional purchase may have made my whole summer.  I got myself the Fit & Fresh Smooth Blend Mixer.  We have a blender, but it's full size and makes great smoothies for four.  This is much like the ones you've seen on TV where it is a single cup that attaches to a machine and then you can take it on the go with you.  Love the toys.  

So, to give my new toy a test drive, I threw together some vanilla rice milk, fresh squeezed orange juice (I wanted lime, but alas had none and it was too hot to leave the house), frozen pineapple (I bought one fresh a few weeks ago and cut it up and threw it in the freezer), and frozen mango (Trader Joe's).  A quick buzz and voila! A tropical orange julius-like smoothie that definitely helped take the edge off the heat.  Except to see more smoothie recipes in short order.  Yum! 

(Please forgive me the photo quality - some poor battery charging planning and I was left with only my phone's camera.)

Pineapple Mango Smoothie

• 1/4 c. fresh squeezed citrus juice (orange, lime, lemon, maybe even grapefruit!)
• 1 c. vanilla rice milk
• 1 c. frozen pineapple chunks
• 1/2 c. frozen mango chunks
• fresh mint leaves (optional)

1. Add ingredients into your mixer according to the directions (mine called for liquids first, then heavier ingredients, so I added in the order listed above).
2. Blend it.  
3. Garnish with additional mint if you'd like. 
4. Enjoy!
5. This makes 16 ounces of smoothie. 

Meatless Monday: Spicy Garbanzo Bean Burritos with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

I have a confession to make. Some nights, I just don't want to cook. Period. I know that happens to us all, but somehow the guilt comes rushing in every time.

For nights like those, I am trying to amass easy, tasty and healthy meals to save us from the call of takeout pizza. One of my favorite sources for inspiration for these meals is The Splendid Table Weeknight Kitchen emails. They're not always as simple as you'd like for a Tuesday, but the recipes are almost always a success.

This one was particularly successful because I mostly have the ingredients on hand at any given time. I haven't solved the wrap/flatbread as a pantry item yet since we don't go through them quite fast enough, but they are easy enough to pick up on the way home.

For me, the yogurt sauce is the star here, but the flexibility of heat and flavor for the garbanzos is great. There is so much potential for variety! If you play with it, let me know how it goes!

Spicy Garbanzo Bean Burritos with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce (adapted from the Splendid Table e-mail)

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1-1/2 cups thinly sliced onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Two 15-ounce cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 6 large flour tortillas

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce 

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (I used 2%)
• 1 small Persian or English cucumber, peeled and grated on medium holes (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium and add the oil. Add garlic and onion and cook for 6 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, and paprika and mix well. Add the garbanzo beans and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper and then stir in the cilantro.
2. As the garbanzo beans finish cooking, make the sauce. Mix together all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Spoon 1/2 cup of the garbanzo bean mixture onto each tortilla and top with some yogurt sauce. Fold up tortillas on one end, roll tightly and serve. 

Vermont Special: Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives

Occasionally I've posted about our trips up to Vermont.  Aside from the fact that anyone could find a bounty of local food stuff in that region, I've also mentioned that we are lucky to have (currently) Vermont-local family who also greatly appreciate great local products.  That family also happens to be the source of my most authentic Chinese recipes. Again, this combination has served me well.  

We arrived home from our last Vermont trip laden with a multitude of greens picked right from the family garden and a carton of the oddest shaped (and tastiest!) eggs I've ever seen courtesy of Earl.  I've cooked with spinach and arugula a million times, and so these were slotted into familiar recipes.  What, however, would I do with the great abundance of Chinese chives? 

Chinese chives are also known as garlic chives which should give you a pretty decent sense of their flavor profile.  When I took a nibble of the uncooked chives, they tasted like ramps on crack with a heavy dose of garlic.  Yes, please! Once cooked, the flavor does become more subtle, but not much.  

In the past, I've pretty much exclusively had these lovely greens chopped up in pork dumplings (and maybe once sauteed on their own).  Life has been busy and while dumplings are on the list for future adventures, this was not happening in the middle of the week without planning. 

Action shot: A shoots while I whisk.Once accompanied by Earl's eggs, the chives pretty much cook themselves.  In a traditional family interpretation, I scrambled four of the largest, most golden yolks you have ever laid eyes on with a mountain of chives.  Usually a side dish, we ate it as a main course served over rice with a spicy cucumber and radish salad.  

It would have been satisfying even without the esteemed provenance of our eggs and chives, but the flavors were elevated to fabulous by keeping it close to home.  If you don't have access to my particular purveyors, good farmers' market eggs will do and I have seen the Chinese chives at the Union Square Greenmarket.  Give it a try! 

Earl's Eggs with Chinese Chives

• 1 large bunch of Chinese chives, chopped in roughly 2 inch lengths 
• 3-4 farm-freshest eggs you can find, beaten
• 1-2 tbsp light tasting oil (olive oil is fine, but something light is preferred), divided. 
• pinch of sea salt

1. Heat half of oil in large pan. Pour beaten eggs into oil and cook about halfway.  Remove eggs from pan and set aside. 
2. Heat remaining oil in same pan.  Add chives and stir fry over high heat.  When almost cooked and still bright green, add eggs to chives.  Sprinkle with salt and cook until just formed, but still moist. 
3. Enjoy over rice.