Penne with Zucchini and Mint

 

The drought has been hard on the garden this year.  I was sure that my zucchini plant was done and didn't check on it for a few days.  Which was long enough for this to happen...

Look at that monster!  Time to break out the zucchini recipes.  And this one not only uses up a ton of zucchini, but also uses up another garden pest, mint.  And oh yes, it goes from garden to plate in a scant 20 minutes.

Ingredients
Yield: 5 servings
(Adapted from Ellie Krieger)

• 12 ounces penne pasta
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb zucchini
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup Parmesan
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Method

The journey began with a shopping trip...to my backyard.

Start cooking the pasta and slice n' dice the zucchini and garlic.

Saute the garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes.  Get it just short of brown.

Add the zucchini.  Cook on medium.  Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until soft, stirring occasionally.

Zest the lemon.

Juice the lemon.

Chop the mint.

Turn off the heat and season with salt and pepper.  Add the lemon zest and juice.

Stir in the cooked pasta.

Add the mint & parm.  Stir everything together.

Penne alla Vodka

I was well into my 30's before I ever heard of "penne alla vodka".  I didn't know what it was and I didn't care.  I just knew that I had to find some immediately.  So I did, and the world became a better place.
Recently I was saddened to learn that two acquaintances of mine have never heard of penne alla vodka either, which is a shame.  Clearly those of us who know what it is need to do more to get the word out.  So here is my effort to promote this simplest, cheapest, easiest, quickest, tastiest, and most elegant little gem.

Ingredients
(Recipe adapted from Jeanne Lemlin's Vegetarian Classics)
Yield: 8 servings

• 1 lb penne pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup vodka
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh parsley and basil 

Method

Add pasta to boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes.

Rinse and dry the herbs.

The biggest change I made to the recipe was to dial the garlic way down.  The original would have 8 cloves for the quantity that I'm making.  But there's something about the chemistry of the vodka and cream that really, really, seriously enhances the garlic smell in the final dish.  To the extent that your entire home will retain the smell for a week.  And if you bring the leftovers in for lunch, the entire organization will comment on it.

Saute the garlic and the red pepper in the oil for just a minute on medium heat.

Add in the tomatoes, salt, and vodka.  Let simmer for 10 minutes, which will thicken and heat the sauce, and yes, cook the alcohol out.  But since no other big cooking tasks are required for the next 10 minutes, no one is saying that you can't sample the vodka while the bottle is out.

Once your drink is ready, check on the pasta.

Drain it.

Slice the herbs into a chiffonade.

After 10 minutes, the sauce looks a little angry.

Soothe it by turning off the heat and adding the cream.

Spoon the sauce over the pasta.

Garnish with cheese and herbs.

Chicken Parmesan

When the craving for chicken Parmesan struck this weekend, I turned straight to the Cook Yourself Thin website.  I liked the basic idea, but knew that their method of substituting low fat ricotta for a thick layer of mozzarella wasn't going to cut it.  I also didn't feel like making their tomato sauce.  So I kept looking and added in an Ellie Krieger recipe and a few of my own ideas.  The result melted right in my mouth and the leftovers were just as good reheated a few days later.

Ingredients
(Recipe inspired by Cook Yourself Thin and Ellie Krieger)
Yield: 2 servings

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ cup panko
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup flour
• 8 oz boneless chicken breast
• 16 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan
• 2 zucchini (or 4 oz linguine if you're craving pasta)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oil spray

Method

Trim the chicken breast and blot with a paper towel.

Cover with plastic wrap and grab a meat mallet.

Pound it out thin with the smooth side of the mallet.  Another name for a meat mallet is a meat tenderizer, and that's exactly what we're doing in this step...making that chicken so tender that it will melt away as soon as it hits your tongue.  Slice it into two pieces.

Measure out the seasonings.

Stir the seasonings into the panko.

Set out bowls with the egg white and flour.

Dredge the chicken in the flour...

And through the egg white...

And finally through the panko.  Preheat the oven to 350°.

Spray oil into a skillet and heat until it sizzles.  Cook the chicken in batches for about 3 minutes on each side.

 Meanwhile, get serious with the zucchini and a vegetable peeler.  Peel the skin, and keep peeling until you reach the seeds.  Snack on the zucchini centers while you finish cooking.

Set the chicken into an 8" baking dish.

Top with crushed tomatoes.

And cheese!

Bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese bubbles.

Saute the zucchini (skin and all) for a few minutes until tender.

Serve the "pasta".

Top with the chicken.

Vegan Coconut Cupcakes

I've always viewed vegan baking as being in the same class as "healthy" or "diet" baking.  Better in theory than in practice.  So I wouldn't have ventured down this path except that my parents have started following a vegan diet and I wanted to bake something for Mother's Day.  I had long been curious about Chef Chloe's coconut cupcakes, and had spent a fair amount of time drooling over the pictures.  As if she didn't have me at coconut, there was also an excuse to break out the food coloring.

Ingredients
(Recipe from Chef Chloe)

• Cupcakes
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• Frosting
• 1 cup coconut oil (solid)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-5 tablespoons coconut milk
• 2 cups coconut
• food coloring

Method

Blend the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.

Combine all of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl...

..and whisk together.

Pour the wet into the dry.

Whisk together until just combined.  Preheat the oven to 350°.

Spread out the cupcake liners between two cupcake pans.  Fill ⅔ full.  Officially the recipe is supposed to yield 14 cupcakes, but I was able to squeeze out 15.

Bake until they pass the toothpick test.  Official recipe baking time = 15-18 minutes.  Mine took 22 minutes.  Set on a wire rack to cool while you make the frosting.

Scrape out a cup of coconut oil.

Beat on high for a minute to soften.

Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time.  Add in the vanilla and enough coconut milk to make spreadable (I ended up using 4 tablespoons).

Beat on high until creamy.

Now food coloring is of course optional for adults, but I couldn't resist.

Add the tiniest amount to the coconut.

Stir to combine.

Add a generous dollop of frosting to each cupcake.

Smooth down.

Add the coconut.

Now it's truth time: are vegan cupcakes any good?  I ate a cupcake immediately after frosting.  The frosting was excellent, but the cake was just OK.  Better than all of the "healthy" cakes I've tried, but not that special.  I boxed them up and walked away.

A few hours later at the party, the cupcakes came out and it was an entirely different story.  The frosting was still excellent, and wow, the cake part was holding its own.  You can stack these up against any conventional cake and it's a fair fight.  So yes, these cupcakes are winners.