Pasta with roasted broccoli, olives, and Pecorino

My shopping habits at the farmers' market have changed quite a bit over the last two years. Two years ago, I would eagerly buy anything I hadn't tried before - heirloom tomatoes! fresh shell beans! celery root! - because I was so excited by all the variety. Now, I've tried almost everything at least once, and I know what I like best and what's most convenient for the amount of time I have available for cooking. I know that celery root just isn't my favorite, fresh shell beans are kind of a pain, and that while heirloom tomatoes are fantastic, regular tomatoes are pretty great too and are a lot better for my budget. This year, I've also found myself enjoying broccoli much more than I used to. In 2010, I posted about how broccoli is kind of boring,  but I feel differently now. I love the way broccoli soaks up sauce and the texture it has after being stir-fried or roasted.

For dinner tonight, I decided to make a pasta salad of sorts, combining rotini with roasted broccoli and shallots, garlic, olives, and pecorino cheese. It was a tasty and enjoyable meal, definitely far from boring!

Grilled summer squash with garlic, anchovies, and capers

I went to New York City last weekend to visit some family and friends. Before I left, I grabbed a tupperware of leftover pasta, and at the last minute, added some of this grilled summer squash to the container. Let me tell you, I was pretty excited about the gourmet lunch I was going to eat on the bus ride to the city. However, as soon as I boarded the bus and settled in my seat, I realized that while my lunch would certainly be delicious, it was also the smelliest possible thing I could have chosen to bring with me on a bus. Garlic and anchovies? Seriously, what was I thinking? I didn't dare open the container while I was on the bus and ended up waiting till about 3pm to eat it. Not all food is bus-appropriate - lesson learned.

Anyway, as long as you're not planning on eating this in an enclosed space with very little air circulation, you should give it a try! It's delicious, and would make a perfect side dish for a summer party or cookout. I love the flavor of grilled vegetables, and the dressing here makes this something special.

Turkish-inspired zucchini-yogurt spread

Andrew and I returned home on Saturday after two truly wonderful weeks in Turkey. Before this trip, we hadn't taken a trip together that was longer than 4 days in the last several years (including our honeymoon, or "minimoon" as I like to call it). So we knew that we had to do something special during my time off after graduation! We spent 5 days in Istanbul, saw the ruins at Ephesus, then spent some time on the coast in Fethiye and Antalya. I still can't get over how warm the water in the Mediterranean is!

Of course, the food was a big highlight of the trip. We ate freshly caught fish, grilled and dressed with nothing but a squeeze of lemon, accompanied by Turkey's national drink, raki (anise-flavored liquor). We tried countless versions of kebabs, and enjoyed one particularly memorable meal of pide (Turkish pizza). We loved the Turkish breakfast that we had every day - bread, fresh cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, fruit, yogurt, eggs, served with honey, butter, and jam. In the afternoons, we often stopped to re-energize with a Turkish coffee. We indulged in sweets - Turkish delights and baklava - and fast food too, like fried mussels and doner (meat cooked on a spit) sandwiches. We saw fruit trees everywhere, and ate fresh oranges, apricots, peaches, watermelon, and cherries.

Personally, there were two aspects of the cuisine that I found very inspiring - mezes and yogurt. Mezes are small plate dishes, usually served as starters, and they are often vegetable-based and served cold. The main dishes were heavy on the meat, so I got most of my vegetables through the mezes. Even the most simple ones, like green beans in olive oil, were delicious, and I loved trying a sampling of what each restaurant had to offer. You can count on seeing a number of meze recipes appear on the blog this summer, using plenty of local produce. As for yogurt, it was great to see the number of ways that it was used - mixed with vegetables or herbs in mezes, served alongside tomato sauce on top of sliced meat and bread, and used as a sauce for stuffed pasta - all so good! I love yogurt, and I am definitely going to expand the number of ways that I use it now.

The recipe that I am sharing with you today is a meze that includes yogurt. I found a great blog of Turkish recipes and I made a variation of a zucchini-walnut dip I found there. I'm not really sure if what I made counts as traditional Turkish, so I'm just calling it Turkish-inspired. It's great served with pita or other bread, especially when it's hot out!

Quinoa veggie bowl with tofu and peanut-miso sauce

I have a confession – until recently, I didn’t like quinoa very much. Gasp! I hope this doesn’t ruin my credibility as a healthy(ish) food blogger. I guess I tend to prefer heartier grains and felt that quinoa was kind of….bland. However, a recipe for a quinoa/rice/veggie bowl in last month’s issue of Food & Wine caught my eye and put quinoa in my head. I tossed some ideas around for a while, and eventually decided to combine quinoa with toasted coconut, add some zucchini, broccoli, and tofu, and drizzle with a peanut-miso sauce. A little avocado on top made the dish complete, at least in my avocado-obsessed mind. I loved this healthy meal, and something about quinoa in this context just worked well for me. I’m definitely opening up to the idea of cooking with quinoa more often now!

What is your favorite quinoa recipe?

Italian stuffed mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms were one of my family's favorite appetizers to serve at parties when I was younger. In fact, stuffed mushrooms was one of the first recipes I really learned to make on my own. So when I was coming up with recipes for my party last weekend, stuffed mushrooms seemed like a perfect choice, especially since many of the guests were vegetarian. I was also glad to have this vegetable-centered dish in the mix along with the selections that involved bread/dough/crackers. When I started searching for a recipe, this Italian stuffed mushrooms recipe on  Epicurious really stood out - it had great reviews, and with fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and basil, I knew it would be full of flavor. Now, there's a fair amount of chopping and grating involved in this recipe, so it isn't something you want to be doing at the last minute before a party. But luckily, you can make the filling and even stuff the mushrooms ahead of time, so all you have to do is pop them in the oven at party o'clock!

Italian stuffed mushrooms
Adapted from Epicurious
Makes about 24 mushrooms

Olive oil
24 oz. white button mushrooms, stems removed and chopped, caps reserved
1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel bulb
1/4 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup coarsely grated Fontina cheese 
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten

Place a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 deg F. Heat a splash of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushroom stems, fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic. Saute until vegetables are tender and much of the water has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 12 minutes. Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl and cool for 10 minutes. Stir in grated cheese and basil, and then season filling to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in beaten egg. Mound filling into mushroom caps and place caps in a baking dish (filling side up). Bake until mushrooms are tender, about 25 minutes, and serve immediately.

Note: filling mixture can be made and mushrooms can be stuffed up to one day ahead of baking. Store prepared mushrooms in a covered container in the fridge until ready to bake.

Three party dips

Thank you for the nice comments on my last post! My mom and I cooked like crazy for the celebration party that we threw last night. We both love cooking, so we had a lot of fun with the preparations. All the food came out great, and the party was wonderful! Here are some photos of the spread:

Clockwise from the top left: blue cheese tart, butternut squash and apple bruschetta, zucchini and goat cheese rolls with raisins and pistachios, Italian stuffed mushrooms. The bruschetta recipe can be found here on Tri to Cook, and the zucchini rolls recipe can be found here on Cara's Cravings.

On the dessert table, we had monster cookies (peanut butter oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips and M&Ms), chocolate-whiskey cake, gingerbread whoopie pies with maple buttercream, and cranberry pecan caramel bars.

We also made three dips that we served with pita chips and veggies. We had roasted red pepper and eggplant dip, Persian yogurt and spinach dip, and herbed lima bean hummus. I promised to tell you about all the party recipes, and I'm going to start with these dips. I've already posted the roasted red pepper and eggplant dip recipe, so you can check that out if you want. The lima bean dip is a great twist on traditional chickpea hummus, and is super flavorful due to garlic, cilantro, parsley, dill, mint, and cumin. The spinach and yogurt dip is creamy and delicious, and went especially well with the veggies. The three dips all had unique and distinct flavors but still complemented each other very well. Well, without further delay, here are the recipes!

Pasta with cauliflower and brussels sprouts

I am loving the latest issue of Food + Wine! It got me really excited about brassicas, of all things. In case you don't know, brassicas are a group of vegetables that include cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts, among others - they are in full force at the markets right now. These are really not the most exciting vegetables and I usually struggle to find anything even halfway interesting to make with them. But after reading through Food + Wine, I actually went to the market last weekend hoping to get cabbage, and worrying that the brussels sprouts would be gone before I got there. (Side note: I actually had two anxiety dreams last week that involved not being able to get to the farmers' market. How weird am I?...Don't answer that). Anyway, this pasta dish was the first one I made out of all the recipes I tagged in the magazine. It's got nicely browned cauliflower and brussels sprouts, with tons of flavor from garlic, anchovies, rosemary, thyme, and cheese, all topped off with toasted bread crumbs. It was awesome! Hope you're ready for more brassica recipes in the next week or two...

What vegetables do you struggle the most to get excited about? 

Roasted red pepper and eggplant dip

Earlier this week, Elina hosted a fun get-together for some of her blogger friends. She asked everyone to bring an appetizer to share, and since it was a midweek event, I knew that I wanted to make something that wasn't too complicated, would be easy to transport, and didn't need to be cooked or heated immediately before serving. I also wanted to make something vegetarian, preferably vegan, and gluten-free, so that everyone would be able to try it. And finally, I wanted to make something featuring seasonal vegetables because I thought it would be nice for my dish to really reflect the theme of my blog. Well, that long list of requirements pretty much ruled out the apps I've made for my own parties in the past, so I started looking at new recipes. When I found this roasted red pepper and eggplant dip recipe in The Gourmet Cookbook, I knew it was perfect. The best part was that it is supposed to sit in the fridge for at least a day before serving so that the flavors can blend, which meant that I could make it over the weekend!

I loved the balanced blend of flavors in this dip - it has sweetness from the roasted veggies, tanginess from the lemon, and a bit of a kick from the garlic and chile pepper. It's great with pitas or crackers, but it also makes a nice addition to pasta sauce and pairs really well with eggs. Although I was initially nervous about what dish to bring for a group of foodies, I think I chose wisely and I was glad to see that everyone else seemed to enjoy the dip as much as I did. I'm definitely going to think of this one next time I need a simple but interesting appetizer for a party!

Do you have a favorite dish to bring to potluck gatherings? 

Roasted peppers and tomatoes baked with capers and olives

I am desperately holding on to summer in my kitchen. This weekend it really hit me that summer produce will be gone from the markets soon, and I had a minor panic attack about all the recipes I haven't made yet and won't be able to make until next summer - an eternity away! (yeah, yeah I know, #firstworldproblems). But then I remembered that even though Labor Day has come and gone, summer growing season hasn't actually ended yet. I calmed down and made an epic cooking plan for the week, making the most of the summeriest of fruits and vegetables. I even made some preserves, which I'll tell you about later. For now, I'm going to focus on this tomato and pepper dish, from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors. Big strips of roasted peppers and tomatoes are baked together with herbs, garlic, capers, and olives. The final product is a colorful, incredibly fragrant and flavorful dish that makes you feel like you are in some sunny Mediterranean country. It's very versatile - we ate it plain, on top of toasted bread, and stuffed into pitas with a spread of goat cheese. It would also pair well with hummus and would make a delicious sandwich with some mozzarella cheese. This recipe is definitely making it onto my Favorites page!

What are your favorite end of summer recipes?

Broccoli rabe with garlic and lemon

 

Broccoli rabe is one of my current favorite vegetables. The stems, leaves, and florets are all edible, so you get a variety of textures. I didn't like it much the first few times I cooked it, but now I've found a method that I love. I chop it up from stems to florets and then blanch it until the stems are tender. Then I saute it really briefly - only a minute or so - with some garlic and red pepper flakes, and add some lemon zest to finish.

p.s. This is my 100th post! I'm going to give myself a little public pat on the back for that accomplishment. I suppose I could have celebrated by baking and blogging about a cake or something, but I think it is appropriate that I'm talking about a seasonal vegetable instead.

Broccoli rabe with garlic and lemon

Makes 3-4 servings

1 bunch (about 3/4 lb) broccoli rabe, cut into approximately 1-inch pieces, from stems to tops of leaves

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or less if you are sensitive to heat)

Zest of 1/2 lemon

Olive oil

Salt

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add broccoli rabe to the pot and boil for 4 minutes, or until stem pieces are tender, then immediately drain into a colander. In a wide pan, heat a splash of olive oil over medium heat and saute garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds (the wide pan makes it easier to toss the ingredients together, but you can reuse the pot that you used for boiling if you want to minimize cleanup). Add broccoli rabe and saute for about 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in lemon zest, and salt to taste (I find that this dish does not really need added salt).

Garlic-sesame broccoli salad

 

This is another gem from Melissa Clark's In the Kitchen With a Good Appetite. It's a simple salad of raw broccoli - yes, raw, but I swear it's really good - marinated in olive oil with some red wine vinegar, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, and sesame oil. It's really delicious - the vinegar takes the rawness out of the broccoli, leaving it crisp and bright green, and the marinade is very flavorful. Andrew loved it and was surprised to hear that the broccoli wasn't cooked at all. The dish is super quick to put together, and just needs to marinate for at least an hour before eating. I generally don't get too excited when I see broccoli at the market, but this recipe has got me already looking forward to buying some more. I'm interested in trying this "cooking" technique with some other combinations of spices and acids...I bet there are a lot of great directions it can go.

Garlic-sesame broccoli salad
Adapted from In the Kitchen With a Good Appetite
Serves 3-4 as a side dish

1 head of broccoli, weighing about 1 pound, cut into small florets
3/4 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp Asian roasted sesame oil
Large pinch red pepper flakes

Mix together the vinegar and salt in a large bowl. Add the broccoli florets and mix well. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and add red pepper flakes and sesame oil. Pour oil mixture over broccoli and toss to coat broccoli evenly with dressing. Let sit for 1-2 hours at room temperature, or if you want to keep it longer than 2 hours, marinate in the fridge (for up to 48 hours). Taste for salt and adjust if necessary before serving.

Garlic soup with poached eggs

I was very excited to find out that Summer Fest is continuing on beyond the original schedule - continuing well into the fall in fact. This event has been so perfect for the theme of my blog, and I love the challenge of exploring a different vegetable/fruit each week. This week's theme is garlic. Garlic is something that I use all the time, but it is rarely the central focus of a dish. I thought about roasting it, or making garlic bread, but decided instead to try something completely new - garlic soup. You might think this sounds crazy, especially if you are imagining the pungent flavor of raw or quickly cooked garlic. But garlic cooked slowly is an entirely different thing. It becomes mellow and warm, and seriously, make this soup next time you're stuck inside on a rainy day. It is just so good. Think poached eggs on toast taken to a totally new level. In spite of the whole head of garlic in there, it doesn't taste garlicky - it just tastes comforting and delicious. The bread soaks up the broth while still retaining a bit of crunch, and when you cut into the egg, the yolk flows out and blends with the soup. And don't worry if you don't know how to poach an egg - I had never really done it before this, but I just followed the recipe instructions and they came out great!