Thursday, July 19, 2012

Stuffed Globe Zucchini with Black Rice and Mint

Today’s dinner was slightly more involved: I had to grow the globe zucchini first. Unfortunately, there are none available at the local farmers markets or grocery stores, and I ordered some seeds in the winter and started seeding in February. Now, mid July the globe zucchini find the perfect climate: it is sufficiently warm, in the upper 80s and it also rains.

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The zucchini plants share a raised bed with the mint plants as well as the flat leaf parsley plant. Both the mint and flat leaf parsley are mixed in the rice mixture which I used for stuffing the zucchini.

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As usual with zucchini, first there are many flowers, and tiny zucchini. Then, the small zucchini just fall off until some of the zucchini decide it is the perfect climate to grow strong and big almost overnight, and then everyone else also decides to grow huge until you raise your hands over your head in horror and share the zucchini deluge with the neighbors. But, we are not quite there. Just enough for a 4 person dinner side.

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The zucchini are scraped out with a melonballer, then stuffed with a rice mixtures, and baked for about 1h at 350F. Here is the recipe!

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Stuffed Globe Zucchini with Black Rice and Mint (for 4 medium sized globe zucchini):

  • 4 globe zucchini, washed
  • 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
  • springs of sage and thyme

Rice mixture for stuffing:

  • 1 ts extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 medium sized red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 small garlic cloves, microplaned
  • 1/2 cup black rice (or risotto rice), rinsed and drained
  • splash of white wine
  • 1/2 can of fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 cup of zucchini flesh (from the globe zucchini), chopped
  • 1 TB tomato paste
  • 1 ts bouillon
  • 1 1/2 cups hot water (as needed)
  • large handful of fresh mint, chopped
  • large handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Wash and pad the globe zucchini dry. Cut off the tip of the zucchini to make for a little hat. Scrap the zucchini with a melon baller,  and preserve the zucchini flesh. Set aside.

To make the rice for the stuffed zucchini, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil to the pan, and heat. Add the chopped onion and fry on medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and the rice as well as the zucchini flesh, and saute for about 3 min. Add the white wine, and scrap the bottom of the pan for the dark bits. Wait until wine is cooked off, and add a 1/2 cup of the hot water, bouillon, tomato paste, and canned tomatoes ; stir the mixture, cover the pot, and cook gently. Stir frequently and add more water as needed until the rice is tender (ca. 30 min). Remove from heat and stir in the  fresh mint, and flat-leaf parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Use the stuffing to fill the globe zucchini and arrange in an oven safe baking dish. Place the little hat on top, drizzle some olive oil on the zucchini and fill the chicken or vegetable stock in the baking dish. Baked at 350F for about 1h. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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    Sunday, July 8, 2012

    A trip down the coast

    We have a stretch of good weather and after all the rain, summer suddenly sneaked up on us. Time for a road trip! First, browsing the goods at the Treasure barn along Rt 1, just before Belfast. This place makes feel more like I am in a natural history museum than antique ‘mall’.
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    Should have bought the bear cast iron mold…
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    The next stop: lunch at Chase’s Daily. The indoor farmers market was abundant with produce from the Chase’s garden, mostly fabulously looking lettuce. and herbs, even epazote.
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    Lunch followed the theme: lettuce with avocado, radishes, flowers and lime vinaigrette and grilled bread.
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    After snapping up a small olive tree at Brambles in Belfast, the next stop was: Camden.
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    Ready for sea-kajaking in a tandem kajak?
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    A beautiful, quiet footbridge in Camden’s river district, full of hanging flowering baskets, and little benched to enjoy the ice cream.
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    On the way home, a stop at Dot’s in Lincolnville.
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    Yes, summer in Maine.
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    Saturday, July 7, 2012

    Pickled Jalapenos

    It started with this beautiful Weck canning jar and me wondered what to fill it with. Pickled jalapenos! Two years ago, I started cooking Rick Bayless’s Mexican dishes, and these pickeled jalapenos I had made several times, but I never wrote up the recipe. So, I watched his cooking DVD 1 again today, and a pickling reminder as well as a tasty tomato sauce were the outcomes tonight.

    The pickled jalapenos are a great ingredient for anything escabeche, tacos, tortilla chicken soup. Anything really ;-)

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    Pickled Jalapenos a la Rick Bayless

    • ca 20 fresh jalapenos
    • 1/2 TB olive oil
    • 1 white onion, thinly sliced
    • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
    • 1 large carrot, peeled and cut in thicker slices
    • 1-2 TB whole peppercorns
    • 2 fresh bay leaves
    • 1 spring of fresh thyme
    • 1/2 ts salt
    • 1 cup water
    • 1 cup cider vinegar (I had none and use rice vinegar)
    • 1 pickling jar

    In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion, garlic, carrot and the jalapenos, and fry them until the onions are translucent on medium heat.  Regularly stir, and saute jalapenos from all side.

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    Now, add the water and the vinegar, and all the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for ca. 10min.

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    Place the jalapenos in a large, heat-proof jar, arrange the jalapenos and pour the vinegar liquid over the jalapenos. Cool and place in fridge. They are ‘pickled’ sufficiently after a day, and can be eaten.

    Friday, July 6, 2012

    Chip Monkey

    It looks like we have a new family member. He/she has been living in the bushes around the deck for over a week, always loudly annoyed and in panic if Channelle and I walk over the deck, but taking over the deck on quieter days. I am just waiting until he/she takes a relaxing sunbath on the chaise lounge. We call him Alvin or chipmonkey.

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    Wednesday, July 4, 2012

    Changing plans

    Today, I was planning to drive down the coast and capture many little tidbits of July 4th. The day unexpectedly started rainy and overcast. So, I went to Portland instead and chased the closing hours of Trader Joes, Wholefoods and the mall. The farmers market at the river yesterday, on the other hand, was picturesque.