Blueberry Cake with Lemon and Brown Sugar - no recipe, just photos

Ready for the oven with the brown sugar on top

Cooling

Stuffed Portabellas aka Leftover Magic

Okay, you have to believe me when I say that I am a better cook than a food photographer and therefore, these taste way better than this looks. looked before I removed the photo because it looked so very awful.

Stuffing for caps, mix together all ingredients:
2 cups of grain/carb (brown rice, orzo, cous cous, bulgur, leftover pilaf, what have you)
2 cups sauteed veggies (onion, garlic, fresh spinach, grated carrot, etc.)
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper liberally
Optional: 1/2 c. crumbled feta or 1/4 parmesan or romano (decrease salt if using romano) or whatever cheese you like

4 big portabella mushroom caps, stems removed, brushed clean with a damp paper towel

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

optional: bread crumbs

Generously, oil a Pyrex baking pan with olive oil. Lay the caps smooth side down in the oil. Splash the caps with some nice balsamic vinegar. Mound 1 cup of the stuffing on top of each cap, flattening the stuffing and pressing all over the cap. At this point, feel free to sprinkle on some bread crumbs or a bit more romano cheese for extra crispy topping.

Bake at 375 for about 25-30 minutes or until the top is nice and crispy and the mushroom is cooked through and releasing its juices.

Zucchini Pie for Zucchini Haters

When I was in fifth grade, my mother made me eat a bite of zucchini. Really-gross-stewed-to-death-like-the-Italians-like-it zucchini. "I don't like it." "Just one bite." "I really hate it." "You have to eat one bite." "I really hate it and I won't eat it." So after a bit of this back and forth, I took a bite but refused to chew it or swallow it. I sat at the table for a while until she needed to go downtown so into the car we went, me still with the zucchini in tow. Once on foot, we saw her banker heading towards us and my mom realized how embarrassing it would be to have an eleven year old with a mouth full of food, unable to say hello. "Okay, you can... Spit. It. Out," she said, under her breath. So I spit it in the gutter and never looked back. No zucchini. Ever. (BTW, that was very therapeutic. Stay with me for the actual recipe...)

And then, a couple of years ago, after 30 years of avoiding the stuff, I had dinner at the lovely home of Michael and Staci, and Staci made a fantastic quiche-like dish called zucchini pie and it was so delicious that I was loath to believe it was, in fact, zucchini. Since then, I've tried. Really I have. Grilled. Raw, shaved onto a salad with lemon and chives. In tempura batter. Not horrible.

But every summer, there it is. A friend has a bumper crop, or it shows up week after week in your farm box, or Nancy Essex shows up with a gift of a giant zucchini in a wine bag and it sits on the counter begging to be eaten. And I wanted to be able to really like it. Here's the best recipe for those times. Even a zucchini hater like me will eat two pieces. I've adapted it only a wee tiny bit from the original Real Simple recipe.

Zucchini pie that would have photographed better with a little green salad or a wedge of fruit.

3 cups zucchini, grated (and peeled and seeded, too, if you really hate the stuff)
1 onion, grated and sauteed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup grated smoked gouda
3 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil (maybe could get away with less)
2 T. pecorino romano cheese
2 t. good pesto
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. kosher salt
lots of freshly ground pepper
hearty dash of cayenne


Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a well greased ceramic pie pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 or until golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Cool 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Adventures with Pesto

Perfect on a radish.

Pesto is a glorious thing and I make it all summer. My Grandma Nance made it and served it with "the homemades" -- big flat ribbons of homemade egg pasta. Pesto is basically a way to spoon summer onto anything you like.

However, when I recently promised Becky I would share my pesto "recipe" with her, I realized I don't actually have one.  I use whatever green I have (basil, lemon basil, mint, parsley, baby spinach, arugula, or some combo of two of those things), and stuff it into the food processor. Throw in garlic, or none, or, once a year, garlic scape if you are lucky enough to have some. Turn the machine on, drizzling olive oil in while the blades work their magic. 

I like pesto quite smooth so the food processor works best.

Then the nuts. Usually pine nuts, but maybe pistachios, or even almonds. And oh, if it's parsley I'm mixing up, lemon zest tastes right. Then I fold in a few heaping tablespoons of pecorino-romano if it's classic pesto (basil, spinach, or arugula.) But I just saw this recipe on Food52 which called for feta...


So basically, you can't go wrong. And if I needed a recipe, I'd start with my favorite guy, Mark Bittman's, with a little less olive oil than he calls for, and then start improvising as soon as you can.

Moscow Mule

We haven't ventured into cocktail land yet, but it hit 85 in Chicago today (and it's Chuck Hafner's birthday, to boot) so we're all ready for something really good on the porch. How about a Moscow Mule?


8 oz ginger beer, I like Goose Island's Spicy Ginger Soda
2 oz vodka, I like Death's Door
generous squeeze of lime


Serve in a tall, tall glass (fancy) or a copper mug (classic).


Last summer, the Death's Door folks made a nice version with a little mint, too, and a few fresh blueberries thrown in the bottom of the glass. It's not classic but who am I to complain?