Ranch dressing has always been a favorite for my family. Not only is this creamy delight fabulous on salads, but as a dipping sauce for…well, practically everything. So, naturally, in my quest to make everything possible from scratch, I decided to give ranch dressing a go. I picked a recipe then did what most of us do – immediatly amended it to suit my taste. I even got a rare compliment from my picky eater!
NOTE 1: If you want it thicker, decrease the buttermilk.
NOTE 2: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make it by combining 10g (or 2 tsp) apple cider vinegar with enough milk to make a total of 150g (1/3 cup).
NOTE 3: As self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze I would be remiss in my duties if I failed to point out this dressing freezes well.
RANCH DRESSING – makes about 1.5 cups
150g (1/3 cup) buttermilk
107g (1/2 cup) mayonnaise
73g (6 T) sour cream
2 T shallot or red onion, chopped finely
1 T cilantro, fresh, chopped finely
1 T dried dill
1 garlic cloves, pressed or diced finely
1 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black ground pepper
Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and blend with spoon or whisk.
Pour into a container with a top and chill. You are now done. Yes, it’s that easy!
I’m always looking for zucchini recipes ever since I’ve begun to grow them in my garden. Not only is this recipe delicious, it has the added bonus of being easy to prepare. It’s great to serve at holiday dinners, picnics, and pot-lucks.
ZUCCHINI PASTA SALAD – makes about 650g (5 cups)
12g (2 T) diced shallots
2 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided
10g (1 T) red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black ground pepper
114g (1/4 lb) small pasta
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
15g (1 T) ketchup
170g (1-2) zucchini, chopped into half-moons
46g (1/2 cup) red pepper, chopped
27g (1/4 cup) small carrot, sliced thin
130g (1 cup) Feta cheese, crumbled into chunks
63g (1/2 cup) Kalamata olives, chopped
In a small bowl, blend together 1 T olive, the shallots, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Bring about a quart of water to a full boil and add in the uncooked pasta. Cook for about 9 minutes, stirring now and then. Drain without shaking out the excess water in the sieve. Pour the cooked pasta into a large bowl.
Into the now empty pot, put the remaining 1 T olive oil, garlic, ketchup, zucchini, red pepper, and carrot. Over medium flame cook about 5 minutes, stirring often. You only want to par-cook the veggies so there’s still a slight bite to them, not make them soggy.
Pour the cooked veggies to the bowl of cooked pasta. Mix in the Feta, Kalamata olives, and vinegrette.
Serve at room temperature (or chilled, if you prefer).
They say necessity is the mother of invention. With my bounty of zucchini from 2 plants, I needed to come up with ideas to use these growing beauties (one can eat only so much stir-fried zucchini!). I thought it would be nice to make something that could be made in bulk and frozen for future use. (I AM the self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, after all!)
Putting on my thinking cap, I decided to make a zucchini muffin that was tasty but with no added sugar or egg yolks. It took MANY tries until I finally came up with my Zucchini-Date-Apricot Muffin recipe. For the record, in my early trials, I added a mixture of brans and wheat germ to the dry ingredients. While these may have made the muffins healthier, they yielded a cardboard texture. NOT an enticement for adults, let alone children. I eventually whittled these add-ins down to zero – if no one eats them, what’s the point.
NOTE: Again as self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, I discovered you can successfully freeze shredded zucchini for these muffins. I’ve only tried freezing the shreds AFTER lightly squeezing out some of the water. I’m not sure if it would be successful simply freezing the shreds prior to squeezing and then squeezing after thawing. Freeze in portion sizes and make sure you mark how much is in the container.
ZUCCHINI-DATE -APRICOT MUFFINS – (Makes 6-9 muffins, depending on size.)
IMPORTANT NOTE:ALL INGREDIENTS SHOULD BE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE!!!!
You’ll need 2 bowls: a small cereal sized for the dry ingredients, and a medium mixing bowl for the wet.
Into the medium sized bowl, put the egg whites and beat with a fork to break them up and they become foamy.
Chop the dates and apricots into small pieces. Add them to the bowl with the egg whites.
Shred, then chop the zucchini. (I chop the shreds so the muffins don’t have long zucchini strings.)
Into a clean tea towel, place tennis ball sized bundles of the shredded-chopped zucchini, one at a time. Wrap the tea towel around the bundles and twist over a container to extrude the liquid. You don’t need to squeeze out every drop of liquid – just a firm twist. NOTE: If you want to be very precise, you will probably squeeze out about a total of 40g (3+ tablespoons). Discard this liquid. Place squeezed zucchini into the bowl with the egg whites.
Add in the honey, olive oil, and vanilla.
Into the smaller bowl, stir together the all-purpose (plain) flour, whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently blend until the flour is just incorporated. Don’t over mix or you will produce a tougher muffin.
Into a very lightly oiled muffin tin, fill the cups. (If you have an ice cream scoop, use that – it makes the task much easier.)
The batter will make 6- 9 muffins, depending on size. I find making 9 produces shorter muffins which is more manageable for young children’s hands and mouths, or if you just want a small snack.
Bake in preheated 375°F (190°) for 18-21 minutes – until lightly browned and top springs back when pressed. Let set in tin for 15 minutes. Then run a rounded-tip knife around the sides, Go around again, gently lifting up the bottoms until muffin is freed. Remove to wire rack to completely cool.
A crostata (also known as a galette in French) is a stand-alone, open topped pie. They can be savory or sweet. There’s a rustic look to them as they are formed by rolling out a large circle of pie dough, then placing ingredients on top, leaving a wide border around the perimeter. This border is then folded in a ruffled manner, pinching the dough to keep it in place, then baked.
My Mushroom-Onion Crostata is a delicious blend of caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and leeks, topped with Gruyere cheese, encased in an easy-to-prepare hot water crust. The onions and mushrooms can be cooked ahead of time, making the final assembly that much faster on busy nights.
NOTE: As self-proclaimed Queen Of Freeze, I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t mention freezing leftover eggwash in a small container for future use!
MUSHROOM-ONION CROSTATA
Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C)
Filling:
Note for fillingingredients: amounts for the filling ingredients are approximate – don’t stress
2 T + 1 t olive oil, DIVIDED
about 454g (1 lb) baby bella mushrooms, chopped into chunks
1 large leek, white & light green part, chopped
1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp table salt, DIVIDED
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 tsp rosemary, fresh, chopped fine
1 large onion, about 270g (2 cups), chopped
131g (4.5 oz) Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 T chives, finely chopped
Dough:
Note regarding eggwash: Save leftover eggwash in a small container and freeze for future use.
200g (1+ 2/3 cups) bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
77g (5.5 T) butter, cold, cut into small pieces
76g (1/3 cup) hot water (NOT boiling)
Egg wash – 1 egg mixed with1 T water.
Clean the mushrooms and leek well. Chop into chunks. Place into a large pot with the 2 T olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook over medium/high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
Add the garlic and rosemary to the mushrooms. Continue cooking over medium/high until liquid is gone. Set aside to cool. (This step can be done ahead of time.)
Into a skillet put the 1 T olive oil, onions, and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook over medium/high heat until the onions are golden brown. Add the caramelized onions to the mushrooms. Let cool. This step can be done ahead of time.
Add in the chives and stir together.
Once the mushroom mixture has cooled (so it doesn’t melt the crust), make the dough. If you have a food processor, I highly recommend using it. Otherwise, you’ll have to mix by hand.
Into the work bowl of your processor (or mixing bowl, if doing this by hand), put the flour and 1/2 tsp salt. Pulse a couple of times to blend, then drop in the chunks of the cold butter and PULSE 6 times.
Pour in the hot water and PROCESS until dough comes together and you can form a ball with it.
Pour the dough onto a very lightly floured surface and knead about 6 time to bring together. Onto a piece of baking paper place the dough and roll out to a circle about 14″ (36 cm) in diameter.
Roll the dough thinner along the 2″ (5 cm) so that when you crimp the dough later it’s not so thick.
Place half the cheese in the center of the dough, leaving about a 2″ (5 cm) border.
Top the cheese with the mushroom mixture.
Sprinkle on remaining half of cheese.
Encase the filling by placing your fingers about 2″ (5 cm) apart and overlapping the dough, pinching each ruffle together as you go. Do this around the entire perimeter.
Paint an eggwash around the border.
Bake in preheated 425°F (218°C) border turns golden brown – about 25-35 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes before serving to firm up a bit.
Every now and then I challenge myself to improve on a just-okay recipe. In this case, it was my grandmother’s peanut butter buns (she called them ‘josh’, which means ‘snack’ in Armenian). While they were a big hit with her five children and my husband, I felt they were a little dry.
I decided the problem was two-fold: the dry dough and the dry peanut butter filling. Creating an enriched dough seemed the obvious answer to the dough. As for the filling, I considered using a jelly. Then I spied some ripe bananas in the fruit bowl. Hmmm! (Elvis came to mind.) Recalling a contestant on the British Bake Off cooking down bananas to evaporate excess moisture, this seemed like a good idea to prevent a mushy filling while, simultaneously, adding flavor. To give a nod to the classic jelly idea, I tried crushing freeze dried strawberries. The problem was I needed to use a lot to really taste them. As they’re very expensive, I chose to go with the peanut butter and banana on its own. You can add them, if you like.
NOTE: You can substitute a different nut butter, if you prefer.
PEANUT BUTTER-BANANA BUNS – makes 6
Dough
121g (1/2 cup) milk, warmed to about 40°C (104°F)
1 tsp yeast
229g (1.75 cups) bread flour
1 tsp salt
28g (2 T) butter, room temperature
40g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
1 egg white
Filling
3 large ripe bananas
118 (1/2 cup) peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/4 tsp salt
Optional: 31g (1 oz) freeze dried fruit, crushed
Prepare the dough:
Proof the yeast by stirring the warmed milk and yeast together, letting it set about 5 minutes.
Into the workbowl of your food processor, put the flour, 1 tsp salt, sugar, softened butter, egg white, and proved yeast/milk. Process about 40 seconds, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed.
Empty dough onto lightly floured counter and knead about 6 times to bring dough into a ball. A bench scraper works well for this task.
Place dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, then flip the ball so both sides are coated with oil. Cover and let rise 1.5 hours on counter.
While dough is rising, prepare the filling:
Into a saucepan, place the peeled bananas. Mash with a potato masher or fork.
Over medium/high heat, cook the bananas, stirring often, until most of the water has been cooked out – about 11 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in the peanut butter and 1/4 tsp salt. (If you’re using freeze dried fruit, stir it into the mixture) Chill until dough has finished rising.
Once the dough has risen, assemble the buns:
Empty the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a 9″x 4″ (23cm x 10cm) strip.
Divide the peanut butter-banana filling evenly between the strips. Spread the filling over the dough strip, leaving a 1/2″ (1cm) border along all 4 sides. The filling will be spread very thinly – this is good – it’s how you’ll get that lovely swirl.
Roll each strip from the short side up along the long side. Pinch the dough to seal the seam.
Roll the log towards you 90°, so the seam is facing you. (This is so the seam will be protected from bursting open during baking.)
Pinch both ends to seal them. Then, snail the log by rolling it sideways. (The seam formed along the length of the log will now be encased in the snail.) Pinch closed the end of the log to the body of the roll.
Place the rolled buns on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly press down each bun so they’re about 1″ (2.5cm). Cover and let rise 1/2 hour. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) during the rise.
Once the buns have risen, place the baking sheet in the preheated oven. Decrease the temperature to 177°C (350°F) and bake about 20 minutes – until browned on top. (There is NO wash for these buns – I’ve tried egg, milk, and cornstarch/water – they cause the top to flake. They come out much better with a dry top.) Remove baked buns to a wire rack to cool.
NOTE: If you forgot to decrease the oven temperature, it’s not a problem. Just keep an eye on the brownness – you may have to decrease the bake time.
Grandma Pizza is a thin, crispy, rectangular pizza that, traditionally, is topped with Mozzarella, followed by marinara and basil.
But, just to shake things up (because that’s how I roll!), I decided to change the toppings to pesto, Feta, and Kalamata olives. This has become our family’s current pizza of choice. The garlicky pesto topped with salty, creamy Feta and olives is addictive, which is why I now make 2 pizzas at a time.
NOTE 1: I highly recommend using a food processor to make the dough. Grandma Pizza is a very wet dough and clings to your palms and fingers if you knead by hand.
NOTE 2: A rimmed baking sheet is preferred to define the rectangular shape but, if you don’t have one, just use a large baking sheet and shape the dough as best you can. As you can see from the photo above, dough seems to have a mind of its own, and occasionally refuses to fill in the corners anyway.
GRANDMA PESTO PIZZA – makes 2 pizzas
Dough:
332g (1.5 cups) water, about 104°F (40°C)
4 tsp (12g) yeast
20g (2 T) olive oil
385g (3 cups) strong (bread) flour
8g (2 tsp) sugar
1.5 tsp salt
Topping:
130g (4 cups) (9 oz) fresh basil leaves
8 cloves garlic
22g (1 T) lemon juice
88g (1 cup) Pecorino/Romano or Parmesan Cheese, grated
44g (1/2 cup) pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 tsp salt
114g (2/3 cup) olive oil
Feta cheese
Kalamata olives
About 3 hours before serving time, make the dough:
Combine the warm water and yeast in a cup. Let prove for 5 minutes.
Into the work bowl of the food processor, add olive oil, flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse a couple of times to blend. When yeast has proved for 5 minutes, run the processor and slowly pour in the yeast water. Run the machine about 40 seconds total, stopping to scrape down the sides once.
Now comes the icky part. Remove the blade and scrape off the dough. You’ll notice how stretchy and sticky the dough is.
Empty the dough onto a well floured surface. Using a bench scraper underneath the dough, begin kneading 6 or 7 times to bring the dough together, sprinkling with flour as needed. Cut the dough in half.
Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in each of the two pans. (Don’t be tempted to use more olive oil – it will be difficult to stretch the dough on a slippery surface.) With your fingertips, spread the oil around the pan. Plop one dough half in each pan, flipping them over to cover both sides with a bit of oil. With your slightly oiled fingertips, work the dough to stretch it out to about 20cm x 13cm (8″ x 5″). Don’t worry about it being exact. Cover pans and let rise about 1.5 hours.
While dough is rising (or, ahead of time), prepare the pesto:
Into a blender put all the ingredients (basil, garlic, lemon juice, Pecorino/Romano, pine nuts, salt, and olive oil).
Due to the basil leaves, you’re going to have to blend in spurts, scraping down sides in between. DO NOT PRESS DOWN INGREDIENTS WHILE BLENDER IS RUNNING UNLESS YOU HAVE A BLENDER (SUCH AS A VITAMIX) THAT HAS A TAMPER SPECIFIC FOR YOUR BLENDER! I speak from experience – more than once I’ve thought I could control a wooden spoon to press the basil down without hitting the blades. I was wrong and had to thrown the whole batch out.
After dough has risen, use your fingertips to stretch the dough to cover the pan. You can pull gently on the corners to help it along. Cover and let rise 45 minutes. PREHEAT OVEN TO 260°C (500°F).
Top risen pizzas with your preferred amount of pesto, crumbled Feta, and Kalamata olives.
Bake in bottom third of preheated 260°C (500°F) oven until crust is browned – about 13-15 minutes.
They’re coming – home gardeners who planted more zucchini than they need, arms laden with these beauties who just yesterday were 7″, today the size of props in a sci-fi film. Never one to turn down free food, I thank them and start planning. Of course, there’s zucchini bread, zucchini stir-fry, and spiralizing zucchini.
Then it hit me:
ZUCCHINI SOUP!
It can be a meal in itself or as a starter. Bonus: it freezes well!!!
ZUCCHINI SOUP
Note: Don’t worry about the chopped veggie sizes – everything will be blended
82g / 1/2 cup uncooked couscous (not the Israeli pearl couscous)
OPTIONAL: greens, such as Swiss chard or spinach pieces
OPTIONAL: small pieces of bread, such as pita
In a large saucepan (2 litres / 8 cups), melt the butter. Add onions and, over medium-high heat, saute for 5 minutes. Stir often.
Add in garlic, rosemary, thyme, celery salt, Kosher salt, and black pepper. Over medium heat, saute about 1 minute to bloom the herbs, stirring constantly.
Add in zucchini and, over medium-high heat, saute 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the potatoes, vegetable broth, soy sauce, and couscous to the pot. Bring to a boil, then decrease flame to maintain a simmer.
Cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly askew to prevent the liquid boiling over. Simmer for about 20 minutes, testing the potatoes are easily pierceable with a knife.
Remove lid and let soup cool about 20 minutes before blending. Then, pour cooled liquid into a blender (you may need to do this in batches) and blend until smooth.
Return soup to saucepot and stir in cheese, optional greens, and optional bread pieces. Heat to melt cheese. Taste for seasoning, correcting if needed.
This recipe is not only delicious, but cooks in 5 minutes! You just toss all ingredients in a pot and boil for 5 minutes. Done! (Don’t be daunted by the number of ingredients – half of them are spices.)
Before making a larger batch of this barbecue sauce, I recommend trying it first to be sure you like it. Then, if it pleases you, you can increase the amount. Since I don’t use barbecue sauce all that often, I quadruple the recipe and freeze it in portions.
BARBECUE SAUCE – makes about 250mls / 1 cup
188g (1/2 cup + 2T) ketchup
89g (1/2 cup, packed) dark brown sugar
30g (2T) molasses – I use Grandma’s, unsulphured
25g (2T) pineapple juice
25g (2T) water
8g (1/2T) vegetarian Worchestershire sauce
1.25 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
3/4 tsp Kosher salt (or, 1/4 tsp table salt)
1/4 tsp white pepper
Into a saucepan, put all the above ingredients.
Bring to a boil. Maintain a low boil, stirring often, for 5 minutes. That’s it!
When I heard about a risotto dish featuring Gorgonzola, pears, and walnuts, I was intrigued. Salty, sweet, and crunch combined in a creamy risotto? Whoa! Four worlds colliding! (Seinfeld fans will understand my reference.) I set to work to create the recipe which, surprisingly, only took 2 tries. Delizioso!!!!
NOTE: While any type of pear will do for flavor, I suggest using a deep red pear to add color to the dish.
RISOTTO WITH GORGONZOLA-PEARS-WALNUTS – makes about 3 cups
1T (14g) butter
31g (1/3 cup) shallots, sliced into strips
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp cumin
20g (1T) honey
135g (3/4 cup) raw arborio rice
57g (1/3 cup) white wine
475 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
1 pear – not too hard, nor mushy, preferably red for color
40g (1/2 cup) walnuts, chopped & lightly toasted
100g (3.5 oz) Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
In a medium sized saucepan, melt butter. Add in shallots, salt, and pepper. Over medium flame stir to soften the shallots, but not brown them – about 4 minutes.
Add rosemary, cumin, and honey to pot. Over low heat, stir together for 30 seconds – just to bloom the spices.
Stir in the arborio rice and saute over low heat for 5 minutes.
Pour in the white wine and stir over low heat until the wine has NEARLY evaporated. (This takes just a few minutes so have the vegetable stock ready to go.) Photo shows wine just being added.
Now comes the part that, while easy, takes time – please don’t rush it. Over medium flame, start adding the stock in about (you don’t have to be precise) 50 ml (1/4 cup) increments, stirring constantly. Add more when the previous amount has been absorbed. Keep going until the final addition – let it absorb somewhat, but not altogether – you want it creamy.
Remove from heat and pour into serving bowl to cool slightly.
Slice pear from top to bottom around core into four slabs. Cut into 2cm (3/4″) pieces. (I prefer to slice my pear just before adding it to the risotto so it doesn’t start to brown.)
Very gently stir in the pears, Gorgonzola, and walnuts, just to blend.
Tamale Pie is one of my favorite meals to prepare. Not only is it delicious, but it’s quick to assemble and bake….that is, IF you’ve already made my HOMEMADE VEGETARIAN “GROUND BEEF” or use purchased imitation ground beef (such as Impossible Burger or Morningstar Crumbles). For this reason, I always keep 1 lb (1/2 kg) portions in my freezer. In the morning, I set it out to thaw.
NOTE: As a woman who prefers to wash as few dishes as possible, I use a cast iron skillet for this recipe since it can go from stovetop to oven. You can also use a different type of skillet, as long as the handle is able to go into the oven. Alternatively, saute the onions in a small saucepan, then mix everything together in a bowl and bake in a casserole dish.
Into a skillet, combine the oil, chili powder, and onions. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Pour cooked onions into a bowl. Add in the imitation ground beef, black beans, olives, salsa, cilantro, and cheese. Mix together and pour back into skillet, smoothing top.
Into a bowl (it can be the same bowl you used for the filling), combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
Melt butter and let cool a few minutes. Into a measuring cup or bowl, beat the egg with a fork. Then beat in the buttermilk and melted butter.
Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture and combine until just blended (don’t over mix).
Spread cornmeal mixture on top of filling, smoothing top.
Bake at 230°C (450°F) about 15 minutes – until top begins to brown.
Vegetarian Cooking For Carnivores BLOG 