Hot Sauce Heaven

With Thanksgiving already behind us (where did the Fall go?!), and the Christmas holiday fast approaching, visions of my beautiful garden seem like distant memories.  I find myself already dreaming about the new layout I am going to try, and how I may be growing some special varieties of heirloom tomatoes….But, I digress.  The end of the growing season was a plentiful one this year and I found myself with piles and piles of jalapeños and habaneros.  And you can only eat so many Bacon Wrapped Cheddarwurst Jalapeño Poppers, right?

Habaneros! My two amazing plants
this year gave me more than
60 peppers!

So, what better way is there to preserve the freshness of those little beauties than making some hot sauce?  There are a few chefs I always turn to when I want good recipes that utilize hot peppers.  One of them is Food Network Superstar, Bobby Flay.  The other is a local Chicago chef and owner of one of my favorite restaurants in the city, Frontera Grill - - Chef Rick Bayless.  Both of them have a deft hand at turning what most people consider just a condiment into the star of the show.  Both of these recipes are courtesy of their genius.  Try a batch and see if your friends go crazy for them like mine did.  They would make completely awesome stocking stuffers!

Jalapeño Hot Sauce

The chopped jalapeños and
onions in saucepan

You can actually buy a bottle of the Mesa
Grill Jalapeño Hot Sauce online, but it will set you back $9.95 for 5 oz.  Thank goodness I can make it at home because this stuff is so addicting I'd go broke for sure.  To get started, heat up 2 Tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan.  You are going to be cooking everything in this pot so be sure it is large enough to hold all of the ingredients.  Add the onions and jalapeños and cook until they start to soften.  Add in the garlic and let that heat just long enough until you start to smell the garlic.  The recipe says 30 seconds, but the key is that you just don't want to brown it.

After the peppers have cooked
add the remaining ingredients
and blend! 

Add in the vinegar and water and bring the whole mixture to a simmer.  I didn't have the rice vinegar that the recipe calls for on hand so I used apple cider. I think it added a nice tang to the finished product.  Cover the pot, and let it cook for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and transfer the entire mixture to a blender or food processor.  Add in the remaining oil, salt, honey and cilantro and blend until smooth.  This will depend on how coarsely you chopped your ingredients, and how thick you like your hot sauce.  I pulsed mine for at least a minute or two until I got a very liquid final product.  This isn't a salsa or a dip, so it should be very smooth and have uniform consistency.

You can see the little specks from
the cilantro in the sauce.  It's the most
beautiful green color!

Always be careful when blending hot food - it expands when you blend it so use caution and start slowly.  One other very important note - - you have to use fresh cilantro for this recipe.  There is no substitute for the fresh herb in this application.  It lends the finished product an amazing fresh and citrusy flavor which compliments the heat from the chilies and the vinegary bite.  I really can't say enough about how good this sauce is!

Place the blended mixture into bottles (or some other container) with a lid and refrigerate.  You are only going to use a little bit of the sauce at a time, as a condiment, so small bottles or Weck jars would work the best.  I found these cute hot sauce bottles online and thought they made the perfect packaging for gifting the sauces to friends and co-workers, but they are not at all necessary.

After sitting in the fridge, the sauce does separate so give the container a good shake (like a vinaigrette) before you use it.  I even made several batches to use up the peppers I kept harvesting (they just kept coming!), and have placed ziplock baggies (the snack size) of the sauces in my freezer.  Once my bottles get low I can just thaw them out and refill so I can keep enjoying the bounty of the pepper harvest all winter long!

Finished bottles of both hot sauces ready to be given to family and friends
(If you feel like sharing!) 

Jalapeño Hot Sauce 
(Recipe from Bobbyflay.com)
6 Tbs Canola Oil
1 small Onion, chopped
10 Jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 cups rice vinegar (I used apple cider)
1 cup water
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup cilantro leaves

Beautiful habaneros from my garden!

Habanero Hot Sauce
If you like things a bit more spicy, and want to kick it up a notch (or 10…) then this Habanero hot sauce recipe will be perfect.  I should tell you that you can also buy this one already made, but apparently only a case at a time?  Not sure who needs THAT much hot sauce, but its good to know that  there are people out there who do!  :)

I learned a new technique while making this recipe for roasting whole garlic cloves.  I used to think you had to to do it in the oven, a whole head of garlic at a time.  No sir! Now I use this technique for making garlic compound butter for garlic bread, for dolloping on top of steaks, baked potatoes, pretty much anything ….

Roasted garlic cloves start to
soften and blacken in spots.
They also smell delicious! 

You just take the garlic, unpeeled, and put it in a dry (aka - no oil!) skillet over medium heat. Take a pair of tongs and turn the cloves regularly until they are soft and blacked in spots.  Depending on the size of your cloves that should take about 10 - 15 minutes.  And that's all you need to do for soft, roasted amazing garlic!  Set it aside and let it cool so you can peel it.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the carrot, onion and stemmed habaneros with the vinegar and one cup of water.  Partially cover the pan and simmer over medium-low heat until the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.  Unlike the jalapeño mixture in the previous recipe, you need to be very careful not to breath in the steam from the mixture while it is cooking because it is pretty lethal.  Once it is cooked, pour it into a blender or food processor.

Add the peeled roasted garlic, salt and sugar.  Blend until smooth.  If the mixture is too thick the recipe as written says to add water but I've never had to do that.  I would guess that would only be necessary if you let the mixture cook down and thicken further on the stovetop.

You can pour the finished sauce into bottles (or some other container) with a lid and refrigerate.  This sauce is pretty potent so only a few dashes are necessary to get the desired burn!  You can use it to heat up BBQ sauces and salsas, or even in pulled pork sandwiches.  Its pretty versatile stuff!  Just use it cautiously!

Habanero Hot Sauce
(Recipe from Rickbayless.com)
5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/2 cup peeled, roughly chopped carrot
1/2 cup roughly chopped white onion
12 medium (5 ouces) orange habanero chiles, stemmed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
About 2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar

The finished habanero hot sauce is smooth and fiery hot! 

Hazelnut Nutella Zucchini Bread

I blogged a couple of months ago about the Lemon Glazed Zucchini Bread recipe I had been experimenting with.   And while I sit watching the rain run down my window panes, pondering when this government shutdown is going to end, I remembered I never shared the recipe and photos for that Hazelnut Nutella Zucchini bread.  My sincere apologies.  But honestly, this is just the recipe I need to share today to not only raise my spirits, but also to get my tastebuds going.  This one definitely feels like cheating.

All the necessary ingredients for the recipe.

I mean there is honey, brown sugar, Nutella, chocolate chips, chopped hazelnuts, yogurt,  oh....and zucchini.  :)  It is absolutely delightful.  And rather than making one large loaf this time, I decided to use my new mini-loaf pan.  The thought of being able to share these with friends, pull them out of the freezer for unexpected guests (or government furloughs! ugh!) was just the most comforting thought.  So I treated the mini-pan wells just the same as the larger versions by first spraying it with non-stick cooking spray and then fitting it with little slips of parchment paper.  Once I had that ready and waiting for me, I got down to business.

Greased and fitted with parchment
paper - ready for business!

I started with grating the zucchini so it could sit in the colander to drain off excess water while I got the other ingredients ready.  Grate it on the largest setting of a box grater so you get nice large strips of the beautiful zucchini.  Place that in the sink to drain, and get started assembling the ingredients in a nice large bowl.

First, cream together the room temperature butter and brown sugar.  You will not get as smooth of a batter if your butter is cold.  Make life easy and set it out a few hours before you plan to bake the bread.  If you forget, you can try one of these fun tips and tricks shared on Thekitchn.  But don't just stick it in the microwave and try to cheat.  The consistency of the half melted, half softened butter won't be the same (trust me!)  Once you have the sugar and butter creamed together, add in the eggs, vanilla and honey and mix well.  Then add in the yogurt as well as the dry ingredients --flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon.  Stir until just combined.

Mixed batter with the shredded
zucchini, chocolate chips and chopped
hazelnuts ready for mixing in.

Place the whole hazelnuts in a skillet, and toast them by setting them in the dry pan over medium-low heat.  The nuts will only need a few minutes to toast up and then you can remove them to a small plate to cool before chopping them.  Be careful because the oil in the nuts makes them hold onto their heat for a bit.  You can do this ahead of time if you want.  If you can't find hazelnuts or don't care to use them, you can substitute walnuts or leave out the nuts all together if you like.

After you have chopped the nuts, fold them into the batter mixture along with the chocolate chips and shredded zucchini.  Be sure and squeeze out any excess moisture you can from the zucchini before adding it to the batter.  Transfer the batter to your mini-loaf pan (or the larger loaf pan if you are using a traditional size), dividing it up evenly amongst the wells.  Place two small dollops (about a 1/2 teaspoon each) of Nutella on top of each of the loaves and swirl with a fork or knife.

Swirled Nutella on the tops of
each of the mini-loaves.

If you have never tried Nutella before you will be in for a treat.  This chocolate hazelnut spread is smooth and delicious and completely addictive!  You will find it near the peanut butter in the grocery store.

Once you have marbleized the tops of your loaves, place them into a 350 degree oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean.  For the mini ones it was only 35-40 minutes, but if you are using a larger loaf plan it will take longer.

Finished Hazelnut Nutella loaves cooling.  

I hope you will give this delicious recipe a try and let me know what you think.  As for me, the rain has stopped and the sun has finally come out.  I have to go pull a mini-loaf of this delicious bread out of the freezer and pretend it is a nutritious snack.




Happy baking!

Close up shot of the swirled finished loaf.  

Hazelnut Nutella Zucchini Bread
(adapted from The Ungourmet)
1/2 c butter (1 stick), softened
1 c brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1/4 c honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 c plain nonfat yogurt
2 1/2 c flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
1/2 c chopped toasted hazelnuts
6 tsp Nutella (or to taste)

Tomato Candy! - Oven-Dried Goodness

10 years ago, if you would have told me I would be writing a blog post about how much I love tomatoes, I would have called you crazy.  As a child, I hated tomatoes.  I thought they were gross, slimy and overall just disgusting.  When I first met my husband we would go on dates to nice restaurants and when the salads came, both of us would take off the tomatoes and set them aside.  Any sandwiches we ordered that came with tomatoes got the same treatment.  I used to joke with him that maybe we should both find someone who liked tomatoes, so we didn't have to go through life wasting them.  Thank goodness he didn't take me up on that!  Now, it is just the opposite and neither one of us is likely to share our tomatoes.  Go figure!

Cut the tomatoes lengthwise and line them up
on the baking sheet.

Over time your palate changes and the things you used to like and enjoy become less interesting and other things you never could stand to eat suddenly become some of your favorite foods. I have a very long list of those foods actually - - eggs, mayonnaise, blue cheese, olives, mushrooms and of course, tomatoes, are just a few of the foods I used to abhor and now I absolutely love.  Looking at that list, I actually don't know what I used to eat!  Jeesh.

As I've worked my way through cook books and eaten amazing meals at various restaurants I've had the opportunity to try new foods.  I think the tomato tide started to turn when I tasted my first heirloom variety.  It was so sweet, and didn't have all the seedy pulp and mealy texture I had previously known tomatoes to have.  Drizzled with just a little extra virgin olive oil and nestled in amongst fresh mozzarella cheese and basil, with just the perfect amount of cracked black pepper and salt.  It was delicious!  And from there, the transformation began.

I used several varieties of
tomatoes, but you could use
all one kind.

One of the things I learned about tomatoes is that you should never store them in the refrigerator.  That is what gives them that mealy and gritty texture.  It basically sucks the sweet flavor right out of them.  Instead, they should be stored in a cool, dry place (I keep mine in a bowl on the counter).  In the summer, at the peak of harvest time, I usually have a several bowls of them.  They find their way into just about every recipe from scrambled eggs to sauces and, my absolute favorite way to enjoy them, Caprese Salads.

After they are dried in the oven
this is what the tomatoes look like.

This year was such a great year for my garden that I needed to find a new way to prepare and utilize them so they didn't go to waste.  The Roma's I grew weren't as large as previous years so they didn't lend themselves to making red sauce.  And having done that in years past I really didn't want to spend the time to blanch and skin the tomatoes.  Its just such a process.  So, as I thought about all the different variations of tomato preparations, having them on hand all through the winter in the form of oven-dried morsels of goodness seemed like the perfect way to go.  And man, it couldn't be any easier than this recipe.

Close up shot of the oven dried
nuggets of goodness!

All you need to do is wash the tomatoes and then halve them lengthwise - - cutting through where the stem would be.  Then you simply arrange them on a baking sheet with the skin side facing down.  Then be sure they aren't touching one another, and drizzle them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  I used Silpat baking sheets, but if you don't have them, parchment paper would work well.  I had enough tomatoes to fill two full sheets!

Put the baking sheets into a 225 degree oven for 6-8 hours, depending on what type of tomato you are using and their size.  Since I used a variety I just pulled the ones off the pan as they got finished.  Just check back every 30 - 45 minutes or so to see how they are doing toward the end.  I also took the opportunity to roast some garlic along with the tomatoes by placing unpeeled cloves directly on the pans next to the tomatoes.  You can either put it into the jars with the tomatoes as I did here, or use it to smear on some crusty bread.  Either way, don't miss out on the opportunity since you'll have the oven on low and slow anyway.

Add the roasted garlic and fresh
Thyme right to the jar before
adding the oil.

The transformation that takes place here is something out of a fairy tale.  The peak of the season already produces amazingly sweet and succulent tomatoes, but by drying them you are concentrating the flavors.  My husband happened by while the sheets were cooling on the counter and gave one a try and immediately exclaimed, "Oh my God, they taste like candy!"  Yup, tomato candy.  They are sweet and just a little bit chewy, and taste just like summer.

I put all the cherry tomatoes together in this
smaller jar with the herbs and garlic.

After the tomatoes are dried and cooled, you can fill your jars.  I also put in some fresh Thyme along with the peeled garlic I had roasted.  Then the only thing left to do is fill the jar with olive oil to cover the tomatoes.  Since these aren't sterilized in a water bath, you can't leave them out on the counter.  I don't mess around with bacteria and botulism.  Since I have the fridge space available I don't mind storing them there to be safe.  

The oil will firm up a bit in the fridge and turn opaque, but you just need to set it out on the counter for a few minutes for it to soften up.  It doesn't effect the flavor at all.  The oil, which is now flavored with the delicious flavor of sun-dried tomatoes, is also perfect for making salad dressings or even just drizzling over fish or steak. You could dice up the tomatoes and use the oil with pasta and maybe some fresh mozzarella as a no cook sauce as well.  The heat of the pasta would warm through the tomatoes and be delicious.

Update: After I finished making this initial recipe with the jars of olive oil that you see above, I also made two other batches of these oven-dried tomatoes.  (I told you my garden was doing well this year!)  This time though, instead of taking up fridge space, I just placed them on sheet trays in my freezer (after they were dried) until they were frozen - - about an hour - - and then placed them into a zip lock bag.  Doing this ensured they didn't freeze to one another in a giant blob.

Now I have a huge supply of delicious tomato goodness available for me all winter long.  I can reach into the freezer and pull out as many as I need to use in sauces, soups, meatloaf or with pasta.  The winters around here are long and cold.  So I can't wait for a blustery winter day when I can reach into the freezer and remind myself just what the bounty of summer tastes like!

From Scratch - - Hummus!

With just a few short weeks of summer left (*sob!*), I've been trying to find as many ways as possible to really take advantage of the season.  Like most of my ideas, this one involves food!  I thought it would be fun to try and find as many tasty ways as possible to use up the veggies from my garden and branch out into making things I've never made from scratch.  So I opened my refrigerator in search of some inspiration, and lo and behold I saw one of my "go to" condiments and favorite dips, and I just knew it would be the perfect challenge - - Hummus!  

I love the stuff.  I usually buy different varieties depending on my particular craving, but I've never tried to make it myself.   I've heard everyone say it is easy to make, and that the store bought stuff doesn't hold a candle to the versions made from scratch...but still I reverted to the grab and go containers full of preservatives and artificial, well, everything.

Just a few ingredients is all you need!  I kept double
checking when I  took the photo because it seemed so empty! 

So back to my challenge!

I decided to try my hand at making hummus from scratch to give me something to dip my fresh veggies in.  I'm happy to report that it really is super easy, and now I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a new food addiction on my hands as I try out every possible recipe and variation I can think of.  But considering how my garden keeps on gifting me with cucumbers and peppers, I will have no shortage of tasty vessels with which to eat it up!

Just pile it all into your food
processor and give it a whirl!

For this first attempt though, I stuck to the basics and made a plain variety.  I wanted to test run the original before I went and got all fancy.  I know, I even surprised myself with that decision!  So first things first, I had to find myself some Tahini.  The local grocer didn't have it, (or at least didn't have it in the 3 or 4 different spots I tried to find it) so I ended up at a higher-end grocery store before I located a jar. Tahini is a paste made from ground, hulled sesame seeds.   

In my hunt to research various recipes for this challenge, I found a few that claim you can make hummus without tahini.  The flavor profile is so delicious though that it might just be worth the hunt.  And while I don't usually like to buy speciality items or things that are only used in one type of preparation I learned that you don't have to refrigerate the open container and it seems to have a pretty decent shelf life so I will be able to use it up before it goes bad on me.   [Note to self: Find other tasty uses for tahini!]  If you can't find tahini and you still want to give making the recipe a try, you can substitute peanut butter to get some similar nutty flavor.  The consistency isn't quite the same so you will need more liquid from the beans but it will certainly still be tasty!

When I say the recipe is super simple, I'm not exaggerating.  When I lined up the ingredient picture above, I kept having to double check my ingredients because it seemed like I had to be missing something.  The first step is draining the can of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) and putting them into your food processor or blender.  You want to save the liquid from the can, so set that aside for now.  Then, throw all the rest of the ingredients into the blender with the beans and puree it together.  Once blended, check the consistency and then add in just enough of the liquid from the can to make it a thick and smooth consistency that suits your taste.  The end.

No, seriously.

Other than spooning it into a serving bowl and drizzling it with a little bit of olive oil and a few sprinkles of paprika to make it look extra "gourmet", you are staring at the finished product ready to eat.

Mini wheat pita bread and fresh cucumbers made great dippers
for this quick and tasty hummus!

You can serve it with your favorite pita, chips or veggies.  As I mentioned when I started this whole entry, I had a serious overflow of cucumbers to devour so I sliced them up and got to snacking.  Another really great way to use hummus is as a spread on sandwiches.

Since it is a dish you are eating raw the real flavors of the ingredients will come through so be sure and use a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Oh, and you absolutely, positively have to promise me that you will use a real lemon.  Not the one that comes in a bottle!!  I know you might be thinking you can get away with it and it will taste the same, but you would be SO wrong!

Overall, I think my food challenge was a grand success.  For the next phase I'm going to start experimenting with different varieties of flavors and toppings, so let me know what your favorite hummus combination is and I will give it a try!  I just finished harvesting and making the most delicious oven-dried tomatoes last night.  The entire time I was making them I just kept thinking about how delicious they would be mixed into this hummus.  I will definitely be mixing up a batch of Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus this weekend. And, of course there are all my other favorite versions - - Roasted Garlic, Roasted Red Pepper, ....oh, I could mix in some homemade pesto and use it as a spread on a sandwich ....  the possibilities are endless!

Happy Snacking!

Close up shot of the finished creamy hummus drizzled with Olive Oil and just
a sprinkle of Paprika!  So tasty! 

Homemade Hummus
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas
1/4 cup (or more to taste) liquid reserved from chickpeas
Juice and zest of one lemon
2 Tablespoons tahini
2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste)
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Paprika (optional) 

Lemon Glazed Zucchini Bread

Everyone keeps saying that this summer is going by too quickly; the weather hasn't been the greatest in terms of temperature.  Despite that fact, I have been trying to make the most out of every opportunity.  The cooler weather and strange slow start to summer meant great things for my garden.  The first harvest of radishes was awesome, and the two varieties of lettuce I planted (mixed greens and a mesclum mix) have provided an abundance of yummy salads.  My Kirby cucumbers grow faster than I can pickle them and now the tomatoes and squash are competing with each other for who can produce the most!  Seeing my grocery bill shrink because I have all the fresh produce in my own backyard is such a nice rewarding feeling.

Check out those cute 8 Ball Squash!

I tried planting a new variety of squash this year, called "8 Ball" which is a little small round squash that looks just like a little pumpkin.  I have been really happy with how they have grown.  Both of my plants are just humongous! So, because they are coming in so quickly, I keep giving them away to friends and neighbors.  My next door neighbor is an elderly woman who just loves to get the fresh veggies we bring her.  This time, my good karma paid off because she turned my extra zucchini into some yummy bread and brought us over a small loaf as a thank you!  :)  So tasty!

Well that got me to thinking that I hadn't ever tried to make zucchini bread.  We've grilled it, roasted it, put it into salads and even sliced it paper thin and served it as a crudo with a fresh lemon vinaigrette.  So, why not bake it into a tasty bread that we can freeze and eat throughout the fall and winter months?Inspired by my neighbors tasty traditional version, I went in search of some unique and fun variations and found two excellent recipes - - one for a Lemon Zucchini bread with a glaze and one for a version with Nutella and honey.   My husband is a huge fan of lemon poppyseed cakes and muffins and he's never met a chocolate dessert he didn't like, so I figured it was worth a shot!

Shredded Zucchini sits in a
colander to drain the water

I will have to blog about the Nutella version sometime soon, but here is how the Lemon Zucchini bread turned out.  I started by grating the zucchini on a box grater using the largest option and placing it into a colander to let the water drain off.  Then I sprayed a non-stick loaf pan with cooking spray and lined it with parchment paper.  Some recipes will tell you to flour it to keep it from sticking but that method never seems to work for me and then half of whatever I'm baking ends up staying in the pan.  So now I always take the extra minute to cut the parchment to size and tuck it neatly into the pan, leaving just an inch or so of overhang on long sides.  The spray helps hold it in place and keeps the two ends from sticking as well.

Use one bowl for your dry ingredients,
and another for the wet.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Then, in another bowl beat 2 eggs with the oil and sugar.  Mix well.  Add in the buttermilk, lemon juice and zest and combine.  I think the addition of the buttermilk is what gives this bread a great tangy and rich flavor so you could substitute if you didn't want to use it or if you didn't have it on hand you can always make your own quick version.

Once you have all your wet ingredients mixed, you can stir in the zucchini.  Be sure and squeeze out the excess water before you add it.  I just used my fingers to pick up small handfuls and squeezed the moisture out; no need to dirty a dish towel.  Its amazing how much water you can remove that way.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.  Don't do it the other way around or you will end up with lots of clumps of flour and a lumpy finished batter.  You might not think it would make that big of a difference but after you've made the mistake once and tried dumping your dry into your wet only to be met with an awful bowl of lumps, you will believe me!

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let it cool for a few minutes and then grab each side of the parchment paper and gently lift it out of the pan.  Set it on a wire rack to cool completely.  I tasted the bread just like this, without the glaze and it was pretty good all on its own.  So, if you want a finished product less on the sweet side you can stop there and enjoy.  But if you like your bread a bit more on the sweet side, you can take the extra step and make the glaze to pour over the top.

Finished loaf right out of the
oven.  Note the parchment paper
"handles"! 

The glaze could not be simpler to make.  You just take 1 cup of powdered sugar (be sure and break up any lumps) and add the juice of one lemon and a little splash of lemon extract (optional).  Then add in the milk and stir until you get the desired consistency.  It doesn't take much milk so I usually add in a tablespoon at a time, stir and then see how it looks. Carefully spoon the glaze over the cake letting it run down the sides and cover the top.  I did this on a plate and just kept spooning the excess back over the top of the bread until it was nicely coated.  Once it sits for a bit, it will harden up nicely.  The recipe I adapted this from also suggested adding 1/2 teaspoon of meringue powder to get the glaze to harden up even better.  I will have to give that a try next time!

It's a nice light color with small
specks of the lemon and zucchini

I'm pretty happy with the end result so I will definitely be making more loaves to tuck into the freezer as my garden keeps providing me with the beautiful squash.  That way I will have them at the ready and can mix up quick batch of the glaze and have homemade Lemon Zucchini bread for visiting houseguests or even just a treat on a weekend!

We can add this homemade bread to the list of reasons I love having a garden.  It might not be the ideal summer temperature, but at least I can complain about it while eating a piece of Lemony Zucchini bread and licking the glaze off my fingers!

The glaze coats the bread and glistens
nicely, beckoning you to cut a slice and enjoy! 

Lemon Zucchini Bread 
2 cups flour (All Purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 Tbl fresh lemon juice and zest (1 lemon)
1 cup grated zucchini

Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp lemon extract (optional)

milk, as needed to reach desired consistency 

Maurice - - the Watermelon Turtle!

I can't believe how quickly the summer seems to be flying by!  Sorry its been so long since I've had a chance to post a new blog.  I have been spending almost all my free time working in my garden and enjoying the amazingly HOT weather.  Compared to last year, when I had to water the yard and the garden a few times a day, this summer has been just awesome in terms of rain.  My tomato plants are literally 6' tall and I just added in a new trellis this morning to help support my Kirby cucumbers that are trying to climb over the garden shed!

It's been a summer like I remember when I was little....hot and sticky weather where you can just go run around the yard and then find a sprinkler to cool off when you get too hot.  Drippy, sweet popsicles making way for bright blue and orange tongues on the kids running through the yards, and of course the smell of BBQ grills wafting through the evening breeze.  Ah, summer!

Line up your tools so everything
is within reach once you start the project.

This year, it was the 4th of July cook out that gave us our first opportunity to taste another staple of summer - WATERMELON!  I can't tell you how much my husband loves the stuff.  I think he could eat an entire watermelon by himself in a sitting.  I can't cut it up fast enough for him.  But rather than just cutting it up and putting it into a bowl, I thought I would have a little fun and make something a bit more whimsical this year.  A friend had sent me a cute picture from Pinterest of a watermelon Sea Turtle earlier this year, so I set out to create him.  There weren't any directions with the picture, just some close ups and different angles so I was pretty much on my own to figure out how to assemble it.

You want to cut a small slice off the
bottom to help it lay flat.

Believe it or not, it really wasn't too difficult and since you get to eat all the tasty watermelon you aren't really wasting any of the fruit.  He actually became kind of the mascot of the party and wherever we went, he came with us.  I'm not sure at what point we decided to name him Maurice, but I credit my father-in-law for the name.

Start out with a large watermelon that looks like it would make a good Sea Turtle shell; I held up several at the grocery store until I'm sure people thought I was a little bit goofy.  You want to pick one that feels heavier than it looks.  That is how you know it will be ripe.

You should have 3 pieces.  A small slice off the
bottom and then the top piece that will become
the Sea Turtle shell.  The largest portion becomes the
bowl you put the fruit in! 

You will want a nice large work area so you can keep everything close at hand as you build your turtle.  I put down some plastic place mats that I had in the cabinet just as an extra precaution but it really wasn't too messy.  Gather up your "tools", which in this case is a melon baller, a large knife and a zesting tool we use to make garnishes for drinks.  You will also need a large bowl for the melon to go in once you have gotten to that point in the process.

Get that melon baller into action! 

The first step in the process is cutting a small slice off of the bottom of the watermelon to help it lay flat.  You will use this piece to carve out the head, legs and tail so it needs to be large enough to give you watermelon rind to work with.  You do need to cut into the watermelon itself - there will be some of the pink flesh showing.  But don't worry, when you set it down on the platter or plate you are going to serve it on you won't see it.

Place all the melon balls into a bowl as you work
your way through the fruit.  I enlisted the help of my
mother-in-law, while I started carving.

Next, you need to cut the piece off the top that will become the Sea Turtle Shell.  You want this to be a larger slice and should be almost half of the remaining watermelon.  You can just eyeball it - - there aren't any watermelon turtle carving judges that will come by and critique you so just have fun with it.  Once you have your three pieces cut you can start using the melon baller to clean out the flesh of the watermelon.

Be careful when you are creating the "bowl" part with the main part of the fruit that you don't go down too far to the bottom. You want to leave enough thickness so you can fill it with fruit and have it keep its integrity.  Remember, you sliced off the bottom so it would sit flat but you did cut into the flesh so just be cautious and leave a good solid bottom.  You can completely clean out the piece that will become the turtle shell.  It will make it easier to work with if it is lighter and cleaned out.

Small squares - spaced out around the entire
outside rim of the watermelon - make for a
nice simple detail.

Now, the fun part!  Take the bottom (bowl) piece and working your way around the edge, you can carve out small little squares all the way around.  The focal point will become the turtle itself but this does pretty up the bowl portion and since you are likely to take the star of the show off the top for serving this leaves you a pretty and decorated bowl.

Carve out a small head --
with a neck to use for attaching
to the turtle shell

The smallest piece that you cut off the bottom is what is going to become the head, legs and tail of the Sea Turtle.  Pick a part of the rind that looks the nicest for the head and then just slice out smaller angled pieces for the rest of the legs - - and don't forget a tail!

Four legs and a tail! 

You can use a knife to clean off the underside of the pieces so they don't have any fruit on them and they are thin enough to attach to the shell.  Don't worry too much about making the legs or tail "perfect".  They really just need to similar in size and shape so they look uniform on the final product.  Once you have the pieces cut out,  you can get to work on carving out the pattern on the shell and the head.  I just put a few small carvings on the head to make it look cute, and then bored out holes using a paring knife and stuck black peppercorns in for the eyes.

A close up of the shell being
carved into hexagon shapes.

On the shell, you are creating a repeating hexagon pattern so if you start in the middle and then work your way to the front and back, it ends up balancing out and looking really great without having to measure or be very precise.  You can really do whatever pattern you think would be cute.  I put a border around the shell that added some detail as well.  The coloring on the watermelon really does all the work for you so I think its best to keep it simple.

Attach the legs and head with toothpicks.

You can attach all the pieces using toothpicks or wooden skewers.  It doesn't matter if they stick out or show a little because no one is going to be looking at the bottom anyway.  I just used some kitchen shears to snip off the extra toothpick that was sticking out, so that the turtle could sit flat on top of the bowl of fruit.  Once you have them all attached, you can fill the bowl with the rest of your fruit - I used grapes, pineapple and of course the watermelon.

Filled to the brim with tasty fruit salad! 

From start to finish it only took me about 35 minutes to create.  I enlisted help with the melon baller so I could focus on the carving portion, but it really was fun and easy.  And it was definitely the talk of the party.  At some point, we lost track of Maurice, and found him lounging by the hot tub.  It was just that kind of party!  ;)



Happy Summer!

Finished Sea Turtle Maurice in all his 4th of July glory! 

Bacon Wrapped Cheddarwurst Poppers

Sometimes it can be hard to find fun and exciting ways to re-imagine common or classic dishes.  Other times, all it takes is a simple idea to totally transform something you think you knew into something even more amazing.  That is how I felt when I first saw this idea.  It was definitely a, "Why didn't I think of that?!" moment...  At each stage of the process as I assembled this dish I grew more and more excited.   After all, it combines one of my favorite sinful treats, jalapeño poppers with one of my favorite summer foods, Cheddarwurst sausages.  Wrap it all up in a blanket of bacon and you have quite possibly the tastiest appetizer I've had in a long time.

Nice large jalapeños are perfect
for this recipe! 

The smokey sausage and creamy filling plays the perfect balance to the heat from the jalapeño pepper while the crispy bacon adds a nice crunch and bacon-y goodness that makes for the perfect bite.  With the warm weather finally here to stay, and backyard cookouts in full swing, these make for a really fun appetizer if you are looking for something decadent to serve to your friends.  They are so good that people might forget what you serve for the main course!

All cleaned and ready for filling!

To get started, you need to find some nice big jalapeños.  You can make these as hot or as mild as you want by either removing the ribs and seeds or leaving them in the peppers.  I also made a few of these using regular bell peppers and I'm happy to report that they turned out great so if your family doesn't like the heat from the jalapeños or you have younger children that can be a great alternative.

Cut the stems off the peppers and halve them.  I scooped out the ribs and seeds when I made them, leaving a perfect little cup ready to be filled.  In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, cream cheese and shredded cheese.  Add in the salt and pepper to taste and stir until it is well mixed.   I used the Veggie Cream cheese in these to add another layer of flavor that I think is really great.  You get the onion flavor coming through that is better than just plain cream cheese, but anything you had on hand would be fine.  Hmmmm...maybe I will try these with a smoked salmon cream cheese.  ::: drool :::

Mmmmm....cheesy!

Take the sausages, and cut them in half and then cut each half lengthwise so you have small little planks that will fit on top of your jalapeños.  This will vary depending on how big your peppers are so just eyeball it.  If you use the cheesy smokey style I did you will see the tasty little pockets of cheesy goodness peeking thru.

Filled to the brim with the creamy mixture,
the peppers are ready for their  sausage toppers

Now you are ready to assemble!  I sprinkled a little bit of the shredded cheese in the bottom of each pepper.  Then, using a small spoon, fill the pepper with the cream cheese mixture.

Rather than taking each of the peppers all the way through the entire preparation, I find it easier to use the "assembly line" method and get each stage of the process done before moving on to the next step.  That way, you don't end up with greasy hands from the bacon and a messy work area. 

Once you have them filled, place one of the sausage planks on top of each pepper.  Push it down into the mixture slightly to secure it.  Once you have them all assembled to that point, go get your bacon out of the fridge.  By keeping it chilled up until this point it will be easier to wrap tightly around the pepper which gives you a better chance at it staying together when you cook them.  

Bacon wrapped tightly, overlapping to help keep
the filling inside the pepper.

To wrap the peppers, just pick up one of the halves and starting at one end wrap the bacon all the way around.  Overlap it as you go so it is nice and tight and completely covers the sausage and cream cheese filling.  When it bakes, some of the cheese will ooze out so you want the bacon wrapped tightly to help keep the filling inside the peppers.  You can use a toothpick to keep the bacon in place if you want.  But if you plan on grilling them, be sure to soak the toothpicks in water before hand.

At this stage, you can either bake or grill them.  If you grill them, you are going to have to keep the grill at a medium steady temperature.  You should not turn or flip these at all.  Just set them on the grill, and cook them with the cover closed so the heat inside the grill crisps up the bacon.  Indirect heat would be best for this, so place your coals off to one side and place the peppers on the side without the coals.  Grill until the bacon is crispy and brown and the peppers are cooked through.  

They look like bacon wrapped
presents for your guests to enjoy!

To bake them, set the oven at 425 degrees, and bake for 25-30 minutes.  This will depend on your oven and the size of the peppers you are using, so just keep an eye on them.  You want the bacon to be crispy, but not burnt.  Some of the cream cheese filling will ooze out, but don't worry too much about that.  When you transfer them to a serving dish they will look fabulous.  

A great shot of the filling and
sausage wrapped in crispy bacon!

You can use aluminum foil on your pan if you want an easy clean up.  My husband was lamenting that I forgot that step when I made them because I was so excited to get them in the oven!  Lucky for me, he loved the final product so I was quickly forgiven.  

Just one bite and we both decided that this treat was a definite winner.  And, considering that the Chicago Blackhawks went on to win an amazing last minute Stanley Cup victory later that evening, I think these might have become our "good luck" game time snack!




Bacon Wrapped Cheddarwurst Poppers
5 large Jalapeños
10 - 12 pieces Bacon
Cheddarwurst sausages
1/2 c. shredded Colby Jack Cheese
1/2 c. Cream Cheese (I used Veggie)
1/4 c. Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper