zucchini fritters

I had some zucchini and invited my sister over for dinner tonight, so I looked up recipes. SK had one for zucchini fritters that looked pretty simple, so I decided to give it a try. I thought it was pretty good. Mine seemed a bit soggy but I didn't exactly follow the instructions about grating them and getting a lot of the liquid out. I used my cuisinart to really chop it up because I was too lazy to grate it and didn't have a grater big enough. So mine was a bit too small which meant that it was pretty hard to squeeze all the liquid out. As a result, the fritters were more moist. I hate to admit it, but I ate them with ketchup. I enjoyed it, though. And Ebe even asked for seconds! (I didn't have seconds because I try to cook just enough.)

*I made this with only 1 zucchini, so I halved the recipe; this made 4 patties, which was enough for 2 people as sides

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying


To serve (optional):
1 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinches of salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready.

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor. The latter is my favorite as I’m convinced it creates the coarsest and most rope-like strands. [I just used a normal food processor and mine were more solid texture than this, which sounds like it would be similar to hash browns.]

In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water, squeezing out small handfuls at a time, or wrapping it up in a clean dishtowel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing away. You’ll be shocked by the amount of liquid you’ll lose, but this is a good thing as it will save the fritters from sogginess. [As I mentioned, this is where I deviated and I could tell in the texture of the finished fritters.]

Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (most rinses down the drain), add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right. Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together flour and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.

In a large heavy skillet — cast iron is dreamy here — heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter. I like to make sure that the fritters have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp.

For the topping, if using, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice, zest, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste. Dollop on each fritter before serving. These fritters are also delicious with a poached or fried egg on top, trust me.

Nutritional info (for two fritters, half the recipe I made)
201 calories
13.2 g total fat
105.5 mg cholesterol
14.4 g total carbs
6.2 g protein

lemon glaze muffins

My first recipe that I made from one of my new cookbooks! I got this recipe out of the Ina Garten book, Barefoot Contessa at Home. She called it the lemon yogurt cake. I, as per usual, made it in muffin tins because I just prefer the serving size. I also think I may have forgotten to add the vegetable oil, but I'm not sure. Anyway, it turned out pretty tasty. I had my sister take some home to her roommates. It's handy having people to share my experiments with! I also skipped part of the recipe (something to pour over after it baked before the glaze) since it seemed like more sugar then I needed in my life.

I also started using this iphone app - My Fitness Pal. Through that (though also many other apps/websites offer this), I track what I eat every day, and they have an area where I can enter recipes. That way, I put in the ingredients and serving size and can see the nutritional information for each thing I make and then eat. I decided to start posting the nutritional info at the bottom of recipes I make (though it is based on my specific yogurt, butter, milk, etc used). I really like the app. I find it pretty user friendly and they have a barcode option, where you can scan the barcode of the food and most of the time it is in their database, which I really like because then I know its exactly the same product I ate.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt [I used nonfat because that's what I had]
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil

glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Either grease a bread pan and line the bottom with parchment paper or grease a muffin tin.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Carefully fold the vegetable oil into the batter.

Pour the batter into the pans and then bake for about 50 minutes (less for muffins, just watch), until cake tester comes out clean.

After they have cooled, mix the confectioner's sugar and lemon juice and pour over them. I found that I needed more than 2 tbsp to make it the right consistency.

Nutritional information (for one of 12 muffins)
266 calories
10.7 g total fat
46.3 mg cholesterol
39 g total carbs
3.9 g protein

plum cake

I bought some plums from the store the other day, and while I like eating them raw, I thought I would see what recipes were out there. Of course SK came through with a delicious looking cake recipe that I decided to try. I made half the recipe as I was making it mostly for myself to have over the next few days. It was really easy to make, even though I didn't have a mixer to use. I got really used to having one in Bulgaria and using it all the time, but I just alternated between a wooden spoon, whisk, and rubber spatula and got the job done well enough for my standards. Luckily, I think my sister is going to let hers sleep at my house, so I won't be mixerless for long. Phew!

*as mentioned above, I made a 1/2 recipe and left out the orange zest as I didn't have any oranges or lemons on hand

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 purple or red plums (or even Italian prune plums, when they are in season), halved and pitted

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan, dust the inside with flour, tap out the excess and put the pan on a baking sheet. [I used a round pyrex for my smaller recipe.]

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together.

Working with a mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until it’s soft and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for a minute after each egg goes in. Still working on medium speed, beat in the oil, zest and vanilla; the batter will look smooth and creamy, almost satiny. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. [As mentioned, I didn't have a mixer on hand, so I just used a wooden spoon at first with soft butter, then used a whisk once I added in the eggs and used a rubber spatula to help my whisk work.]

Run a spatula around the bowl and under the batter, just to make sure there are no dry spots, then scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Arrange the plums cut side up in the batter, jiggling the plums a tad just so they settle comfortably into the batter.

Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is honey brown and puffed around the plums and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 15 minutes during which time the plum juices will seep back into the cake then run a knife around the sides of the pan and unmold the cake. Invert and cool right side up.

You can wrap the cake and keep it at room temperature for up to 2 days, during which time it will get softer and moister.

cookbooks

Well I officially own three four cookbooks, all my own! Yes, I still use the internet most of the time, but I will dabble in these and it's fun to have them on my counter. In my free time, reading through them and planning recipes with them is something I'm aiming for. In the order that I procured them:

Muffins. This is a little French cookbook that I picked up for 4 euros in Paris at a little market under a bridge (names are escaping me right now). So in addition to having lots of yummy looking muffin recipes, it is also an opportunity for me to practice my translation skills. Luckily, I can understand most of it without a dictionary, which is a great feeling. Also, I can read outloud in my terrible French accent in my kitchen and pretend that I am an eloquent and sensual French mademoiselle and I won't have anyone around to contradict my fantasy.

BLBC Cookbook. I mentioned this a while ago when I first finished it. It's a cookbook compiled by the members of my book club in Bulgaria that I put into book format via blurb. Then I ordered 12 for my family (at the neat cost of $6 each! still available and no profits). So a couple of my contributions are in there along with many others. I haven't truly read through it and tried anything yet, but I have eaten many of the recipes in the past year and they were tasty.

Barefoot Contessa at Home. Okay, I'll be honest. I never watch the show and she looked annoying (why I didn't want the show). But my mom gave this to me for my birthday. Then I saw the name. Ina Garten. I recognized it from SK and decided to give it a second try to impress me. I haven't made anything from it (give me a break, my birthday hasn't actually happened yet), but I read through a few sections and it looks good. Not healthy or like it will help me with my diet, but delicious. I'll be posting things from it soon enough.

The Essential Pasta Cookbook. Ebe gave this to me this past weekend for my birthday. It does include some recipes of how to make pasta by hand, but mostly it is for pasta dishes. It is really extensive and we both like how many pictures it has of all the food. Plus, I love carbs and Italian food.

my new kitchen

As mentioned in the previous entries, I am in my new apartment in Austin and thus have a new kitchen. Unlike the past two years, where my kitchen was outfitted more or less by the school and what previous residents had left behind, this time I had to get everything myself. My family really came through by having a lot of extra things they could share. There are a few things I still need to get to really be able to make everything I want to (a big soup pot, a hand mixer, a heave duty pot for the oven), but overall it is really well stocked.

I took some pictures and thought I would also make a list of what I have just to give an idea of the kind of tools I am working with. Mostly it is just another step I wanted to take to show that I just work with what I have and things turn out pretty well even though I don't have a impressive, top of the line kitchen. I also have quite the teensy pantry but I still feel like I have more food than I can eat in a week (well, than I should eat in a week).

3 mixing bowls (white with green)
4 mixing bowls (orange/yellow with flowers)
2 skillets
1 cast iron skillet
2 silver saucepans
2 porcelain (?) saucepans
6 pyrex glass dishes (circular)
1 pyrex square dish
1 loaf pan

target utensil set (30 pieces with all sorts of spoons, spatulas, graters, clips, measuring tools, etc)

cuisinart hand blender (with a whisk attachment, immersion blender, and chopping attachment)
stand mixer
electric tea kettle
crock pot

measuring cups
measuring spoons
storage containers

ikea dishset

6 big plates

6 small plates

6 wide bowls

6 silverware

6 tumblers

6 wine glasses

4 anthropologie bowls

4 small anthropologie bowls

4 bulgarian bowls

1 big bulgarian bowl

4 blue tumblers

Pantry:

Flour

Sugar

Powdered sugar

Brown sugar

Baking soda

Baking powder

Cocoa

Vanilla extract

Olive oil

Canola oil

Balsamic vinegar

White vinegar

Salt

Pepper

Cream of tartar

Basil

Curry

Cinnamon

Garlic

Rosemary

Honey

Syrup

Mustard

Ketchup

Jelly

Cheddar cheese

Parmesan cheese

Milk

Salted butter

Unsalted butter

Eggs

Tortillas

Bread

Peanut butter

Goldfish

Pasta

Canned tomatoes

Granola

Fresh vegetables and fruit

eggs baked with spinach and mushroom

No offense to my Bulgarian roommates, but there is something to be said for cooking for yourself only because it means I get to make whatever I like, using ingredients that I like. Things like mushrooms and meat are back on the menu, and peppers and onions and olives aren't making any major appearances (obviously, onions are necessary to most savory dishes). So I happily have been incorporating mushrooms back into my meals because they have that delicious meaty taste without being meat, which I am still a bit nervous about cooking. And this recipe was SO GOOD. I mean, I took my first bite and thought wow! This is really delicious. If you like these ingredients on your own, you will want to give this a whirl. And even though it heated up my kitchen and blew a lot of hot air in my face, it was still worth making in the summer.

*note: I was making this just for myself, so I didn't measure anything and just added what looked like the right amount to serve myself

10 oz baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced (2 cups)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Bring 1/2 inch water to a boil in a 10- to 12-inch ovenproof heavy skillet (not cast-iron), then add half of spinach and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, about 30 seconds. Add remaining spinach and wilt in same manner, then cook, covered, over moderately high heat until spinach is tender, about 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool under cold running water. Gently squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop.

Wipe skillet dry, then cook onion and garlic in butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and increase heat to moderate, then cook, stirring, until mushrooms are softened and have exuded liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and chopped spinach and bring to a simmer. Remove skillet from heat and make 4 large indentations in spinach mixture. Break an egg into each indentation and bake, uncovered, until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, 7 to 10 minutes. Lightly season eggs with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with cheese.

banana bread muffins

I'm not sure if I have posted this recipe before, but as it is the first time I made it in the US and with all the correct American ingredients (specifically, light brown sugar and vanilla extract), I decided I could still put it up again. It was really yummy, and even though I do believe that you don't need exact ingredients for things to come out tasting delicious, I can appreciate how some ingredients make a big difference (light brown vs. dark brown sugar).

This also was my inaugural experiment in my new apartment in Austin! First of all, I love my apartment (thanks to my family who helped me out tremendously). Second of all, I have been enjoying Austin (both by being lazy and getting out with some old friends). Third of all, I'm excited to get back to cooking after about two months. How cute is my kitchen? Okay, back to the food. I made these and gave them away to some of my high school friends living a few streets away. They were really tasty.

Taking my new kitchen out for a test drive:

 How cute is my oven mitt? My godmother got it for my from Anthropologie, 

which I can't afford but of course find adorable

 Okay I just thought the label was cute. I'm a sucker for packaging.

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer, I always use the smaller amount)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix.

I baked it in a muffin tin, and it made 12 muffins. You can also make it as a loaf. As a loaf, it takes about 50 minutes. As muffins, it took a lot less time and I just had to check it. My guess is about 30 minutes or so.