Stove-top Ratatouille

We moved to a small town in Northern Arizona

 about 18 months ago. 

I needed a change of pace and a better housing situation. I'm still close enough to the city that I can take a short day-trip if I need to be in Phoenix for work meetings or TV shoots, but far enough away from the crazy heat and hustle of the city to enjoy a more country life.  I've always been a very simple gal, and I don't really need anything fancy. It's been a perfect fit and we're thriving here. It's a whole new world.  We bought an acre and are really enjoying the cooler weather and totally different growing zone for our garden as well.

Many of you are aware of my avid love of gardening and this new part of the state has been just what this gal needs. We've had a couple of very successful gardening seasons compared to Phoenix where the heat is just relentless and well...evil. This year, around March, my youngest son (now 17 years old and in college) helped build a greenhouse to extend our growing season a lot and also to get experience with a greenhouse ecosystem. He's seriously considering a career in Botany and Horticultural Science...and I couldn't be more thrilled about that! So really the greenhouse is for school right? I mean I learn something everyday and this has been a learning experience for sure. 

So here's the journey. We started with a 16 foot by 20 foot greenhouse kit. Some good soil, 100 cinder blocks and lots of anchors (about 6K pounds worth of cord and screw-in-the-ground things) to keep it from flying away in our very, very windy mountain town. 

Face worked really hard to make this happen. 

Then we installed soak hoses and planted all the seedlings that we had been nurturing inside under the grow-lamps. We planted 3 carrot varieties, beets.  Peas that will climb. There are 25 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.  There are herbs like mad for my shenanigans in the kitchen including basil, cilantro, tarragon, dill, oregano, thyme, lemon balm, chives and 3 varieties of sage. I also wanted to try my hand this year with leeks. 

Things started to grow really well! 

We even put in solar powered lamps so I could just weed in the middle of the night if I wanted to do so. Don't judge me. I really love being in this place. Sometimes I say I'm weeding, but I'm just sitting out here reading a good book or listening to some good Gospel tunes. It's really good for my soul. 

Now everything is pretty huge! We had to take out the zucchini and we're putting in our second crops for Fall. Other things like the broccoli have bolted like mad, but I'm saving the seeds so I'm just using the extra leaves for coleslaw and low-carb enchilada or lasagna bakes. Our cilantro went to seed so I harvested the large branches with seed pods to dry for spices and also to replant seeds in the spring (or indoors during the winter). 

As our adventures in gardening continue I decided that I really needed to be a chef and actually make a version of Ratatouille that didn't require using and oven. I wanted one that also used a lot less oil than most traditional recipes, since they tended to be heavy. So with our Japanese eggplant, zucchini and honkin' huge load of heirloom tomatoes coming into full ripeness...this was a must! 

Pick the eggplants young and tender to avoid lots of thick seeds and to minimize the sponge effect it has on oil in cooking. If you aren't growing your own tomatoes, be sure to pick firm and ripe varieties. I used both large chopped tomatoes as well as the smaller cherry varieties. 

We have a few things outside the greenhouse too...

Face built a few grow-boxes in the yard. There is space for all his side projects. Yes. He built all of these from scratch. I'm so proud. 

Now. For the recipe...

My Stove-top Ratatouille 

1 medium globe eggplant, peeled, coarsely chopped

1 large zucchini, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more

¼ cup olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh thyme

1 large onion, halved, sliced ½ inch thick

1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 pints cherry tomatoes

2 large tomatoes, chopped 

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup fresh torn basil leaves 

Directions:

Toss eggplant, zucchini, and 2 tsp. salt in a colander. Let sit 30 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels. 

Heat oil in a large heavy Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high. Add eggplant and zucchini and cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables begin to take on color, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook another 5 minutes until clear. Add thyme and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Cover and slow cook on very low heat for 10-15 minutes more. 

Transfer to a serving platter and top with basil.

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

Meal in a Jar: Breakfast Ham and Zucchini Quiche Casserole (Low Carb & Gluten Free)

One of the classes I adored teaching was how to make shelf-stable meals in a jar that are good 5-7 years. This is, in fact, something I have done for my family for years. It's just a super practical way to have a "grab-n-go" meal for any occasion. Unlike other jar meals I've seen, the ones I plan are "just add water" and include the meat, veggies, sauce and all...ONE jar. One place. Grab-n-go!   These quart size jars make a meal for our family of 6 (4 adults, 2 children) and average about 9 cups of prepared food coming from the small amount of space in a quart jar. They can be made in mylar bags, but I personally prefer the jars. They're airtight, rodent proof and clear, so I can tell if the food is still gorgeous. Yes, I do slip into my Hollywood fashion designer alter-ego and say, "Fabulous Darling! Fabulous!"  Yes. I realize I'm odd. Shhh. I'm happy in my delusion. It keeps me young. What was I talking about? Oh yeah...

 I'm sharing an adaptation of an old family recipe that I think is a keeper! I made it for my kids and the 12-year-old had 3 plates of it. Next time I'm making half gallon jars. I'm getting into teen years with these little whipper-snappers. Yikes. Needless to say, the meals will feed a normal family of 5...or one teenage boy. I also plan a loaf of bread a day per person (for rolls, breadsticks, or sides like that) in my food storage. I have a whole series of jars based on those too...but that will be a later post.   This is an adaptation of my mom's Zucchini Casserole. I grew up with this fresh from the garden and I wanted to capture the flavors in a jar meal for storage.  Thankfully I have found the most beautiful freeze-dried zucchini slices!  I have to stop myself from eating them like potato chips right from the can. You know what else I love? I love the there's no junk added to my favorite brand of freeze-dried veggies.  It's just the veggie. Just the fruit. Nothing added but happiness. 

When the Breakfast Ham and Zucchini Quiche Casserole is in a jar, it looks like this...

Cooked, it looks like a quiche and tastes like a quiche...without the crust. 

My Mom's Ham and Zucchini Quiche Casserole

adapted from  cheftessbakeresse: Geneve's Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients:

2T  Dehydrated Green Onion

1 cup Freeze Dried Ham
1/2 cup Freeze Dried Bell Peppers
1/2 cup Freeze Dried Zucchini
1 T Powdered Butter
1/4 cup Ova Easy Egg Crystals or Scrambled Egg Mix
1/2 cup Powdered Sour Cream
 2T  Ultra Gel
1/2 tsp  Italian Seasoning
1  1/2 cup Freeze Dried Cheddar Cheese

Directions: 
 *Real freeze dried meat must be in a glass jar or mylar bag with an oxygen absorber. Open all your cans of happiness. Line up your jars. Get all your measuring tools and stuff together. Make sure you have all your ingredients. 

Put the green onion, freeze-dried ham, zucchini, and bell pepper in the jar. Add the powdered ingredients and shake them down into the veggie mixture. This is how I get a lot of product into a small space. I shake things a lot in my jars. 

 Add the cheese and top with a fresh 300 cc oxygen absorber. You can also use the jar attachment on a food saver, but you'll need to either cut a coffee filter to fit the top of the jar or use a cupcake/muffin liner at the top of the jar just inside the rim to keep the dry particles from clogging the hose. I prefer the speed of the oxygen absorbers. Frankly, that's how I can do so many in a short amount of time. If you want to use the slower method with the lid attachment, you totally can.  In about 25-30 minutes, the jar lid will "pop", indicating you have a vacuum seal. 

I made eight of these meals in about 15 minutes (one was prepared and in the oven when I took this picture). Eat your heart out, Rachael Ray. One dinner in 20 minutes is so last week.

To prepare:  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Pour the jar ingredients into a 2-quart bowl and add 2 1/2 cups cool water. Allow to hydrate 10 minutes.

 Lightly grease a 9 inch by 9-inch casserole (or solar oven 9 inch round pan works too).

Cover with foil.  Bake until set, 325 degrees 35-40 minutes. Do not over bake. May be stored in the refrigerator after baking and heated for service. 

I had enough ham to make about 10 of these meals, so initially, the cost is about $8 a meal. Some meals or less if you use the TVP. The sausage TVP is amazing. I'm a big fan.

There you go! Welcome to my meals in a jar!  

Estimated Nutritional Information:
Yield 5 Servings, 336 calories, 25 g fat, 5 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 21 g protein.

Again, the sales of freeze-dried products from my website is a huge blessing to my family and will be to yours.  I give out the recipes here as a service. If you do share them, please give full credit to this site.  Thank you so much!  Onward an upward!

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

A Long Needed Camping Trip Intermingled with Fishing Recipes

After nearly 4 years without more than one or two days in a row off work mingled between sometimes ninety hour weeks, I got hired by a company that actually believes that employees deserve to be human. I'm so blessed.  So, the first part of July, I spent ten days in the mountains away from society...with this guy. The Pansy Man. Sweetest dad on earth, and it was heaven.

Still trying to be glamorous, of course...

My family has been fishing at this dam in Logan, Utah for my entire life.  I haven't been here to fish since...forever. It was so peaceful and so perfect that I didn't want to ever leave.  Plus, my mom and all my siblings got to be there. It was precious. 

Between fishing and lounging around a camp fire, I found the peace to continue with a usually hectic life back home.

Plus, I got to spend those days with my sister, Auntie Em. Let's admit it...Em is really awesome!

The Professor showed up to the festivities and I got to meet my baby niece, who was already two years old and I hadn't been able to visit until now! She's perfect. She's named Em too. I call her Emmie Part 2.

During that visit, we had some pretty daggum awesome food...as any foodie family would.  One of my favorite was this quinoa Tabbouleh made by my rock-star sister in law, Queen Char. I love this lady. She definitely rocked this salad!

Quinoa and Feta Tabbouleh

• ¾ cup organic sprouted quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 Tbsp.  kosher salt
• 1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (1 bunch)
• 1 cup feta cheese
• 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)
• 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a rice cooker, combine the sprouted quinoa and boiling water. Cook 20 minutes until tender.  Cool for at least 20 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients.  Chill. Serve.

We'd fish for a full day, return to camp and have them for dinner, and then return and repeat the following day. I know that wouldn't be appealing to a lot of people, but it was time by the river with clear water, fresh air, and the quiet patience of a very good man. It was my favorite vacation ever...in the history of ever. 

On my last night there, we had a big family barbecue. We had 15 trout and a few catfish...ready to feast.  

The easiest way to cook the trout and catfish on the grill, was to wrap them in  well oiled aluminum foil after highly seasoning the outsides of the fish with dill, garlic, and some onion. Inside the cavity we added some fresh lemon, salt and pepper. 

The catfish got Cajun seasoning...and smoked paprika.  

Dad got the grill going in his garden. I love that they don't have a regular lawn and yard, it's 97% garden. 

Zucchini is totally killer delicious during the summer, so we glazed them with a white balsamic citrus and pepper glaze. It was just the perfect combination of tart citrus, heat and buttery avocado oil. 

Summer Squash White Balsamic Citrus and Pepper Glaze

1 cup avocado oil
1/4 cup white balsamic
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire  sauce
2 Tbsp black pepper
2 Tbsp lemon zest
2 Tbsp lime zest
3 Tbsp minced garlic

Combine well, and glaze 2-3 lbs fresh zucchini and allow to marinate for 1-2 hours. Retain remaining glaze after marinating the zucchini.  Grill as desired. 

Grill the fish packets for 3-4 minutes on each side. 

Grill the zucchini 4-5 minutes. 

Remove from the grill and toss in the retained glaze. Add minced parsley or cilantro if desired. 

For dessert, mom made grilled pound cake. The recipe is Here

The fresh blueberries with a light lime syrup were perfect over the grille pound cake. 

Fresh Blueberries with Lime Syrup

2 lb fresh blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tbsp lime zest
2 Tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a half gallon pot and bring to a boil. Cook 3-5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat.  Scoop over grilled pound cake and top with ice cream if desired. 

There you go darlings. Delicious summer vacation food made simple for more time with those you love most.

Always My Very Best, 
Your Friend Chef Tess

Top 10 Delicious Things to Make with Zucchini that You'll Love!

 Sure. We read how great it is. Blah. Blah. Blah.
We plant it in our gardens and see it come in so small and innocent. Gently. Kind. Angelic. One can almost see magic fairies living underneath the leaves and bathing in the morning dew that gathers on the stems. 

Then the Zucchini-rebel-alliance takes hold of the yard and plans world domination. You're gone for a day and someone has filled its head with delusions of grandeur. 

Zucchini comes into girth and forms that are as big as the Death Star. 

Be honest. If you're dropping bags of zucchini off at your neighbor's house, lighting it on fire, and running away...maybe you need to figure out more constructive things to do with your bounty. I of course, come from the lovely state of Utah where 2 months out of the year, I would never leave my car windows unrolled overnight. No. Not because cats would sneak into my car. Good guess. I didn't want the mystery bags of zucchini that would arrive on my passenger seat. It is an odd phenomenon. If they had been bags of chocolate, I would have left the windows open and the keys in the car (maybe even a fat Visa gift-card and a thank-you note). 

 The zucchini ditching must end! It must end! Succumb to the squash. 

Ironically this year... I am suffering from a perfect shortage of squash since I had such a bad experience with the evil squash bugs a while back in my garden. Yes. That is a pathetic plea for anyone to zucchini-ditch at my house. Please don't light them on fire first though. I have a sick obsessive love-affair with zucchini most of the time.   For that reason, today I'm giving you some grand ideas of things to do with your squash. Once you've made them into something fabulous and delectable...feel free to ditch them. They will have a much finer chance of being adopted into a family if you dress them up in nice clothes first (and cover them in chocolate). 

Here are Ten Delicious Things to Make with Zucchini:

#1. My favorite zucchini bread. Orange-Brandy Zucchini Bread. Add chocolate chips. It won't hurt your cause.

#2. My Mother's Zucchini Casserole. This is perhaps my all time favorite thing to make with zucchini. It is my mother's recipe. She has had zucchini in her garden all my natural-born life and still makes this one, not because it is choked down and endured, but because it is really amazing! Don't add chocolate chips this time. It will make you a sick-o. 

#3. Meatloaf Stuffed Zucchini. Cut out the seeds and insides of a really large zucchini. Fill it with your favorite meatloaf recipe. Close it up. Bake it until the internal temperature is 170 degrees. Meatloaf will be moist, delicious, and come with a beautiful squash case. Plus...It looks really cool on your dinner plate!

#4. Pizza Stuffed Zucchini. This is just evil. Italian-American meets over-grown garden. It is actually a beautiful vortex of happiness. 

#5. Back to School Lunchbox Ideas include using grilled marinated zucchini in sandwiches in place of meat. It is delicious!

#6.Zucchini String Salad

Using zucchini cut with a julienne shredder to replace part of the pasta in a salad gives fun texture, reduces the amount of carbohydrates in pasta salad...and is just cool to eat! This is a great one for kids!

#7. Zucchini-Bread Pancakes!  These are made taking whole grains, soaking the grain overnight and then putting the grain in your blender! You add the shredded zucchini at the end of the blend and you have whole grain zucchini-bread pancakes that taste really amazing. Yes. I do drizzle them with strawberry syrup and chocolate chunks. I know I'm an evil influence. 

#8. Dehydrated Zucchini chips. Slice your zucchini thin and place them in an air dehydrator. Dry until crisp and thin. They taste remarkably like a potato chip and have very few calories! Dip them in melted chocolate if you feel too badly about eating healthy.

9. Zucchini Cobbler! Mom says, "eat your veggies..."that tastes like apples!" Yes. You can disguise them to look like apples. Who will know (unless they read my blog)? I really like this Zucchini Cobbler recipe from allrecipes.com. It is delicious!

INGREDIENTS
8 cups peeled, chopped zucchini
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup white sugar (or 1/2 cup honey)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups butter, chilled
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS: In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice until zucchini is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and nutmeg and cook one minute more. Remove from heat and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, combine flour and 2 cups sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir 1/2 cup of butter mixture into zucchini mixture. Press half of the remaining butter mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Spread zucchini mixture over top of the crust, and sprinkle remaining butter mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until top is golden. Serve warm or cold.

#10. Citrus-Mustard Grilled Zucchini and Purslane Salad. Amazing! Get the recipe: Here. You'll be surprised at the latest trend in garden greens!

There you go! Get rid of Share some zucchini! Xoxo! I wasn't kidding about bringing me some either. Really. I love the stuff (especially with chocolate). 

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess