Hello, Zucchini Bread.

Like many of you, I subscribe to umpteen e-mails/newsletters.  It's a vicious cycle like my former magazine subscription addiction and I find it difficult to stop, but that's another psycho-babble post for another time.  

This past week I received a newsletter from The Gourmandise School of Sweets & Savories, where I took a macaron class earlier this year. In addition to promoting new classes they are offering, they always include a recipe to entice you. This week it worked and I made this lovely quick bread, Zucchini and Strawberry Jam Bread. Moist, delicately sweet and summery, it's a quick way to whip something up to bring to a winding-down summer cookout or any gathering of friends, family and food. And I think it's a flexible recipe, if you're not crazy about strawberry jam, why not use apricot jam? Also, I opted to not use the sliced strawberries.

Zucchini & Strawberry Jam Bread (courtesy of The Gourmandise School of Sweets & Savories)

This  recipe makes about 6 muffins or small loaves and one medium loaf, but can easily be doubled.

In a medium bowl, whisk together:

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsps flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

In a larger bowl, whisk together:

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup strawberry jam 

Set aside:

1 cup grated zucchini

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1) Whisk together your flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.

2) In another bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, sugar and jam.  Add the zucchini and mix until combined.

3) Fold in flour and mix until just combined.

4) Pour into muffin pans or molds and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes for smaller and 25 minutes for larger loaves.  Before baking, arrange strawberry slices over the batter.

Trip Down Mediterranean (Sorta) Lane......

Has it really been over two months since my last post? Yikes, I should be put in a corner -"bad blogger". The truth is my mind has been elsewhere and personally speaking, I've been in a major funk since October, but I'm beginning to see the light of day again and well.....here I am. I hope you'll take me back with open arms! Otherwise no holiday cookies for you!

Before I left for Oregon to spend Thanksgiving with family, I invited my dad and his wife, Clarissa, over for a Sunday supper. It's the first time I've had them both over for dinner and I was jazzed about my menu, which I faithfully planned all week long. Have you ever just been in the mood for lamb? I mean, there's something about it - delicate, fragrant, tender and if you're able to source amazing lamb, it's not gamey at all. Luckily, I've been spoiled rotten the last ten months living in Los Feliz, with McCall's Meat & Fish Co in my neighborhood. I chose to go with rack of lamb (Colorado rack of lamb to be exact) and I was a bit nervous. I've cooked many cuts of lamb before but there's something about the rack that is intimidating. Thanks to Nathan (co-owner at McCalls) for putting my worries at ease, he shared secret society tips on how to roast that rack to perfection and I'm not lying kids, it was perfection.

Seasoned with salt and pepper, I seared the lamb in a super hot pan with a swig of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Then I transferred the lamb to a roasting dish and put in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes (to obtain medium rare temp). Nathan recommended checking it at around 20 minutes (which depending on your oven at home, I agree is the best policy). Not pictured above, I made an apricot chutney to accompany the lamb. It's a Mark Bittman recipe and is easy-peasy to make - sugar, vinegar, chopped dried apricots, cloves, ginger, star anise and bam, you've got magic. Dad and Clarissa really enjoyed the chutney.

I served the lamb with cinnamon scented basmati rice (all I did to achieve this was stick two cinnamon sticks in with the rice wile it cooked)- it was so fragrant, warm and inviting you to taste every morsel. I've been a big fan of Luisa Weiss, The Wednesday Chef, and several weeks ago, she posted a warm zucchini salad with harissa dressing, kalamata olives and feta. Click here for the recipe. Instead of steaming the zucchini I opted to saute the, but I think this would be delicious if you roasted the zucchini too.

Needless to say, it was one of my finer meals that I've served and I was smiling for days. I hope during this holiday season you are finding something to smile about!

flowers for you (and roasted zucchini soup)

This morning I woke up early (even though it's a Saturday). The Barr Street Market is on Saturdays and I needed to pick up some fruits and veggies for the next week or so. So I bought these "mini" bouquets at the farmer's markets for a mere $2. What a bargain for some loveliness in my apartment, something I've decided to do as often as I am able to, I just adore flowers. They bring a smile to my face. And I thought they might bring one to yours. So enjoy the beauty. In addition to going to the farmer's market, I was given some rather large zucchini earlier in the week and set aside some time to make a roasted zucchini soup from scratch. A few weeks ago, I had lunch at the Dash-In Cafe and they served a roasted squash soup. It was delish and the more I thought about it the more I wanted to make my own. So thanks to a co-worker's neighbor I was supplied with some garden fresh zucchini. I kid you not each was at least a foot in length. I seeded the zucchini and roasted them on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. While the zucchini roasted away I diced up 5 or 6 garlic cloves, two white onions and a carrot,and caramelized them in olive oil and butter. The ultimate combination for caramelization. The fruitiness of the olive oil and the creaminess of the butter add a delicate and very aromatic flavor to the vegetables. Once the zucchini was done roasting, I added the chunks to the caramelized veggies and added plenty of chicken stock, just enough to cover the vegetables. I brought the soup to a decent simmer before pureeing the mixture in the food processor. And voila, roasted zucchini soup. It's so tasty, and very satisfying. A nice accompaniment to any salad or chunks of warm country bread. Plenty left for lunch or dinner tomorrow.

** Note I provided a picture of the soup before and after pureeing. Oh la la.