Zucchini Coconut Bread

Source: Two Peas and their Pod

Zucchini Coconut Bread

Yield: 1 loaf of bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50-60 minutes

Total Time: 75 minutes

Zucchini Coconut bread made with coconut oil and coconut! You won't miss the butter, I promise!

ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose Gold Medal flour
3/4 cup whole wheat Gold Medal flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (squeezed and drained in a paper towel)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I use Chobani 0%), at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a separate large bowl, combine shredded zucchini, sugars, coconut oil, yogurt, egg, and vanilla extract.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Stir in the shredded coconut.

5. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let zucchini bread cool in pan for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the bread from the pan and cool completely before slicing.

Tomato Basil Soup

This recipe is adapted from La Madeleine's famous recipe and my friend Kyla's yummy recipe. So good! I like to serve it with Elana's Pantry's Scallion and Goat Cheese muffins.

Source: La Madeleine's Restaurant

Image Source: Johnny Autry

Ingredients

• 4 cups (8 to 10) tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped, or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced/grated
• 12 to 14 washed fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 pound sweet, unsalted butter
• salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 
  

Instructions

Put tomatoes and garlic in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held immersion blenders, right in the cooking pan).

Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin

A really yummy way to use up our squash this week. Even though the recipe calls for two of each squash, (which is what we had), our squash were so big that I ended up doubling the rest of the recipe to go with our 4 jumbo summer squash (and baked it in a 9 x 13).

Source: Everyday Food

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium zucchini (about 7 ounces each), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
• 2 medium yellow squash (about 7 ounces each), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
• 2 shallots, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup panko
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; add zucchini, yellow squash, shallots, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini and squash are crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. Add cream, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in 1/2 cup panko and cup Parmesan.
3. Spoon mixture into a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining panko and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Bake until top is golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Fresh Corn and Avocado Salsa

This recipe is seriously one reason I look forward to summer!

Source: Adapted from the  Pioneer Woman

Fresh Corn & Avocado Salsa

8 ears of sweet corn
1/2 red onion, diced
4 very firm avocados, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
Juice of 2 limes
Plenty of chopped cilantro
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon vinegar
2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Slice kernels off the corn, and combine it with all remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Cover and refrigerate before serving.

Enjoy!

Caprese Salad

Source: The Pioneer Woman

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 5 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 20 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups Balsamic Vinegar
• 3 whole Ripe Tomatoes, Sliced Thick
• 12 ounces, weight Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Thick
• Fresh Basil Leaves
• Olive Oil, For Drizzling
• Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes, or until balsamic has reduced to a thicker glaze. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl or cruet. Allow to cool.

When you're ready to serve, arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter. Arrange basil leaves between the slices. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the salad, getting a little bit on each slice. Do the same with the balsamic reduction, making designs if you want. Store extra balsamic reduction in fridge for a later use.

End with a sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper. Serve as a lunch, with crusty bread. Or serve alongside a beef main course for dinner.

Vietnamese Cauli-Fried Rice W/Nước Chấm

This was definitely one of the most creative and delicious ways I've eaten cauliflower!

There is a lot of prepping of vegetables, so it would be good to plan ahead. 

Once you have everything prepped, everything else goes pretty quickly.

So worth it! Also, if this is your main dish and you are feeding a family, you'll want to double it.

(p.s. I didn't have asparagus on hand, but we didn't miss it, 

this would be a great recipe to use up whatever veggies you have!)

Source: The Urban Poser

Directions for Nước Chấm Sauce:

1/4 cup water 

2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (to taste)

2 tablespoons fish sauce (Get a Paleo friendly brand HERE)

1 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon honey or agave (For 'strict Paleo', skip the honey)

1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Chili flakes optional

In a mason jar, combine all the Nước chấm Sauce ingredients. Shake or mix well. Sprinkle as desired onto fried rice, salads or even use a dipping sauce.

For The Fried Rice:
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil or preferred cooking oil

1 cup carrots, diced 

1 cup onion, diced 

3-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup asparagus, diced  

1 cup sausage, chopped (traditionally Chinese sausage is used, I used Kielbasa)

1 cup shrimp (about 9 large 16 count shrimp, raw or cooked) chopped 

3 cups of grated cauliflower (1-2 heads depending on the size)

2 large eggs, cracked & lightly beaten

1/4 cup spring onions, chopped

1/4 cilantro

Coarse sea salt and cracked pepper to taste (less salt is needed if using the sauce below)

Directions:

Grate the Cauliflower using a food processor with the grater attachment or use a hand grater.

Prep the rest of the ingredients as stated in the ingredient list above. I find it helpful to put each ingredient into a separate prep bowl.

Preheat your wok over medium-high heat. Note: Flat bottomed woks work best on a stove top. You could also use a regular frying pan. In this case, it may be best to cook the ingredients in two batches to ensure that the ingredients ' fry' instead of steam.

Add the oil and the onions to the hot wok. Fry the onions till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and the carrots, cooking till the carrots begin to soften and the onions begin to caramelize. Then add the asparagus, sausage and shrimp. Continue to fry for a few minutes, stirring & tossing the ingredients often. You want the vegetables and protein to be mostly cooked through before adding the cauliflower.

Add the cauliflower. Stir and toss to combine the ingredients and then spread the ingredients out in the wok into a thin layer. Allow them to fry like this for a minute or two. This will help the mixture to 'fry' and brown instead of steam. (Again, sometimes it helps to cook in two batches if your pan is not very large) Toss and spread out again. Do this a few times until some of the cauliflower starts to brown.

Make a well in the center of the 'rice' mixture. Pour the lightly beaten eggs in to the 'well'. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir the eggs until they begin to thicken. Once thickened and just beginning to scramble, mix and toss them into the rice. Mix well. The rice will become fluffier and you should only see little bits of egg throughout the mixture. Continue to cook the mixture until it looks good to you. 

Garnish by tossing in the spring onions, cilantro and  just a splash of Nước Chấm per serving (or just fish sauce)

If not using the Nước Chấm or fish sauce, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Best served hot. 

Kale with Apples and Onions

This recipe is even better topped with some crumbled bacon. :o)

Source: Paleo Parents

Image Source: CSA Virgin

Ingredients

2 Tbsp lard (or bacon grease, or preferred cooking oil)
1 onion, diced
1 apple, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bunches kale, sliced (large stalk and thick veins removed)
1/4 C apple juice
1/4 C beef stock (we had chicken stock on hand)

Crumbled bacon, if desired

Instructions

1. Melt lard over medium-high heat in a large frying pan with a lid
2. Add the onion, apple, and garlic and saute until soft, ♥ stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes
3. Add kale and toss quickly until all leaves are coated
4. Pour in juice and stock, reduce heat to medium-low and cover
5. Simmer covered for 10 minutes until kale has softened
6. Add crumbled bacon before serving, if desired.

Serves 4-6, or 2 if they’re our boys.