chocolate chunk zucchini muffins

my mom makes the. best. zucchini cake. it is light and moist and amazingly delicious and she serves it with fresh whipped cream. it really is fantastic. i haven't tried making a vegan version of her recipe (though after writing that it has shot to the top of my to do list) but when i saw this recipe in gourmet i imagined her cake in cupcake form with chocolate. well....that's not quite what i got. according to gourmet these are cupcakes but i'm calling them muffins because they are really much denser than the ideal cupcake should be. plus they don't have any frosting on them so they don't have that cupcake-y feel when you're eating them.

however! i'm not saying these are bad. no no no...put yourself in a muffin state of mind and they will hit the spot. they are full of chocolatey goodness and with the flecks of green zucchini you can trick yourself into believing that they are healthy and a perfectly acceptable breakfast muffin. i made slight alterations to the recipe 1. to make it vegan and 2. based on what i had on hand.

chocolate chunk zucchini muffins
(from gourmet, september 2009)
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup plain non-dairy yogurt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup zucchini, coarsely grated
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

whisk together sugar, oil, yogurt, and vanilla in a large bowl until thick and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. mix in flour mixture until just incorporated. stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.

divide among lined muffin cups and bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed, 30 to 35 minutes. cool in pan 5 minutes, then turn out to cool completely.

-d

ratatouille-ish

This dish was inspired by ratatouille, and I suppose, in a round about way, by Julia Child. She has been on the air lately, with the Julie/Julia movie release and all the related press. I have always sort of idolized her, watching reruns of the French Chef when I was a child. She was definitely the first "celebrity chef" I was aware of, and I found My Life in France a truly moving memoir. I cried the day that she died, and I think I cried when I finished reading the book. There is something truly inspiring about someone who has that "Aha!" moment, and runs with it.

So. I was at my Mom's house, with Julia Child on the brain. We had a lot of beautiful fresh vegetables from my grandfather, and local goat cheese from the grower's market, and I wanted to make a not-too-heavy side dish. So I sliced up a zucchini, and a yellow squash, some baby eggplants, and tomatoes. I arranged them on a platter, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, the crumbled goat cheese and a generous handful of chopped basil and baked the whole thing for about 20 minutes in a 325 degree oven. And it was delish! You could do this with a variety of veggies, but I liked this particular combo. Enjoy :)

- e

eggplant zucchini caprese(ish) stacks

kris created a fantastic dinner for us using almost entirely farmer's market goodies and our home grown basil (which, i must mention, is HUGE. i'm so proud of it).

we'd been eating a lot of heavy, starch-tastic dinners lately so it was really nice to have these light and fresh vegetable towers in our tummies instead. slightly roasted slices of eggplant and zucchini with fat slices of heirloom tomato and basil all topped off with another drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette (kris's plating was excellent). and because we just can't have a meal without carbs we had mini garlic english muffins too. this makes a lot of little stacks, eat a bunch of them as an entree or have them as a side.

eggplant and zucchini stacks

ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, sliced

2 medium zucchini, sliced

1-2 ripe heirloom tomatos, sliced (and maybe halved, depending on the size of your eggplant)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 fresh basil leaves

preheat oven to 425°F

slice the eggplant and zucchini into 1/2 inch pieces and place in a single layer on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

in a small bowl combine the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. brush on one side of the eggplant and zucchini.

bake the eggplant and zucchini slices for about 10 minutes. turn them over, brush with more of the olive-oil mixture, then bake for another 10 minutes.

to serve, make stacks of eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices in any order you want. top with a basil leaf, and finish with a final drizzle of the olive oil mixture.

-d

quinoa with grilled zucchini and garbanzo beans

Here is another take on quinoa salad. I really liked this, but it made A LOT of quinoa. So if you are making it for two, I would make half the recipe. You will have plenty for dinner and leftovers. Also, do not forget to add the lemon juice. It brings a nice bright contrast to the headiness of the spices.

Quinoa with Grilled Zucchini and Garbanzo Beans
from Bon Appetit, August 2008

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric, divided
1 teaspoon smoked paprika,* divided
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds medium zucchini (about 5), trimmed, quartered lengthwise
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Combine garbanzo beans and lemon juice in large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons oil; press in garlic and stir to combine. Let marinate at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups water, quinoa, and coarse salt; bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until all water is absorbed, about 16 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare barbecue (medium high heat). Place zucchini on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Toss to coat evenly.

Place zucchini on grill; sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grill until tender and browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to work surface. Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Add zucchini, green onions, and parsley, then garbanzo bean mixture to quinoa. Toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper.

Can be made two hours ahead; let stand at room temperature.

*Sometimes labeled Pimentón Dulce or Pimentón de La Vera Dulce.

- e

apple zucchini muffins

apparently erin and i had a psychic muffin moment. much like she had a freezer full of bananas to use, i had apples in the fridge that needed to be baked into...something. i too considered a bread of some sort but chose muffins because they are easy to make and easy to bring to work for a snack. this recipe is based on one from our moosewood restaurant new classics cookbook, i just made a few tweaks here and there to make it vegan. it uses no butter or oil so they are pretty healthy as far as muffins go.

apple zucchini muffins
(adapted from moosewood restaurant new classics)
makes 12 muffins
ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose if that's what you have)
1/2 cup oat bran
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 6 tablespoons water
3/4 cup vanilla soy yogurt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup grated zucchini (1 medium zucchini)
1 cup peeled apple, chopped (about 1 apple*)

preheat oven to 350 and prepare a muffin tin with liners.

in a large bowl, sift togethers flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

in a separate bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water. add soygurt and brown sugar and mix to combine. fold in zucchini and apples. stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just blended.

spoon batter into muffin tin. bake for 15 minutes, rotate the muffin tin, and continue to bake 10 - 15 longer until a paring knife inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

cool on a wire rack, enjoy!

*unfortunately for me this only used one of my three apples. look out for more apple-y baked goods to come...

-d