Blueberry Zucchini Flower Loaf Bread...

It's summer and it's blueberry season! Though blueberries are a rare find here, I did get some at the farmer's market this week and couldn't resist the combination of blueberries and zucchini flowers. So, here's my take on blueberry muffins, making them into mini-loaves instead!

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups skim milk

4 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

2/3 cup sugar

6 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

3 cups blueberries

1 cup zucchini flowers, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 (if baking with stone, as I did, don't preheat). In large bowl, beat eggs, then stir in milk and oil. Add remaining ingredients and stir until flour is moist. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Fill greased mini-loaf pans to about 3/4 full. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 4 mini-loaves. Enjoy!!
(PS - For those who are wondering, the zucchini flowers do not really add any taste, they are more for show.)

Jess' Roasted Vegies (I know, such a creative name!!)

Start by splitting in half Japanese eggplants (very small petite eggplants) and some medium sized plump tomatos, making sure that they sit evenly on the baking tray.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Add your favorite seasonings...Dave and I love a seasoning combo called Pizza Magic.
Add a thin slice of asiago cheese to each piece of vegie.Roast at 400 until cheese starts to bubble or vegies start to slightly brown...yum!!

Summertime Lasagna

Sorry, no pictures (it's all gone!) but this was a fabulous dish! I had some squash and zucchini I needed to use, so I thought of trying a vegetable lasagna. Since it was my own creation, I didn't know if it would turn out (thus I wasn't planning on posting, so no pictures), but it came out so good! Braden loved it, Caleb devoured it. It was a delicious lasagna, and much lighter than the traditional.

Summertime Lasagna

1 package lasagna noodles (I used the ones you don't have to pre-cook)
1 jar tomato sauce
2 medium size yellow squash
1 large zucchini
mozzarella cheese
(pesto)

Lay noodles in bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spread 1/3 of the sauce on the noodles. I happened to have some fresh pesto I had just made, so I spread some of that on too, maybe 2 tbsp. Cover with 1/2 of the zucchini and squash. Sprinkle generously with cheese. Repeat one more time. Top with the remaining noodles, then sauce, and sprinkle the top with mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 50 minutes. Pull out of the oven, take off the foil, and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.

Summertime Galette...

This recipe turned out to be so much easier than I first thought it would be. Prep time was only around 15 minutes. I can't wait to taste this tonight at Caregroup with a scoop of vanilla gelato to top it off.

Apricot-Blackberry Galette

1/2 recipe Cornmeal Pate Brisee

12 fresh apricots, pitted and cut into sixths

2 cups fresh blackberries ( I used 1 cup blackberries, 1 cup raspberries)

1/2 cup sugar

Juice of 1/2 lemon, about 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch of salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Sugar for sprinkling

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 14-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Transfer dough to a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, gently toss together apricots, blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt. Arrage fruit mixture on top of dough, leaving a 2-inch border all the way around. Fold border over the fruit mixture, overlapping where necessary and pressing gently to adhere the folds. Bruch edges of dough with egg, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbing, about 1 hour. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool the galette. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cornmeal Pate Brisee

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 sticks (1 cup ) unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Place the flour, cornmeal, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, aobut 10 seconds. With the machine running, pour the ice water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream, until the dough just hold together (do not process for more than 30 seconds). Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface. Divide in half, and place each half on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten each to form a disk. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 1 day before using. (Dough can be frozen, wrapped well in plastic, for up to 3 weeks before using.)

Piadinas...