Sweet Potato Mishmash with Balsamic Glaze
I’m not quite sure where I initially found this recipe, I think it came from a magazine. Very vague, I realize. I had it written on a piece of lined paper floating around my “Recipes To Try” pile, and I wish I had tried this sooner. I don’t typically love sweet potatoes, but I love balsamic vinegar and any dish with a healthy dose of balsamic is good enough for me. The vinegar cuts the sweetness of the potatoes a bit, which I liked. The red onion tones down the balsamic a bit, which is also nice. The original recipe called for smoked tofu, but I’m not really a tofu-kind of girl, so I used chicken instead. I also added quite a bit more spice than the original recipe, including a bit of Emeril’s Essence–which is one of my favorite seasonings and will make just about anything taste better.
Zucchini Curry
One of my resolutions this year was to learn how to make Thai and Indian food–lofty, yes. I know. I am slowly building up the stock of required spices, and I am also learning how to shop for Thai and Indian ingredients (lemongrass stalk, I’m looking at you.) I have been really loving cooking zucchini lately, and when I saw this recipe for Zucchini Curry I was delighted to see I had all the spices required! If you need to make a trip to the store, please do–this is one curry you won’t want to miss.
I am publishing the recipe as I made it, which is adapted from the original recipe based on many of the reviewer’s comments–although I think I will be experimenting a bit with vegetables and spices as I go along, I think this will be my new, weeknight cookery project. If you don’t have, or can’t find a patty pan squash, you could use a yellow squash, potato, or another zucchini and you’d be good to go.
Warm Red Potato Salad with Bacon & Parmesan
Summer is prime time for picnics and BBQ’s that are full of iffy potato salad. I don’t know about you, but I am not so much a fan of room temperature mayonnaise and all that egg-and-mayo sauce usually makes me a bit queasy.
Never fear! I have a new potato salad concoction for you that is absolutely delicious! This recipe is adapted from a recipe by Paula Deen and I think it is absolutely delicious. Also–it makes a fantastic breakfast reheated in a skillet, these will be the best hash browns you’ve ever tasted.
Zucchini Pancakes
I have recently started to love zucchini. It is one of those wonder-foods that can be added to just about any dish without altering the taste too much. I haven’t gone so far as to make zucchini chocolate cake or zucchini-apple pie, although I have tasted both and was pleasantly surprised.
I found a recipe for Zucchini pancakes in a Food Co-Op newsletter, and thought I’d give them a try. I have added quite a bit of flavor to these, and a bit of green Tabasco sauce would probably make them even more delectable. They take a bit longer than I expected to cook (probably 6 or 7 minutes total) but they are absolutely delicious.
Mexican Rhubarb Chocolate Chunk Brownies
People, my life is now complete–these are, without any question, the best brownies I have ever tasted. And I’ve had a lot of brownies in my day. These are a bit sweet, but not too sweet. They are a bit tangy, but not too sour. They are dark and spiced with cinnamon and rum. They are deliciously cake-like and gooey with surprise bits of not-quite-melted chocolate in every-other bite. I am actually salivating just thinking about them. A few days ago I was inexplicably craving rhubarb and was looking for something rhubarby and delicious. I found a bunch of recipes for rhubarb-something cobbler, rhubarb-something pie, rhubarb-something crumble–with the something’s being strawberry or peach or cherry. They looked delicious.
However, as soon as I found this recipe from Guy Fieri, I knew I had to try it. Chocolate always wins out over fruit in my book. I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store for New Mexican Chile Powder, which is not hot like Cayenne Pepper, it’s a more mild ground-up red pepper. I found this in the produce section of my local supermarket in a plastic bag, not a glass bottle. I also found it at Wal*Mart on the spice aisle, also in a plastic bag.
These brownies will change your life. I have eaten them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a midnight snack for a couple of days now and I will be whipping up another batch this afternoon. Life changing, people. Go forth and bake!
heidikins cooks 