Italian Vegetable Saute

Image by Merelymel13 via Flickr

This is a great recipe for using up those vegetables from the garden, and it takes about 20 minutes. My mom used to call this "Jumbraut" (or something like that). You can add other vegetables as you wish (mushrooms would be awesome). Add a loaf of crusty French or Italian bread and you've got a delicious meal.

Ingredients:

1 onion, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4" slices
1 green or red bell pepper, sliced into 1/4" strips
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced into 1/4" pieces
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely cut up (don't squeeze out the liquid)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
6 or 8 basil leaves, thinly sliced
olive oil

Preparation:

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Coat the bottom with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the peppers and onions; saute for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add the garlic and the zucchini and cook for a few more minutes until the zucchini have browned and are getting tender. Add the tomatoes and cook for another few minutes until they have broken down and become a bit saucy. Season with salt & pepper, top with fresh basil and a sprinkle of olive oil.

This dish is best served warm (not piping hot), scooped onto a piece of Italian or French Bread. Save some bread for wiping up all that delicious left over sauce -- that's the best part!

More Cheap Eats from the Garden ....

Image by sweet mustache via Flickr

Michael wanted me to post the recipes for the meal I created this evening, since he enjoyed it so much. It was simple and easy, and cost very little -- my estimate was around $7.50 for the entire meal. Since seeing the movie "Food Inc." last week I have tried to make a conscious effort to eat less processed meats and more fish (at least until I discover that the commercial fish industry is just as bad as the meat industry!!).

Here's what was on the menu:

• Pan-seared Tilapia with Cajun spices;
• Garlic & Parsley Red Potatoes; and
• Tomato Salad with Red Onion and Basil.

Tilapia
I found Tilapia (previously frozen) on sale at Walmart for $4.68/lb. The package I bought cost $5.04. I rubbed in some Cajun seasoning and Old Bay seasoning and let it sit for about 15 minutes at room temperature. I then added a bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or as Racheal Ray says, "EVOO") to a cast iron skillet and sauteed the fish for about 3-4 minutes per side. I put it on a serving platter and squeezed some fresh lemon on top. Total Cost: about $5.50.

Potatoes
I still had some small red potatoes left over from our potato harvest about a month ago. I boiled about a pound in some water to which I added about a teaspoon of salt and 2 cloves of smashed garlic. I cooked them until just tender (about 15 minutes) then drained them, added about a tablespoon of margarine and topped them with some chopped fresh parsley from the garden. Total Cost: since most of the ingredients came from the garden (except the margarine), I estimate about $1.00.

Tomato Salad
I sliced up three tomatoes that we picked this afternoon. I then sliced a red onion, also from the garden (picked about 3 weeks ago and cured). To the tomatoes and onion, I added about a tablespoon of EVOO, a splash of red wine vinegar and salt and pepper, and gently mixed it all together. I garnished the salad with about 1/4 cup of fresh chopped basil leaves. Total Cost: since most of the ingredients cam from the garden, I estimate about $1.00.

There it is, a great-tasting, healthy meal for about $7.50 -- maybe $8.00 -- for two people -- That's $3.75-$4.00 per person. It's amazing how much we are saving by having our own garden!

Fried Squash Blossoms

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Well I finally was able to pick enough squash flowers so that I could make one of my favorite dishes, Squash Blossoms (or as my mother used to call them, Coogoots Flowers - Coogoots is the Italians' word for zucchini). I was able to get some beautiful open blooms from the yellow squash, zucchini and pumpkin plants; I had about a dozen blossoms in all, which made a perfect lunch for me and Michael.

Only pick the male blossoms (the ones without the fruit attached). Cut a bit of the stem as well so you have something to hold. Once you pick them they need to be used pretty quickly -- you will want to rinse them well to make sure there are no bugs, and remove the stamen from the centers. The flowers are quite fragile so be careful handling them. Lightly dry them, then dust with some flour. They then go into a batter made with the following ingredients:

4 eggs
1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. finely grated parmesan or romano cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Beat the eggs well with a whisk; whisk in the flour and the cheese, the salt and pepper and mix well so that there are very few lumps. Drop the squash flowers into the batter and coat well. Heat about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, and drop the squash flowers in; fry until golden brown and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and ENJOY!

This makes a great lunch, along with a green salad (of course with fresh ingredients from your garden!)

If you want to get really adventurous, try stuffing the blossoms with some cheese, or try some of the recipes in the following link. Mangia, y'all!

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• Five Ways to Eat Squash Blossoms (thekitchn.com)