Summer's Bounty

Our veggie box has been brimming with produce lately, challenging me to actually cook some of it. In the summer I am drawn outdoors and hardly want to spend time in the kitchen, so what I do make has to be quick and simple. Here are two recipes that use some of the vegetables being harvested right now.

The first is Farmer's Bounty Soup. Pretty much all of the ingredients showed up in the box at our door and were in the soup on the table half an hour later.



Farmer's Bounty Soup

2 tblsp olive oil
1-2 onions, diced
1 pinch saffron
8 small red potatoes, diced
1 bunch green, yellow and purple beans, trimmed and cut
4 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1 yellow pattypan squash, diced
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 chopped tomato
8 peas, shelled
1 asceptic box of vegetable broth (1 L)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in cast iron soup pot. Saute onions until soft. Add pinch of saffron and stir until fragrant. Add potatoes, beans, carrots, celery and yellow pepper, sauteing for about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, tomatoes and peas along with vegetable broth and salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Every summer I seem to end up with a whole lot of zucchini. As the French say, when life gives you plus gros courgettes, make muffins.



Tracy's Zuke Muffins

3 cups shredded zucchini
3 tblsp egg replacer
4 tblsp water
1 ripe banana
1/4 cup applesauce
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups organic sugar
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grate zucchini. In a small cup or bowl, combine egg replacer and water and let sit for a few minutes. In a mixing bowl (I used my Kitchenaid mixer) mash banana, then add applesauce, oil, vanilla and sugar and combine. Add in zucchini and egg replacer and stir. Stop mixer and add flour, soda, powder, salt and spices. Combine the dry ingredients gently on top with a fork. Start mixer (or mixing) to stir batter. Fold in raisins. Scoop batter into silicone muffin pan or muffin pan coated with vegetable oil. Bake for 25-27 minutes. Makes 18 muffins.