New Challenge

Hello, friends.

My imminent wedding has derailed the 1-2 Challenge in a big way. The new challenge is to make it through the next two weeks with my sanity intact.

See you in a few weeks!

1-2 Challenge: Watermelon (sort of)

I have a confession.

I bought this watermelon more than two weeks ago at the Andersonville Farmer's Market with every intention of turning it into last week's 1-2 Challenge.

It sat on my kitchen table as I diligently researched recipes. Nights passed until finally Ryan asked if we could just eat it already. I flinched with failure, but agreed.

He sliced it down the middle, revealing juicy red flesh that squirted and dripped all over as we devoured it. Eating watermelon was such a refreshing way to cap off a humid evening.

The next time I went to the grocery store, I bought two more watermelons, intending to use them in the challenge, which I had shamefully failed to meet after more than two weeks passed without a single blog post. That's why it's called a challenge, right?

But as I thought about it, I realized that I had found a way to eat watermelon -- in its simplest form. Too often, I struggle with what to do with fruits and vegetables when they often taste best just as they are. Especially now as farmer's markets overflow with bounteous produce.

A few nights ago, I finally used watermelon in a gazpacho recipe that I posted about last summer. The watermelon adds a creamy texture to the blend of tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, and red onion. You can see the recipe here.

As I chopped vegetables, Ryan sliced the melon. He reserved a quarter of it for the food processor and ate the rest.

In my mind, that is a perfectly legitimate "recipe". We should enjoy the natural flavors and textures of the harvest -- at least while we can.

1-2 Challenge: Corn

When I saw the giant barrel full of corn at the Northcenter Farmer's Market on Saturday, I knew this was my ingredient for this week's 1-2 Challenge - my weekly effort to make one item two ways.

I typically eat corn on the cob with just a swipe of butter. So sweet and easy. Just shuck, boil, eat, and floss.

I scooped up six ears, wondering what else I could make while staying true to my mantra: keep it simple, especially in the summer when fresh picked produce tastes so good.

At home more than dozen tomatoes dangled off the Topsy Turvy, ready for picking. Whatever recipe I would make had to include those. That's why this simple fresh corn salad recipe was simple and perfect.

I had all the ingredients on hand. Corn, boiled and cut off the cob, mixed with halved tomatoes, fresh basil, chopped red onion, and a blend of red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and evoo.

For the second recipe, I wanted to put a twist on the traditional corn on the cob with butter. Lucky for me, another Chicagoan over at The Kitchen Sink Recipes blog had the same idea. I followed her directions for smoked paprika butter, a simple recipe that calls for paprika, minced garlic, and salt mixed into a stick of butter.

The scent of smoky garlicky butter filled my kitchen. But before I tried this new concoction, I took a moment to admire the colors. I love the rainbow of summer fruits and vegetables almost as much as I love the flavors.

The corn looked like gold.

Then the butter, a pale coral with flecks of red.

All in all, an easy way to spice up an old favorite, even though I still had to floss afterwards!

Fresh Corn Salad (adapted from Cora's recipe at The Tasty Kitchen)

2 ears of corn

12 grape tomatoes, halved

1/3 of a red onion, chopped

7 leaves of fresh basil

1 T red wine vinegar

1 T strawberry vinegar (all we had)

5 T evoo

salt and pepper to taste

Boil corn for 5-7 minutes, then soak in cold water. Cut corn off the cob and mix tomatoes, onion, basil. Mix vinegars and evoo separately, then add to mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

+ When I make this again, and I will make this again, I will cut the vinegars and olive oil in half. The salad only needed a light coating. +

Smoked Paprika Butter (adapted from The Kitchen Sink Recipes)

1/2 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 t papricka

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt, to taste

Just mix! Then, I scooped the mixture back into the wax paper from the butter, rolled it up, and put back in the refrigerator.

1-2 Challenge: Golden Zucchini

My friend Rachel, a Seattlite with the most gorgeous backyard garden, once joked that you can't drive around with your windows open during the summer or someone will throw a zucchini through it.

There's no doubt that zucchini gets a bad rap, both for its prolific nature and lack of flavor. But I have a soft spot for the squash.

When I was breaking out of the carrots-and-apples-only era of my childhood, zucchini was among the first veggies that I embraced--typically sauteed in olive oil and garlic with red peppers and a splash of balsamic vinegar over pasta. The blandness attracted me, and I have since come to appreciate zucchini's versatility whether on the grill, in a saute pan, or in the oven.

As an homage to this longtime staple of my diet and because I thought these yellow beauties popped at the farmer's market on Saturday, I selected golden zucchini for my first test in the 1-2 Challenge (which, you may recall, is a personal challenge that I created for myself to pick one item from a farmer's market each week and prepare it two ways).

The other reason is that I have been craving zucchini bread since Ryan bought a loaf of fresh banana bread during a recent long weekend trip. Since we had a slight break in the weather over the weekend, I ventured to bake in the oven, which has gone untouched during this hot and sticky summer.

Zucchini bread calls for a counter full of ingredients and makes a bit of a mess (although it was totally worth it - moist with a little crunch from the walnuts). So for my second recipe, I was looking for something more low-maintenance. I found this easy side dish from Good Housekeeping. Zucchini ribbons with mint works well as a side to pasta, chicken, or fish.

In all my years of making zucchini, I have never peeled lengthwise with a vegetable peeler. I have always either grated or sliced into thin discs or half moons. But I found this method showcases the color, and the mint brought out a nice, subtle flavor.

I feel like I rediscovered zucchini this week, but in the interest of bringing more vegetables back into my diet, I am keeping my windows closed.

Zucchini Bread (adapted from allrecipes.com)

3 eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup applesauce

+the original recipe called for 1 cup of oil, but I subbed most for applesauce+

2 cups white sugar

2 grated zucchinis

2 t vanilla extract

3 cups flour

3 t ground cinnamon

1 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 cup chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 8X4 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, beat eggs, mix in oil and sugar, stir in zucchini and vanilla extract. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nuts, and stir into egg mixture. Divide batter into loaf pans and bake 60-70 minutes or until done

+my first loaf took 60 minutes; the second loaf, which had about 1/4 less batter, took only 53 minutes and it was perfect+

Zucchini Ribbons with Mint (adapted from Good Housekeeping)

2 medium zucchini

2 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 t salt

2 T chopped fresh mint

Trim ends of zucchini and peel lengthwise into ribbons. In a skillet, heat olive oil and add garlic. Cook until golden and then discard from the pan. Add zucchini and salt and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mint.

+If I make this recipe again, I will either mince the garlic and cook with the zucchini or use garlic-infused olive oil. The flavor of the garlic didn't come through.+