Use it or Lose it: Spicy Cabbage and Zucchini

I recently came across a little tiny magazine clipping among my semi-filed mountains of “recipes to try.” It was for a cabbage and zucchini dish with soy sauce, rice vinegar, hot chile sauce and sesame seeds. Upon reading it, I asked myself why one would put zucchini and cabbage together in such a dish. I didn’t see the advantage of combining those two vegetables.

Then, I found myself with two homeless zucchini and half a head of cabbage left in the refrigerator after the new box from the CSA had arrived, and I began to understand. Sometimes you’ve just got to use up what you have and make the best of it. (I also had half an onion on hand, but don’t we all.)

I often employ a simple stir-fry method of cooking to use up vegetables, but this dish is a little different. Instead of cooking the vegetables in a wok over high heat, stirring all the while, the cabbage is cooked in a lidded skillet in the flavorful liquid mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar and hot sauce. This might just make this dish even easier than a stir fry. While it may not have that super-hot wok flavor, it’s still extremely tasty.

I used a whole tablespoon of Sriracha, the hot Thai chile sauce, which made the dish really quite spicy. We like it that way around here, but tone it down if you do not. You could also use another type of hot sauce, although I couldn’t tell you how well something more vinegary, like Tabasco sauce might perform. This recipe makes a rather large amount, so if you’re giving yourself heartburn with the first bite, it might be a long meal.

This is good as a side dish, since it really is just vegetables and sauces with no added protein, but I end up serving a lot of lighter meals in the summer, and was happy to serve a heaping helping as a main dish over rice mixed with green peas. This is really rather quick and easy to make, and the cabbage can be sliced in the food processor to save you some time and sweat in the kitchen. The flavors and textures are a winning combination, and the leftovers are at least as good as the freshly-made dish. What else could you want but all of the above to make you happy about your food…oh, yeah, and you’ll use up some of those great seasonal vegetables before they stink up your refrigerator.

Spicy Sesame Cabbage and ZucchiniAdapted from a recipe in Cooking Light magazine

Note: a full tablespoon of Sriracha will make this dish very spicy.
¼ cup sesame seeds
1 tablespoon peanut oil (or canola or other neutral-tasting oil)
½ cup thinly sliced onion
2 large cloves garlic
1 pound zucchini (about 2 medium), finely chopped
1 ½ pounds cabbage (about ½ medium head), thinly sliced
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce (I use reduced-sodium)
1 teaspoon -1 tablespoon Sriracha or other Asian chile sauce
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves, optional

1. Place the sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Heat, shaking the pan or stirring often until just beginning to brown. This may take about 5 minutes, but watch the seeds carefully so they do not burn. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet that has a well-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook 3 minutes, stirring often.

3. Add the zucchini and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes or until the zucchini begins to get tender and slightly browned, stirring often.

4. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the rice vinegar, soy sauce and Sriracha. Cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes or until the cabbage is tender but not mushy, lifting the lid to stir occasionally.

5. Stir in the sesame oil and remove from the heat. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and mint leaves, if desired.

Makes about 5 main dish servings (with rice) or 6-8 side dish servings.

Other recipes like this one: Spaetzle with Cabbage, Bacon and Onions,Cabbage Slaw with Spicy Peanut Dressing, Sauteed Cabbage with Caraway and Cider Vinegar
One year ago: Zucchini Buttermilk Bread with Pecans

Mediterranean Salad: Too Hot for Ratatouille

This time of year, the plump and colorful and substantial vegetables start coming in to the good stores, farmers’ markets and CSA boxes, even up here in the great, cold north. There are onions and peppers and summer squash and eggplant. The cherry tomatoes are going crazy next to my back door and the herbs in my containers are beginning to look like weeds. Aahh…good times.

The only problem is that while I still may be in the great north, it’s not so cold. In fact, it’s downright hot, which is not my favorite sensation to say the least. I’d even say it’s too hot for things like warm pasta sauces and the Mediterranean-style stews that use these longer-growing sunny-day vegetables. And eggplant and zucchini are not on my list of vegetables that are ruined by cooking. Really, they’re quite the opposite.

Fortunately, I was guided by the infinite wisdom of the professionals, specifically by Mark Bittman in his How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I decided to suck it up for a while, endure the heat while cooking the vegetables, then serve them as a salad rather than a hot dish. The vegetables are sautéed until just tender and then, while they’re still warm, they’re doused with fresh lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil. The vegetables soak up this simple dressing and get perked up by its fresh flavor along with that of a good handful of just-picked herbs. I also added white beans to the salad, which makes it heartier and bumps up the protein content. The creaminess of the beans is also a great compliment to the somewhat spongy texture of the sautéed vegetables.

This salad is best served at room temperature, where the mellow flavors of the vegetables can still come through the aromas of the herbs and lemon, but it is also quite good cold. It would probably ride well alongside a more substantial main dish, such as grilled chicken, or pork, but I served it on its own as a light meal. All it needed was a chunk of crusty bread to sop up the drippy lemon-olive oil dressing. Of course, a nicely-chilled glass of wine wouldn’t hurt, either.

Mediterranean Vegetable Salad with White Beans
Adapted from a recipe in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small eggplant (about 8 ounces) cut into about 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt, divided
¼ teaspoon black pepper, divided
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, cut into about 1-inch chunks
1 hot yellow wax pepper (or other mildly spicy pepper), seeds removed and finely chopped
1 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces) cut into about 1-inch chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes (or chopped tomato)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Good Parmesan cheese (such as Parmigiano Reggiano) shaved for garnish

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant, ¼ teaspoon salt and a small pinch of the black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally about 8 minutes, or until the eggplant is soft but still holding its shape. Transfer the eggplant from the pan to a large bowl and set aside.

2. Return the pan to medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, hot wax pepper and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the zucchini, garlic, remaining ½ teaspoon salt and remaining black pepper. Cook about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

4. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, oregano and basil. Cook 2-3 minutes more, or until the tomatoes begin to shrivel and slump. Transfer the cooked vegetable mixture to the large bowl with the eggplant. Cool at least 10 minutes.

5. While the vegetables are still warm, add the lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Stir to combine. Cool to room temperature or chill.

Makes 4-6 main-dish salad servings, more servings as a side salad. This salad tastes best at room temperature, but is also good chilled.

Other recipes like this one: Lemon Herb Potato Salad

Eggplant Enlightenment: Spicy Dip with Herbs

Mary, Mary quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
“With silver bells and cockle shells
And one big hairy eggplant!”

-traditional (adapted by my dad)



I don’t know how old I was before I knew for certain that eggplants aren’t hairy. The fruit is quite the opposite, in fact, with skin so smooth it squeaks when you run your fingers along it. Perhaps Mom, who knows more about plants than Dad and I combined, enlightened me early on, so I could avoid any future botanical faux pas. I did know they weren’t hairy long before I ever had a chance to eat one, and by the time I did eat one, I may have wished they were hairy because that would have made them more interesting.



To me, the taste of eggplant always needs a significant amount of doctoring up. That’s why I was thrilled to find a recipe for a spicy eggplant dip in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. There’s a lot of added flavor, including fresh herbs I grow on my patio, sesame oil (one of my favorite flavors in the world) and plenty of hot pepper. I put a bit of my own spin on this recipe, such as adding mint and using crushed red pepper flakes (because I was too lazy to seed and dice a fresh chile pepper.)
We recently got a couple nice Japanese eggplants in our CSA box. They are longer and narrower than the dark purple, bulbous Mediterranean variety, but as far as I can tell, they taste about the same. When eggplants are small and don’t have big seeds in them, they don’t need any extra preparation, such as salting and rinsing, to extract any especially bitter flavors. At least I didn’t do anything of the sort when I used these long, skinny babies with the lovely, pale purple skin.

If you can get Thai basil for this dip, so much the better. It has a bit more of an anise flavor that works well with the sweetness of the brown sugar and plays well with the sesame oil. I’m not sure what kind of basil I used, although it might have been a variety called Cinnamon Basil. I planted it, but failed to label it. It did, however have a hint of sweet spice to it, and I think it stood in well for Thai basil. The more common varieties of Italian basil would work just fine here as well.

The eggplant for this dish needs to be grilled or roasted (I used the grill to cut down on the indoor heat) and peeled before it is stir-fried with all its flavorful buddies. This can be done ahead of time, however, and you can whip up the dip in a wok or skillet just before you want to serve it. It seems to be best warm or at room temperature so that the aromatic elements of the herbs and sesame and even the vinegar can waft up as you bring it to your lips on your favorite dip vehicle (tortilla chips or pita chips are great here). Perhaps this is the true key to eggplant-eating enlightenment.



Spicy Eggplant Dip with Basil and Mint
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

1 (1 pound) eggplant
1 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use reduced-sodium)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil (preferably Thai basil)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

1. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill (or preheat oven to 425 F). Slash the skin of the eggplant to keep it from splitting open while cooking. Place it on the grill rack and grill, covered, until the flesh of the eggplant is soft and the skin is well-browned and charred in places, turning occasionally. This should take about 20 minutes. Alternatively, place the eggplant on a baking sheet and bake at 425 F. Baking time may be longer.

2. Remove the eggplant from the grill or oven. Cool until easy to handle.

3. Peel off the eggplant skin and coarsely chop the roasted flesh.

4. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce and red pepper flakes. Stir or whisk until the sugar is dissolved.

5. Place the sesame oil in a wok or large frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir fry 30 seconds. Add the chopped eggplant and stir fry 2-3 minutes or until the eggplant is quite soft.

6. Add the sauce mixture (from step 4) and cook about 1 minute more. Stir in the basil and mint. Serve warm with tortilla or pita chips, or spread on crostini.

Makes about 2 cups dip.

Another recipe like this one: Roasted Red Pepper, Garlic and Onion Dip

Blueberry Pancakes with Ricotta

I had the remainder of a carton of ricotta cheese in the refrigerator after making Chard Tart with Feta and Olives. I also had a nostalgic yearning for freshly-picked wild blueberries after talking to my parents on the phone. Mom had been blueberry picking with Grandma in Upper Michigan and Dad was singing the praises of the blueberry pie she had made with the day’s catch. It called up images of the time I also went blueberry picking with my mom and grandparents and we bagged what had to have been some kind of legal limit. We took home about 25 quarts (really!) and my grandparents had almost as much. I don’t even remember what we did with them all.

Sadly, all I had access to after hearing of that great pie was a bag of frozen blueberries from the supermarket. I also had access to a recipe for blueberry ricotta pancakes that might just help me get my blueberry fix and use up that cheese in the refrigerator. I flipped and switched ingredients, took some liberties with the recipe, and ended up with a mighty fine breakfast, especially for a Monday morning.



I used vanilla soy milk in place of regular milk in this recipe, mostly just to use up what I had. It is considerably sweeter than milk, so if you use milk, instead, you might want to add some more sugar (say a couple teaspoons). Speaking of sugar, as long as I was going vanilla, I used the vanilla sugar I’ve been preparing on the counter. It simply consists of regular granulated sugar with spent vanilla beans (those from which I had already scraped out the seeds or used to infuse a liquid, then rinsed and dried). You just let it sit there in a canister or other sealed container and the vanilla pods give a subtle flavor and aroma to the sugar. It’s good in coffee, but, as I said, it’s subtle and may not have contributed all that much flavor to these pancakes.

Since I figured the ricotta cheese might make heavier pancakes than I’m accustomed to, I separated the eggs, beat the yolks with the ricotta and soy milk, and beat the egg whites to stiff peaks to lighten and puff up the batter. I don’t usually take the time to do this with pancakes, but in this case, I think it was worth it. The pancakes were light and fluffy and even kept their airy texture reasonably well after being chilled and then reheated the next day.

Since I used frozen berries, I partially thawed them before folding them into the batter. Thawing them completely can lead to a mushy product and a strangely-colored batter. I also usually don’t put blueberries directly into pancake batter, preferring to sprinkle them in as the pancakes cook. This batter was sturdy enough to hold them and puffy enough to suspend them, however, and it worked out just fine. The key is to distribute the berries evenly.

Enough about the pancake procedure. How did they taste? In a word, delicious! They’re pleasantly sweet with just enough cheesy flavor to give off a teasing hint (just a hint) of blueberry cheesecake. They would probably be even better with fresh wild blueberries, but I made do quite happily. (Harry liked them, too). But I’ll have to mark my calendar to pay a visit to my parents at this time next year to get some of that blueberry pie!


Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes
Based on a recipe in Cooking Pleasures magazine

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup ricotta cheese
¾ cup soy milk
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ cups blueberries, partially thawed if frozen

1. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until well combined. Set aside

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, ricotta, soy milk, and lemon zest. Set aside.

3. With an electric mixer (or a whisk if you’re tough) beat the egg whites until they just reach the stiff-peak stage. Set aside.

4. Preheat a griddle or pan (electric or stove-top). I heat an electric frying pan to 350 F. Pour the egg yolk mixture (from step 2) into the flour mixture (from step 1). Stir gently until almost completely combined. Leave a few lumps or spots of dry flour.

5. Add the blueberries and beaten egg whites (from step 3). Gently stir until the egg whites are incorporated and the blueberries are well-distributed. Try not to deflate the egg whites, but do not leave blobs of heavier batter on the bottom of the bowl.

6. Oil, butter or spray with cooking spray your preheated griddle or pan. Pour or spoon batter about ¼ to 1/3 cup for each pancake onto the pan. Cook until the bottom is browned. Turn the pancakes with a spatula and cook on the other side until it is also browned. These pancakes seemed to get dark fairly quickly, so if they are cooking too fast on the outside before the center is done, reduce the heat and cook them more slowly. Remove from the pan and keep hot in the oven until ready to serve.

Makes about 15 pancakes. Serve with maple syrup and butter. Leftovers can be wrapped and kept in the refrigerator to be reheated in the microwave. (Fresh pancakes are best, but these reheat rather well.)

Other recipes like this one: Apple Cinnamon Pancakes, Double Banana Walnut Pancakes

One year ago: Cherry Plum Crisp