Happy New Year!

Baked Zucchini Fries With A Yogurt-Buttermilk Ranch Dip

These baked zucchini fries are an easy and healthy alternative to French fries. I made this a few nights ago when I was looking for a simple side that would go well with the grilled cheese sandwiches I was making for dinner. I also made a quick dip for the fries while they were baking in the oven.
The recipes for both the fries and the dip can be found on Faith’s blog.

For the Zucchini Fries:

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, cut into long, thick pieces
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk
¼ cup unseasoned, dry bread crumbs
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
Red chilli powder
Garlic powder
Dried herbs (I used a combination of basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease well.

In a wide, shallow bowl, beat the eggs with a little bit of milk. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, chilli powder, and dried herbs.

Dip the zucchini pieces in the egg-milk mixture first and then roll in the bread crumb- cheese mixture to get an even coating all over.

Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 20- 25 minutes.

My fries were a little soft on the inside and had a crunchy exterior but they were still very tasty. I’ve also tried Ellie Krieger’s recipe for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps using the dry ingredients in this recipe. We liked it so much that I’ve made it twice in the last few days.




For the Yogurt-Buttermilk Ranch Dip:

Ingredients:
Yogurt
Buttermilk
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Sugar
Dried parsley
Dried dill

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well. Serve with fries.

Green Pea Soup

We received our first snow of the season over the weekend and I couldn't have been happier. I love winter and everything about it: the cold and crisp days, the snow, which makes everything seem so beautiful, the pretty landscapes, the holidays, the Christmas music played on the radio, and of course, the drink of the season, hot chocolate- winter’s the best! Having lived in Buffalo, NY for many years, both H and I really miss the long snowy winters we experienced there after moving here.

Christmas has got to be the time of the year that I like the most. I put up my Christmas tree yesterday. The tree with its faux snow-dusted branches, tiny lights and pretty decorations stands in a corner of my living room casting a warm and festive glow all over the place.

This soup, something I made a few days back, is perfect for warming your insides on a cold winter day.




The soup is wonderfully rich, even though it does not make use of any cream, and takes less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. This is an Ellie Krieger recipe with a few of my modifications.

Ingredients:
(For approximately 3 servings)
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
A pinch of red pepper flakes
½ onion, sliced
2 cups peas (I used frozen)
¼ - ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice
Yogurt (for serving)

Method:
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the peas, salt, pepper and nutmeg and cook just until the peas are defrosted. Add 1 cup of water (or more as required) and bring to a boil.

Puree the soup until smooth. (I use my handheld immersion blender and blend it in the saucepan itself.) Simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat.

Squeeze some lemon juice into the soup. Mix. Ladle into bowls. Stir the yogurt so that it is smooth and top each serving with a nice dollop of yogurt.

Lemon-Honey Tea

We like to have a steaming hot cup of this tea every now and then after dinner. It's also a great winter warmer.

Brew a cup or two of your favorite tea. I like the Lipton Yellow Label Loose Tea. Add some honey and a couple of good squeezes of lemon. Add a touch of sugar if required. Enjoy hot or cold.

Baked Eggs And Vegetables In Bread Cups

Like one of my previous recipes, this one too is inspired by something that caught my eye on the Pepperidge Farm website. I used the basic idea from there but made my own changes to the recipe.

Ingredients:
(For 9 bread cups)
9 bread slices, crusts trimmed
5 eggs, beaten
¼ cup milk
Salt
Pepper
5 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

Other ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt
2 cups of mixed vegetables, finely chopped (I used what I had- onions, asparagus, potatoes, radishes)


Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a muffin tin.

Take a slice of bread and brush one side of it with a little bit of the beaten egg-milk mixture. Place the slice (brushed side down) in the muffin cup and press down gently. Repeat with the other slices.

Meanwhile, melt some butter in a skillet on medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and onions followed by the asparagus, potatoes and radishes. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Mix well and set aside.

Once the vegetables have cooled a bit, add to the eggs. Add salt, pepper, cheddar cheese and mix well. Distribute the vegetable-egg mixture between the cups of the muffin tin (I had enough mixture for 9 cups). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the eggs are done.

I like how the bread, eggs, vegetables and cheese come together to make this a very simple and elegant meal. This is a nice variation on the traditional eggs-on–toast routine and would be great for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner.

Corn And Scallion Pancakes With A Spiced Strawberry Syrup

This pancake recipe is something I’d hastily jotted down from some cookbook while I was in the long check-out line at the library.



Ingredients:
(For approximately 10 pancakes)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal (I used white)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar
Salt
2¼ cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
¾ cup corn (I used some frozen corn that I’d thawed)
3-4 scallions, sliced (I used both white and green parts)
Oil/Butter to grease the skillet

Method:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Set the batter aside for 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the chopped scallions and corn just before making the pancakes.

Grease a hot skillet with oil/butter; pour a ladleful of the pancake batter. Tilt the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little.

Cook on medium heat until the bottom is golden brown. Flip the pancake and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve with your favorite syrup. I did not have any at home. So I looked around for something else I could use instead and saw a jar of strawberry jam in the refrigerator. So that is what I ended up using to make the syrup. I could have thinned it out a bit more, though.

Spiced Strawberry Syrup



Here's how I made the syrup:

I heated 1 tsp of oil and added 1- 2 finely chopped jalapenos (deseed and devein to reduce heat) to it. Then, I added ¾ cup of strawberry jam/jelly (I used Smucker's strawberry jelly) and a pinch of salt. I cooked this for 3-5 minutes. I added the juice of 2 small limes at the end to round off the flavors.

The sweet, sour and spicy syrup was the perfect accompaniment to the pancakes.