Parmesan Zucchini Sticks

Over the last few weeks, I've had several people ask what to do with the abundance of zucchini from their garden or farmer's markets. This is one of my and my kids' favorite ways to cook it =)

1/2 cup fine, dry Italian breadcrumbs (I sometimes use panko to change it up)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 medium zucchini
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Canola oil or Olive Oil
sprinkle of salt
Optional: I like to serve them dipped in marinara or spaghetti sauce.
( I scaled it down to one zucchini in the pics bc I made it for lunch for just me and the boys)

Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Cut zucchini in half crosswise; cut each half into 8 sticks. Like this:

Dip zucchini sticks in egg; dredge in breadcrumb mixture.
Pour oil to a depth of almost an inch into a Dutch oven or large heavy saucepan (medium high heat). Just wanted an excuse to show off my favorite cooking piece! ;)

Fry zucchini sticks in hot oil just until coating is golden. Drain on a wire rack over paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and a little more Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. Can serve with marinara or spaghetti sauce...really good!

Find 2 cute little boys to help you eat them =)

Super Healthy Summer Smoothie

This is our go-to smoothie recipe in our house during the summer. I love how healthy it is! It's naturally sweet this time of year because all of the berries are ripening =) It's easy to tweak if you want to change some ingredients up.

Toss all of these ingredients in a blender:
1 banana
2 heaping handfuls of berries - I usually do a mixture...strawberries, blackberries, rasberries, and blueberries.
1 cup of low fat greek yogurt - I use plain bc it has no sugar. Feel free to get vanilla or flavored to sweeten it up a bit.
2 handfuls of ice
splash of juice - Here I used apple bc it's what I had, but my favorite is orange juice.
1 TBS Wheat Germ -I always sneak this into my kids snacks for the health benefits, and they never know =)
Handful of Sliced Frozen Peaches - I didn't have these on hand this time around, but I find that they make it so much creamier...yum!
Drizzle of Honey (optional for a sweeter taste)
Blend Together.

Heirloom Tomato Flatbread Pizza Recipe

This is what you'll need:
1 Heirloom Tomato - Can use regular tom. as well. I prefer the yellow because they are sweeter. I just planted the yellow ones in the garden for the first time :)
Red pepper
Few cloves of garlic, cut each clove into 3 pieces (I like the chunks of garlic)
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Kosher Salt
Cracked Pepper
Flat Bread ( I like the brand below because it is low in calories, sugar, and fat)
Preheat oven 400 degrees. Saute sliced peppers and garlic in olive oil on stove for about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels to remove extra oil. Put flat bread on pizza stone and sprinkle with Parmesan and mozzarella. Put in oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese melts. Add sliced tomatoes topped with salt and pepper. *If you want to get fancy you can drizzle with a LITTLE bit of basil oil. Top with red peppers and some more Parmesan. Put back in oven until the Parmesan melts and turns a little brown ( I put mine under the broiler for a quick minute). Remove from oven and top with garlic and fresh basil. Enjoy!
*Option Basil Oil:
Put 1/4 cup basil leaves in boiling water for 10 seconds. Carefully remove with slotted spoon and place in food processor or blender with 1/3 cup olive oil. Puree. Drain with mesh strainer. Using oil and discarding basil.
Can use left over oil that you don't use on tomatoes broiled in the oven (one of my favorites!) or pasta.

What to plant now...Peek in my Garden

Love this time of year! I just finished planting my spring/summer beds. I put the metal cages over all of my plants this year in "attempt" to keep my dog from digging them up...we'll see how that works! This year I bought all of my plants at Home Depot. I get the "Bonnie" plants there because they use a minimal amount of pesticides.
Here's a list of some plants you can buy now (it's too late to plant most seeds): peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, basil, oregano, squash, zucchini, beans (buy the seed).
If you are buying eggplant, there are many different types. The ones I see most of in the garden nurseries are "black beauty". I along with 2 of my neighbors have never had any luck with them. They have beautiful leaves and flowers, but the flowers fall off and never pollinate. I've had the best luck with the white, lavendar, and "ichabon" eggplants. Hope this helps :)

Updates from the Garden: Time to Plant Fall/Winter Crops

Sorry for not posting in a while, but the heat in the South is not kind to the preggos! I'm so glad to finally have some cooler weather =) I just planted my fall/winter garden a few weeks ago. All of these veggies/herbs (with the exception of the tomatoes) should last until the spring. The tomatoes will produce until it gets really cold (usually till January around here). I bought the plants at Home Depot and Charvets Garden Center. When buying from Home Depot, I always look for "Bonnie Plants". After doing a little research, I've found that they use very little chemicals on their plants...which makes me happy =)
Here I have 2 different types of lettuce: Romaine (in the front) and Butter Crunch (in the back). Lettuce is great to have in the garden because you can just pick off the leaves as you need them, and they grow right back in a week or two!

I've also planted Tomato Plants. I just noticed some buds on them so I should have tomatoes ready to eat in a few weeks.

Here's a tip on how to get more tomatoes from each plant: always pick the "suckers" off of the plant when you see them. "Suckers" are the the leaves that grow between the base of the plant and another stem. If you don't pick these off the nutrients will go to the green foliage and not to producing more tomatoes. In the picture below I've shown you what to pick off.

I have a few plants each of cauliflower and broccoli. Now don't be disappointed, but you only usually get one head per plant. Some may think it's not worth it, but I just love the way these taste fresh!

Below are my brussel sprouts. In the past I've been able to get enough brussel sprouts for a meal or two a week through out the fall and winter.

If any of your plants look like this, they are probably being eaten by either a slug or a caterpillar. Chances are if you go out to your garden and inspect the leaves through out the day you'll be able to find out what's eating them. Slugs usually come out at night and caterpillars during the day. If you find slugs, try breaking up some rinsed off egg shells and sprinkling them around the base of your plants. The slugs have a hard time crawling across them. If you're brave enough, you could also just put on a pair of gloves and remove them yourself. Even better, if you have boys you can just call them out there to handle them =)

Here's a few herbs you can plant now too:
Rosemary

Thyme

Sage

Green Onions Here's a tip: You can plant the green onions you buy in the grocery right into the ground because they usually have the roots still on them!

Oregano is great to plant as well. Mine got taken over this summer by my strawberry plants. After I trimmed those back, I noticed my oregano started to come back to life =)


Here's an update on my fruit trees! Below is my satsuma tree, which I just planted a year ago, and it already has fruit. They are ripe and ready to eat! The boys love being able to pick them right off of the tree when they are playing outside. I even caught my dog yanking one right off the tree and chowing down on one the other day! NICE!


Here's the grapefruit tree. We planted this tree a couple of years ago, and this is by far the best it's ever done! I've finally discovered the key to having an abundance of citrus fruit. You don't really need to do much watering when there are no grapefruits balls on the tree. After they appear, water only one time a week, but make sure it's a "good watering". This is the first year I've tried that and it definitely paid off! It has around 50 large grapefruits that should be ready to eat some time next month =)

Garden Tomato-Basil Pizza Recipe

Celebrity Tomatoes

Basil grown from seeds I saved last year.

Nothing better than sun-ripened tomatoes!

If you've been to a play date at my house chances are you've had this delicious pizza! It tastes 10 times better when using fresh tomatoes and basil from your garden. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Garden Tomato-Basil Pizza
1 pizza crust (store bought)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided in half
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup mayo (i use the kind made with olive oil...a little healthier)
2 tbs. snipped fresh basil (julienne sliced or leave whole)
1 garlic clove, pressed
1-2 tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes, sliced
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle crust with 1 c. mozzarella; set aside. Mix remaining mozzarella cheese, mayo, basil, and garlic. Arrange sliced tomatoes on pizza. Scoop cheese mixture evenly over tomatoes; spread evenly. Bake 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Strawberry Salad and Raspberry Vinaigrette Recipe...Delicious and Light!!

My uncle gave me this pot of strawberry plants from his garden last spring.

I set it down in my little garden, and it literally took off like crazy. It began to grow over the pot's edges, and plants started popping up everywhere.

*One thing to keep in mind when growing strawberries is to not let the berries sit in the dirt because they will rot. Easy solution: lay some pine straw down under and around the leaves of the plant.

I don't have to worry about the birds ever getting these things, because I have two 5 year old boys who snatch and eat them as soon as they get red =)

Some of my favorite lettuce grown from seed...it's called "bronze arrow head".


My good friend, Lori, got me hooked on Strawberry Salads! I have been so eager to use my strawberries and lettuce from the garden. So, tonight,I decided to play around and make my own raspberry vinaigrette...I know I say this a lot, but this was REALLY GOOD!! I was so excited as to how tasty it was that I just had to share it. We invited our neighbors over for dinner, and we devoured it in just a few minutes! =)
Here's the recipe:
Strawberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
mixed greens
strawberries, sliced
feta cheese
handful chopped walnuts or pecans
few slices red onion
Raspberry Vinaigrette:
Whisk ingredients below and store in the fridge in a jar:
1/4-1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. pure apple juice
3oz. raspberry jelly
1/8 c. white sugar (can use a little less)
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
I'm usually not a fan of the strong vinaigrette taste. This kind of masks it a bit with some different flavors.
Here's a tip (see picture below) if you harvest your lettuce in the heat of the day or if it's been in the fridge for a few days and it looks a little limp, throw it in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes. It revives it and firms it up =)


Looking at this makes me wish I would have made more for tomorrow!