Outdoor Everything & White Bean Pasta Sauce
This week I had a girls day, hiked nature trails, watched the kiddies play soccer, and got my Sourdough groove back. Plus a recipe for Garlic & Herb White Bean Pasta Sauce with Roasted Toms & Zucchs.
This week was tied together with so much outdoor time. We brought the little ones blackberry picking, but were quickly rained out. Between the five of us picking (my parents, niece, nephew and myself) we were able to gather a full quart to bring home and bake with, but not before getting completely soaked.
I also had a much needed girls day with my mom and sister, that included some errand running, back-to-school shopping for the kids, and a lovely dinner together at Our House Bistro in Downtown Plattsburgh.
It was a perfect 70F evening so we ordered drinks and dined outdoors. I opted for the Pineapple Mojito, my sister ordered a Lavender and Honey cocktail, and my mom chose the Strawberry Margarita. The restaurant seemed understaffed, slowing down service, but when the drinks finally came we all tried a sip of each one and nearly fell over drunk from the Margarita! The Lavender cocktail was our favorite, with its light, summery flavor, and smooth drinkability. (There was a trade between my mom and sister, for all of our sake!) A shared a plate of veggie nachos helped dull the strong drinks and ended up being the best part of the meal, though we enjoyed the house made veggie burgers and lobster roll too.
What I’m Cooking
With all of the time spent outdoors I packed a lot of lunches this week. I made lots of sandwiches and snacks to eat on hiking trails, river walks, parks, the beach, and at the kids soccer practices. The garden has continued to offer up its bounty, with more zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers than we can keep up with. We also had our first corn from the garden this week and it put to shame any we brought home from the grocery store this summer. Highlights in my shared kitchen this week were:
BBQ Chicken Thighs, grilled by my dad and served with a Broccoli & Strawberry Slaw.
Air Fried Zucchini Blossoms. This was an experiment. I coated a few squash blossoms I picked from the garden with a batter made of 1/2 cup unfed sourdough starter, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 2 tablespoons of water, then air fried them at 400F for 5 minutes. The batter had a nice cheesy taste from the sourdough starter, but the coating was a little dry. I may return to this experiment with a little oil and salt next week, or at least a dipping sauce.
Egg & Toast with Sauteed Romaine and Garden Tomatoes. Dipping buttered toast into a runny egg yolk is one of my favorite breakfasts, especially with a side of sauteed greens. My go-to leafy green is kale, but the options I had available were spinach or romaine. Since spinach allbut diassapears when its sauteed I went the less traditional route and sauteed lettuce. It’s an option I’m likely to take again. It cooked quickly, didn’t wither away, and the stocks became tender while maintaining a nice crunch.
Something for Dinner
Pasta in Garlic & Herb White Bean Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes & Zucchini (recipe below). My partner and I postponed a day trip to Burlington on Friday for fear of being rained out, so I took on the task of dinner. The meat eaters ate some leftover Spaghetti and Meatballs and I made this white bean sauce for a vegan option. I added roasted tomatoes and zucchini from the garden, but if you’re short on time you can omit both or add them into the pan while the onion is cooking.
Something Sweet
Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread. My mom is still making her way through her zucchini harvest and made two more loaves of bread this week—one to eat now, and one to join the others frozen for later.
Blackberry Cobbler. After blackberry picking my niece and I made a blackberry “gobbler” using this simplified recipe that eliminates the stovetop step and is quick enough to bake with little ones. We roughly doubled the amount of berries the recipe called for, just eyeballing the measurement until it didn’t look like the cobbler could hold anymore. The rest of the berries were bagged and sent home with the kids to snack on—their favorite.
Weekly Bread
Classic Sourdough. My third loaf last week was an improvement over the previous two, but still didn’t rise and shine the way I expected. It wasn’t gummy, but wasn’t quite right either, so once it was reaching its end I got to work on the next one, which I took extra care of and came out bea-u-ti-fully.
Recipe: Garlic & Herb White Bean Sauce with Roasted Tomatoes & Zucchini
Serves 6
Ingredients
1 quart cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4” thick half moons
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can white beans, 1/2 liquid reserved
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoons dry sage
1 bay leaf
zest from 1 lemon
1/2 cup water
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400F. Line 2 sheet trays with foil. Place all of the tomatoes on one sheet tray and roll them around in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Use more olive oil or a nonstick spray to coat the second sheet tray and arrange the sliced zucchini in a single layer. Sprinkle both the zucchini and tomatoes with salt and roast for 30-40 minutes.
I like to flip my zucchini over halfway through cooking so both sides get color, but it’s not necessary. Every once in a while give the tray with the tomatoes a gentle shake to keep them from sticking. Once the skins are collapsing and beginning to blister they’re ready.
Meanwhile, as the tomatoes and zucchini are roasting, prep the rest of your ingredients.
In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add all of the remaining ingredients, including the reserved bean liquid, and reduce the heat to a simmer. If you’re omitting the roasted veggies, allow this mixture to simmer for about 15 minutes before removing the bay leaf and serving with your pasta.
When the roasted veggies are ready add them to the pan of beans. Include any juices the tomatoes have let off. The mixture of sweet tomato juice, oil and salt add a lot to the sauce. Allow everything to simmer together for another 15 minutes before serving.
Thanks!
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