Cucumber Fiesta

SOO MANY CUCUMBERS! I never thought I would say it, but I am starting to miss when we had an overwhelming amount of zucchini, because at least we had half a dozen recipes we could make. Cucumber though, that's a different story. You can't really bake or cook with it because its mostly water. What to do, what to do...

    The answer finally came to us, and it was in the form of salads and sides. Cucumber is fresh tasting and compliments most meals well that are heavier with either meat or starches. So tonight when we made our vegetable pasta like we do whenever we have a lot of veggies from our C.S.A. we want to use up, and served it topped with cheese and a side of cucumber salad.

The pasta had zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes on it!

Cucumber Salad
This recipe is actually something I came by in Ukraine. Almost every restaurant we went to served this cucumber salad as an appetizer. After a half dozen or so times eating it in a row, you never want to see it again. The ironic thing is that after a month or two you begin to miss it, so tonight we made it!

Ingredients: 
2 Cucumbers
2 slices of Onion
3 small heirloom tomatoes
generous pinches of Dill
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp olive oil

Directions: 
Chop the cucumber, onions, and tomatoes about the same size and mix them together.
Stir in vinegar, olive oil, and dill.

Chill until ready to serve, and top with extra dill.

This meal is great for making lunch with the leftovers. All you have to do is mix together the plain pasta, the cucumber salad, and some balsamic vinegar. Its light and fresh tasting, but still a feeling good lunch for a hot day.

Potato Zucchini Pancakes

     Potato pancakes are a staple of a good diet. At least in my world they are, and maybe that's because of being of Irish and eastern European descent, but all I know is I love them. This love is also shared by my friends, so its a popular choice for dinner.
    So one night, we got creative. With a wonderful abundance of zucchini, I was able to get a beautiful yellow one from my friend's garden. It was fresh and begged to be grated, mixed with potato and some other ingredients, and tossed into a pan until fried to perfection.
   With only one grater that could be used, I got to slack off and relax while dinner was being made. Nathan pretty much did everything, so this recipe is written how he cooks, without measurements of any kind. Unfortunately, with Nathan doing all the cooking, it meant Nancy, Paige, and I were on dish washing and drying duty. Definitely not my favorite job. 
But anyway, here is the recipe!

Nathan's Grandma would be proud. 

 Potato Zucchini Pancakes

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Zucchini
carrot
Flour
Eggs
Herbs
~chives 
~basil


Toppings:
Garden Vegetable flavored Philadelphia cream cheese

Directions: 
Shred or grate the potatoes, zucchini, and carrot, and place in a large bowl.
 Pour in one whisked egg.
Cut up whatever herbs you desire and mix in. (We like chives and basil) 
Add flour till it all sticks together and is shape-able. 
Fry until golden brown in a large skillet with a mixture of oil and butter. (oil fries well, butter is for taste) 

They disappeared fast. 

Serve warm. We topped the hot pancakes with garden vegetable flavored cream cheese that has been passed around and therefore been in all our fridges way too long. 

Meadville

Hello All!

So I realized you probably want to read more than just a bunch of recipes, and being new to blogging, I wasn't sure how specific is good. Ergo the reason most posts don't have names in them. I brainstormed with my summer cooking buddies (Nathan, Paige, and Nancy), and they told me it was fine to use their names and the names of places we go and do. Nancy was especially helpful in kicking me metaphorically in the butt to get me writing about something other than food. (What can I say, I have a one track mind.)

So I'm going to start writing about Meadville, PA (the town Allegheny College is situated in).

First in the blog posts, "Where to shop for food."  (I know, I know, its pretty much the same subject as before, but give me some time to adjust!)

    Food stores in Meadville that I have been to fall into two categories: ones I can walk to, ones I can't walk to.   Not having a car means its the ones I can walk to are frequented much more, and therefore will be the ones I write about. At the same time, there is only one place I cannot walk to that I want to write about so I may throw it in anyway. 

Let's start with the biggest option you have and work our way down from there. 

TOPS
http://www.topsmarkets.com/
Hours: 6am- Midnight
Background: Tops is a regionally owned market that began in upstate New York decades ago. It was named Tops in the 1960's, since in popular lingo Tops meant the best. (Or at least that's the story their corporate website says) It was acquired by several larger corporations, but in 2007, it separated from the larger infrastructure and again become a locally organized business found in Northern Pennsylvania and New York. 
Pros: The store hosts a lot of good sales, which makes saving money easy
           It has a produce section specifically labelled as local, and work with over 200 local growers in the New York/Pennsylvania area 
           One stop shopping to acquire everything you need
Cons: It is a larger chain including 172 stores

Valesky's
http://www.valeskys.com/
Hours: 7am-9pm
Background: Boasting that is Meadville's only locally owned and operate supermarket, Valesky's has been serving the community for over 30 years. It was started by the two Valesky brothers, who purchased the old L&M market in 1979. Its only two blocks further down Water street than Tops. 
Pros: Being locally owned means that shopping here is a way to directly support the community
         They get produce and products from local farms, like Troyer's farm, and companies, like Dad's. 
          
Cons: some people in town don't care for Valesky's or shop there due to politics and the stance of the market on certain issues. You can check out their web page and understand exactly what I mean. 

Market House
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Market-House/32330377073
Hours: They change depending on what day of the week it is.
Monday, Tuesday 9am-5pm
Wednesday-Friday 9am-6pm
Saturday 8am- 4pm
Sunday 10am-2pm
Background:A historic place to shop, the Meadville Market House is the oldest building (constructed in 1870) to be used continuously as a market in the entire state of Pennsylvania! (though technically Pennsylvania is a commonwealth not a state). It contains the market, Save Room For Dessert bakery, and the Market House Grill, which has cheap, fantastic, diner food. 
Pros: Almost entirely local, organic, or specialty goods. (examples: farm fresh milk and eggs, buffalo meat, Happy Mug coffees, local honey) 
         Have their own aquaponics system in the back.
         You can buy spices and tea by any desired amount. 
         Sell craft and handmade products by local vendors and  free trade based items. 
         The Save Room For Dessert bakery makes great baked donuts, cinnamon buns, and breakfast bars. 
         The farmers market is hosted every Saturday right outside on its sidewalk.
Cons: Its products can be a little more expensive then their supermarket counterpart because they are local, organic, or specialty. It can be very easy to spend a lot of money there, but you will never feel buyers remorse or regret.

Harvest Market
Hours: 9am-5pm
Lovingly nicknamed the scratch and dent store by my friend's, Harvest Market is the perfect place to go to save a penny and get some good organic or healthy products. The shelves are stocked with packages that were either dented, marked for a seasonal promotion (like beach themed salt & pepper shakers), or were advertised for an event that is ended (like Passover 2012). Its a good kept secret, located 660 Terrace Street, in a strip mall in the International House of Prayer,and across the street from the Baldwin Reynolds House. 
Pros: You can save a lot of money here getting items you might not have been able to afford elsewhere. (For instance, 5lb bag of corn flour for $1, or cans of Amy's brand chili or soups for 75 cents) 
         Its like a treasure hunt looking through the items on the shelves since they depend on what is sent there. It makes shopping there a fun adventure each time you go.  
         Harvest market is a very short walk from campus! 
Cons: Not open on the weekends. 
           Check the expiration dates. Most of the products are still good, but occasionally some will have been sitting on the shelves for a little too long. (The same can be said of any grocery store too)
          Not many refrigerated items like milk or eggs, though they have a lot of cool sodas and drinks. 

WELCOME HOME!

Its official! We have moved into our house! Our excitement level is through the roof!

Actually, we moved in last Friday, but we have been too busy cleaning, sorting, and unpacking to update and let you know. The house is great, and the best part is the kitchen! No more running between rooms and lounges for ingredients you need or that oven mitt you forgot on your desk for the third time that week. Now everything is in one room!
   We only have two people living in the house right now (we are anxiously waiting for the rest of our group to get back to campus). But on a funny side note, my housemate and I were really concerned that our fridge was not going to be big enough for when everyone came back. We had it almost filled, and there were only two of us living in the house, what were we going to do when the house was full of students. But then we realized that when we shifted to the house, all our friends shifted with us. There are really over four people using the fridge, plus we still need a little time to simplify down to only one of everything.

Zucchini and Green pepper for one pizza;
Artichoke and Red pepper for the other

For our first dinner in the house, we had homemade pizza.

 I know we already did a pizza post, but we used a different recipe this time. Actually, my wonderful housemate spent his Friday moving and then doing the prep for dinner, so after my friend and I had hauled everything down and our other friend got off work, it would all be ready.

Packaged in reusable foil, it was picnic ready!

      Dinner wasn't just your run of the mill setting either. This past Friday and Saturday was Thunder in the City, pretty much it was an old car and motorcycle festival downtown. We ate our picnic in Diamond Park, walked around the stalls listening to a live band, and then found seats on the stoop of the Meadville Tribune to watch FIREWORKS!

Paige loves it, as per usual

Black Bean Burgers

Black Bean Burgers

 Ingredients:

1/2 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 cans black beans, rinsed, drained, and smashed

2 eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs 

fresh basil, chopped

Not only did we eat outside, but we also did our prep in the yard!

Directions:
     Mix all ingredients together. A wooden spoon works well for this, or simply use your hands and mush. For the most part, the smashed beans act the same as ground beef, and in the end it doesn't look that much different from a regular burger.

     Make the mash into patties and plop it on the grill, flipping half way through cooking. I wish I could post times for this, but we grilled after two rounds of corn on coals that had seen better times, so on new coals or a gas grill they would cook faster.

They were so delicious

     We served them on flat sandwich rolls, topped with fresh tomato, grilled pepper, and grilled garlic.

Zucchini Brownies!

So delicious, the zucchini adds texture, but not that much taste

So here is the recipe as promised.....

Zucchini Brownies!

Combine in large bowl:

1 cup white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

stir in:

2-3 cups shredded zucchini

Combine the following in a separate bowl and beat with fork until combined. 

1 egg

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2-1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla


Stir into the zucchini mixture, and spread evenly into a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until it passes the fork or toothpick test.


My housemate got this recipe out of our CSA recipe book, and despite zucchini brownies sounding like an ironic healthy twist, they are actually really really good. 

Cook out

There is one thing you come to miss living on a college campus over the summer, and that is the taste of grilled food. So far we have baked, sauteed, and boiled our way to some fantastic meals, but we needed something different. We needed grilled. 
    The biggest grill you can hide away in your dorm room, because they aren't exactly standard college cook ware, is tiny. The one we used tonight was charcoal based, and was just big enough to cook for four people if you didn't mind eating in sections. 
   The menu you may ask? 
~First, we started off with guacamole and blue corn chips. A nice appetizer after spending time weeding and watering garden. 
~Then we had grilled corn on the cob. (Grilled is the only way to go when it comes to corn) 
~After that was bean burgers topped with roasted peppers and garlic. 
~Last, to finish it all off, was zucchini brownies. A strange combination in name, but the healthiest way to eat junk food! 


Now over the next few days you will be getting the recipes for each thing we ate, from appetizer to dessert, but for right now I'm gonna give you the recipe for grilled corn!

Nothing like eating grilled corn outside on a summer evening

GRILLED CORN
Step by step instructions
Step one: get corn in your CSA share or from a local farmer's market. If you don't have access to either, you can buy it at the grocery store, it just might not taste as good. 


Step two: cut off the tops of your corn where all the silk hangs out, but DO NOT husk the corn!!!!


Step three: soak the corn in water for at least an hour if not more before grilling. 


Step four: grill over medium heat or whatever level charcoal you can make in a tiny grill for about 20-30 minutes. The outside of the husk will begin to char and burn, but this is to be expected. 


Step five: Husk your corn by peeling it back, but not tearing off the husk. It becomes a handy dandy handle! Add butter and salt, or whatever you like on your corn and dig in!

We started with half dozen ears, and we gobbled them up!