The Charmed Kitchen

Basil Butter Cookies

I love basil so much I once owned a cat named Basil. I make pesto and use basil in almost every tomato dish I make. You don’t always have to use basil in savory dishes. Its flavor actually compliments sweet dishes, too. I used dried basil in these butter cookies and the flavor is wonderful. To add a little extra pop of flavor, I finished the cookies with a lemon glaze. Here is the recipe. I hope you like it.

Basil Butter Cookies with Lemon Glaze

1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
2 ¼ c. flour
1 T. dried basil
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
Glaze
2 c. powdered sugar
2-3 T. lemon juice- or enough to make a thin glaze.

Beat sugar and butter together until fluffy and then beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and stir into butter mixture. Chill dough at least a couple of hours. Roll dough into ¾-1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375 –degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will flatten somewhat. Make glaze and dip the top of the cooled cookies in the glaze. Glaze will harden a little as the cookies set. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Basil Pesto

I can’t make pesto without wanting to call it green spaghetti. I had friends over for dinner one night. Their son was about 4 at the time. I had made pesto and tossed it over hot spaghetti. The little boy wasn’t quite sure about the big, green plate of pasta. He did agree to try it. Turned out he really liked it and after that, when he came for dinner, he would ask for “Aunt Judi’s green spaghetti”.

Pesto is most often made with basil, but there are a lot of variations out there. I must admit to being a big fan of the original. I make it often when I have fresh basil. I also freeze basil with olive oil, so I can make it all year long. Pesto can be tossed with pasta, rice, potatoes or other veggies. I also like it on chicken.

Pesto Sauce

1 c. tightly packed basil leaves
1/4 c. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
1/2 c. pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pecans or walnuts
1 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients, except the cheese, in a blender and mix until smooth. Stir in the cheese and toss over hot, cooked pasta or use as a sauce on meat and poultry. Sauce will keep a few days in the fridge and makes about 1 1/2 cups, enough for 1 lb. of cooked pasta.

Creamy Tomato Soup

This is a great recipe for some of those fresh tomatoes. A simple soup, with lots of flavor, it is a favorite of mine. I enjoy it served hot, but have been known to eat this soup cold, too. I prefer to use fresh tomatoes, but have also used my home canned tomatoes in a pinch. If you want a stronger tomato flavor- use a couple extra tomatoes.

Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup

 3 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 rib celery, chopped fine

Pinch of sugar, optional

3 whole cloves

1 small bay leaf

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

1 t. salt

3 c. milk

Peel and chop tomatoes. Place tomatoes in saucepan with onion, celery, sugar (if adding), cloves and bay leaf. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and cover, simmering 15 minutes. Melt butter in a large saucepan then stir in flour and salt. Cook mixture until bubbly. Add milk and cook until thickened stirring constantly. Puree tomato mixture through strainer, food mill or in a blender or processor. Add to milk mixture and heat through. Serves 6.

Herbes de Provence

I like making my own herb and spice blends. It gives me the chance to use my own fresh seasonings and to make them the way I like. Herbes de Provence is a favorite of my friend, Amy. We were getting together for a dinner with some friends and since we were having lamb and Herbes de Provence goes well with lamb, it was a no-brainer.  Herbes De Provence is a blend of thyme, basil, bay leaves, lavender, savory and rosemary. It had a rich, almost floral  flavor that goes well with lamb, beef, pork, duck and fish. I used a mix of fresh and dried herbs, so any leftover would be stored in the freezer. Dried herbs can also be used for a shelf stable blend. I rubbed the Herbes de Provence all over the lamb roast before roasting. I also added some pink salt. The lamb came out great and was a big hit.

Herbes de Provence

1 T. thyme
1 T. rosemary                                                                                                     1 T. savory
2 t. basil
1 t. lavender
2 bay leaves

Blend fresh or dried herbs until bay leaves are powdered. Rub this mixture on grilled meats, roasts, chicken, or fish. If using fresh herbs, make small amounts and freeze what is unused.

Lamb roast with Herbes de Provence

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Making sausage does not have to be hard. I will admit to growing up in a family that had a sausage stuffer. I have a home movie, from before I was born, of my parents making Polish sausage. There was grinding the meat, seasoning it, prepping the casings and getting the meat into the casings. They made it look easy. But if you make sausage without the casings, like thees little breakfast sausages, the process is pretty simple. The nice thing about making your own sausages is knowing what goes in them, and adjusting seasonings to your own taste. I often make patties, but if you want links, just take the prepared mix, roll it out into tube shapes, wrap in plastic wrap and chill. Then just slice to the length you want. You can use ground pork, turkey, beef, chicken or any combo you like. I even splurged once, and used ground duck.

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

2½ lbs. ground pork or turkey (leave on a little fat)
1 T. dried sage
2 t. salt
2 t. pepper
1 t. dried marjoram
½ t. dried thyme
¼ t. allspice
¼ t. nutmeg
¼ t. dry mustard
⅛ t. cloves
pinch of cayenne pepper
⅓ c. warm water

Mix herbs and spices with water and let stand 10 minutes. Add the water and spice mixture to the meat and blend thoroughly. Form into patties, and chill, or cook immediately.* Patties can be fried or baked. This sausage can also be frozen for later use. Makes almost 3 pounds.

* I have made my own brown and serve by cooking the sausage, over low heat in a large skillet. I add a little water and cover the pan, so they cook, but don’t brown. Cool and then freeze. When I want to have a few, I grab them out of the freezer and just brown in a skillet over medium-low heat.

Purslane

This time of year, a lot of gardeners are talking about weeds. Tired of pulling them, tired of fighting them. You might not know it , but you can eat some of them. Purslane is a very edible “weed” and is growing like crazy right now. It is tolerant of hot, dry weather. The thick, fleshy leaves and stems are pretty hard to miss. Purlane tastes good raw or cooked. The flavor is a little lemony. Quite pleasant. I like to use the leaves raw, in a type of salsa or relish. So if you are tired of pulling weeds, look and see if you have purslane. Then you can think of it as harvesting, not weeding.

Purslane Salsa

2-3 cups purslane leaves and small stems, broken or cut into bite-sized pieces
½ c. chopped sweet onion
½ c. chopped sweet pepper
½ c. cider vinegar
½ c. oil
¼ c. chopped cilantro
Salt and hot pepper sauce to taste

Wash purslane and place in a medium bowl. Add vegetables and stir. Combine vinegar, oil and seasonings in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well. Pour over purslane mixture and mix well. Cover and chill. Serve with tortilla chips.

purslane

Zucchini Pancakes

I read once, that in August, there are more zucchini than people in America.  Seems easy to believe. If you grow zucchini, or know someone who does, you are probably enjoying a lot of zucchini right now. You might even feel a little overwhelmed. I decided to share a whole bunch of my favorite zucchini recipes. There are savory and sweet recipes and a few that are gluten-free, too.  Remember, you can also shred and freeze your extra summer squash or dehydrate them to use later. Hope this helps.

Zucchini Pancakes

2 c. shredded zucchini

1 medium onion, diced

2 eggs

1/2 c. flour- you made need a little more or less depending on how moist your zucchini is

2 t. hot pepper sauce, or to taste

1 t. baking soda

salt to taste

oil for cooking

Combine all ingredients, except the oil, in a medium bowl. Heat oil in skillet and spoon batter in. I used a little over 1/4 cup for each. Cook over medium heat until lightly browned around the edges. Flip and cook until golden on both sides and pancake springs back when touched lightly. Remove to platter and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve with salsa or sour cream. Makes 8.

Zucchini and Cheese Tartlets

Since zucchini are so prolific there never seem to be enough recipes for them. I like this one as an appetizer. You can bake up a big batch, bake and then freeze some for whenever you need them.

 

1 recipe of pie crust dough, enough for 2 pies, home made or store bought

1 medium zucchini shredded, about 1 1/2 cups

1 T. flour

1 c. shredded cheese- any kind you like. I like cheddar.

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c. minced onion

1 t. Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

hot pepper sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick. Use a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut out circles of dough. Place dough circles in mini muffin pans. Press them in gently being careful not to tear them. Repeat with remaining dough and re-roll scraps. You’ll end up with about 3 dozen in all. If you don’t have enough pans, keep the extra dough circles under a towel or plastic wrap so they don’t dry out until you are ready to use them. In mixing bowl combine zucchini and toss in the flour. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Adjust seasonings to your taste. Place a rounded teaspoonful of zucchini mixture into each of the tartlet shells in the prepared pans. Don’t over fill. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on top. They will puff up while baking but flatten when cooling. Can be served hot, warm or at room temperature. Makes about 3 dozen.

Can be frozen. To reheat take straight from the freezer and place on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven and bake for about 20 minutes, but check after 15 minutes.

Baked Zucchini with Mushrooms

2 T. butter
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
½ t. salt
1 clove minced garlic
Pepper to taste
½ t. Italian seasoning
4 medium zucchini, about a pound, shredded
¼ c. bread crumbs
4 T. fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4 eggs, slightly beaten

In a skillet heat butter and sauté mushrooms until tender and liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Place mushroom mixture in mixing bowl and add the zucchini, seasonings, bread crumbs and half of the cheese. Combine ingredients and spoon them into a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Pour over the eggs and bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes or until custard is set. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to oven for 5 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Zucchini Carrot Cake

2 eggs

1 c. sugar

2/3 c. oil

1¼ c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

½ t. salt

1 c, grated carrot

1 c. grated zucchini, squeezed dry and packed tightly

½ c. chopped nuts

Beat eggs with sugar until frothy. Beat in oil then add dry ingredients. Beat on high for 4 minutes. Stir in veggies and nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch square baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 35 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool and frost

Frosting

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 T. butter, softened

1 t. vanilla

2 c. powdered sugar

Beat together cream cheese and  butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla and sugar. Spread over cooled cake.

These are wonderfully spicy, moist cupcakes. Instead of frosting them, I decided to top them with melted butter and cinnamon sugar.  It’s something I’ve done with muffins, in the past. I just never thought of topping cupcakes that way before. It was a really good idea. The cupcakes were baked for a picnic, and in the heat, frosting would have melted. Besides, not everyone likes frosting. As an added bonus- it is a another recipe using zucchini, and that is never a bad thing.

Zucchini Carrot Cupcakes

2 eggs
1 c. sugar
2/3 c. oil
1¼ c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon- I think I would use a little more next time
½ t. salt
1 c. grated carrot
1 c. grated zucchini, squeezed dry and packed tightly
½ c. chopped nuts, optional
Beat eggs with sugar until frothy. Beat in oil then add dry ingredients. Beat on high for 4 minutes. Stir in veggies and nuts. Pour batter into 18- 24 paper lined muffin tins, filling them 2/3 full. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool and frost. Makes 24.

Note: These cupcakes deflate a little while cooling.

Classic Vanilla Frosting

3/4 cup butter
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
Beat butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add 3 cups of the sifted confectioners’ sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in the vanilla, salt, and 1/3 cup of the milk. Gradually beat in the 3 remaining cups of confectioner’s sugar. Beat in additional milk (1 to 2 tablespoons) if needed, to make frosting of spreading consistency. If desired tint the frosting with 6 to 8 drops of food coloring.

Gluten-Free Zucchini Brownies

1½ c. shredded zucchini
1 c. almond butter- but you could use peanut butter instead
1 c. chocolate chips
1/3 c. honey – but you can use 1/2 cup if you want a sweeter brownie
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. allspice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 inch pan, set aside. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well blended. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool before cutting. Makes 16.

Bacon Tomato Mini Quiches with Zucchini Crust

 Gluten Free

Crust:
1¾ c. shredded zucchini
1¼ c. cooked rice- white or brown
1 egg
¼ c. grated Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together.

Filling:
8 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
1 c. shredded cheese – I like Swiss, but use what you like
1 tomato, seeded and diced
½ c. chopped sweet onion

Combine ingredients in small bowl. Set aside until ready to use.

Custard:
1 1/3 c. half and half
4 eggs
½ t. each basil, garlic powder, paprika and salt
1/8 t. pepper

Place in medium bowl and whisk together until smooth.
Grease 12 muffin cups. The mixture will fill 12 cups very full- but you can make your quiches a little smaller, if you like and make a few more. Pat 2 tablespoons of the crust mixture into each muffin cup. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool before filling. While baking and cooling crusts prepare filling of your choice and custard. Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling over each cooled crust. Spoon about 3-4 tablespoons of the custard over the filling. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Can be served warm or cold.

Other fillings:

Tomato, broccoli, mushroom:
In 1 T. butter, sauté 1¼ c. sliced mushrooms, ¾ c. chopped fresh broccoli and 1/3 c. diced onion. Cook until tender, cool. Stir in 1 C. shredded cheddar cheese and 1 tomato, seeded and diced.

Spinach and onion:
Combine 1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, cooked and drained well, with ½ c. diced onion and 1 c. shredded Swiss cheese and ½ c. diced sweet red pepper.

Zucchini Rice Casserole

1 c. water or broth

½ c. raw rice

Salt and pepper to taste

2 T. oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb. small to medium zucchini, about 3-4, sliced

1 sweet pepper, seeded and diced

8 oz. tomato sauce

1 c. shredded cheese, any type you like

¼ c. freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Bring water or broth to a simmer and stir in rice. Cover and cook over low heat until rice is tender, about 20 minutes for white rice and 40 minutes for brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste, using less salt if cooking in broth. Meanwhile heat oil in a skillet and cook onion until wilted and tender. Add zucchini and pepper and cook until both are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine vegetable mixture with the rice and tomato sauce and pour into 1½ quart casserole. Sprinkle with cheeses and bake in a 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Serves 6.

Quick Corn and Zucchini Sauté

2 sweet peppers, seeded and cut into strips

2 medium zucchini, sliced

Oil

2 c. corn kernels cut from cobs, about 4 ears

1 t. garlic salt

½ t. Italian seasoning

In oil cook peppers and zucchini until crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook 4 more minutes, or until heated through. Serves 6-8.

Fresh Summer Squash Relish

2 c. shredded summer squash, any type, peeled if desired

1 c. finely diced sweet onion

¼-½ c. bottled Italian dressing or other vinaigrette, I make my own

Combine all ingredients and chill until ready to use. Nice on cold and hot sandwiches and in tuna salad. Keeps in fridge for a couple of weeks.

Multi-Grain Zucchini Bread

1¼ c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 c. wheat germ

½ c. sunflower seeds or chopped nuts

1 T. baking powder

½ t. salt

¾ c. shredded zucchini

1/3 c. honey

¾ c. milk

1 egg

Grease a 9-inch cake pan and preheat oven to 375-degrees. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In medium bowl combine remaining ingredients and stir in flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 30 -35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Cool in pan ten minutes then remove from pan and cool on a rack.

Pepperoni Pizza Bread

I had a special request from my brother for this bread. It is one of his favorites. The bread is like a stromboli. You can fill them with all sorts of other fillings. This one just happens to be his favorite. I made a double batch of the dough, so I would have 2 loaves. Here is the recipe.

Pepperoni Pizza Bread

3 ¼ c. flour

1 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 package quick-rising yeast

1 c. hot water

1 T. oil

Extra oil for brushing on the dough

1/2 c. marinara sauce

6 oz. mozzarella or provolone cheese

2 oz. sliced pepperoni, about

Set aside 1 cup of the flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle about 16 x 8. Brush with oil down center middle of dough. Top with sauce, cheese and pepperoni. Cut one-inch wide strips of dough from filling to edge on both sides. It will sort of look like fringe. Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the filling at an angle. Carefully lift loaf onto greased baking sheet and place at an angle. Cover with a towel and place sheet on top of a roasting pan half-filled with simmering water for 15 minutes. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers. Makes one loaf.

Note: The variations for this bread are almost endless. Some favorite combinations are ham and Swiss with mustard, roast beef and cheddar, chicken, broccoli and cheese, spinach with ricotta or feta and onions, curried veggies . You get the idea. Use your imagination and have fun. Just be careful not to overfill, or the bread will be hard to move, use fillings that aren’t too runny and always use cold fillings.

If you want to use regular yeast, use warm, rather than hot water.  After kneading cover dough and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down and assemble as in original recipe. Cover with a towel and let rise until dough looks puffy, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed above. These breads can also be frozen.

Cut strips of dough and fold over the filling

Transfer to baking sheet to rise.

Cool a few minutes before slicing

I have had a lot of breadsticks over the years, but honestly, I didn’t like most of them. They were always too dry or flavorless. I love these. They are full of flavor. You can bake them until they are really crisp, or until they are still a little tender and chewy. Either way, they are great. For the tomato puree, I used a fresh tomato, cooked it down a little, and tossed in the blender. I also used fresh basil.

Tomato Basil Breadsticks

2 T. olive oil
1/3 c. chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 c. tomato puree
1/3 c. water
3-3 1/2 c. flour
2 t. salt
1 t. sugar
2 t. dried basil, or 2 T. fresh, chopped fine
1 packet fast-acting yeast
1 egg combined with 1T. water
coarse salt for sprinkling

Sauté onion and garlic in oil until onion is tender. Stir in tomato puree and water and combine well. In bowl, with electric mixer combine 3 cups of the flour with salt, sugar, basil and yeast and stir in tomato mixture. Beat until smooth, adding the rest of the flour, Mixture should be sticky. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of the dough and roll into 8-inch long strips. Place on baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Brush lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with the salt. Bake in upper third of 325-degree oven (it will take 2 batches) for 45 minutes (soft breadsticks) or 1 1/2 hours (crisp breadsticks). Makes about 25.

Ready to bake