Zucchini Cakes

It seems that the Kitchen Witch has a love/hate relationship with zucchini.  If you've read this blog for any length of time you'll know that zucchini is something that is a staple in the Witches' garden.  Every year I say I won't worry or over plant, and yet every year I have a mini freak out -  will they grow?  Will they produce?  Will I have beautiful zucchini this year? And because it's me, every single year I over plant, too, just in case one or 2 of the plants don't do well.  In 3 years, I've never had an unsuccessful zucchini crop.  They're always TOO successful!  Despite my fretting over the wee plants in the early days they grow and become big time producers.  Before I know it I've gone from "oh my I hope they grow" to "holy shit someone needs to come get some of this zucchini!!" If you remotely like zucchini I highly recommend growing them yourself.  It's SO easy, they're very low maintenance plants, and have never failed to produce.  Oh, and the love/hate thing is because I absolutely love zucchini but as the season wanes on I grow to hate it...after all zucchini for 3 meals a day is only awesome for a few days.

Now that you've been informed about the trials and tribulations of zucchini growing, let's get to the point of today's post, shall we?  Zucchini cakes!  Oh sure they've been done before but boy, are they good!  A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I were out to lunch.  I spotted zucchini cake sliders on the menu and thought now that sounds good!  I ordered them and indeed, I was right, they WERE good!  So promptly I went to the store to buy zucchini (it's not zucchini season in Colorado currently, much to my dismay) so I could recreate these babies.  They seemed pretty basic in their ingredients, zucchini, red bell pepper and feta cheese, with some binders to hold it together.

The Witch decided to use an egg as one of the binders along with some panko breadcrumbs.  Not much, I wanted the veggie to be the star of this cake, but enough to hold it together.  The panko is very light in texture, not dense like traditional bread crumbs can be.  It helped the cakes have a nice firmness to them with out being dense or heavy.  The crunch of the red onions provided a nice contrast to the soft zucchini.  As the cakes brown the zucchini takes on a fantastic flavor, browned zucchini is the only way to eat it in this Witches' opinion!  As the cakes cook the feta softens and melts, adding it's salty flavor to each bite.  These zucchini cakes are a taste sensation, low in calories and vegetarian!   Sounds like a great lunch or side dish idea to me!


Zucchini Cakes
makes 4 cakes, 2 cakes per serving
1 medium zucchini (about 7-8 inches long) shredded
about 2T diced roasted red bell pepper
scant 1T fine diced red onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c panko bread crumbs
1/4 c feta cheese
approximately 1/2 t kosher salt
a pinch pepper, or to taste
about 1-2T olive oil for cooking

Shred zuccini using large holes on a box grater.  Squeeze zucchini to remove excess liquid.  Put squeezed zucchini into a small work bowl.  Add the diced roasted red peppers, garlic, onion, panko, feta and S&P.   Pour the beaten egg over top and using a fork, gently mix.  You'll want a cohesive mixture with no obvious pockets of dry bread crumbs or uncoated veggies.

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Once hot scoop zucchini mix into 4 patties, about 1/4 c each.  Make about 1/2 inch thick by 3-4 inches diameter.  Cover skillet and fry cakes on first side until golden browned, about 5 minutes.  Cakes will still be very fragile so be careful when you flip them.  Gently flip and continue cooking covered on second side, until browned and cakes hold together.   Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator Amount Per Serving Calories 223.8   Total Fat 16.8 g Saturated Fat 4.9 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5 g Monounsaturated Fat 9.3 g Cholesterol 109.2 mg Sodium 562.1 mg Potassium 339.6 mg Total Carbohydrate 11.4 g Dietary Fiber 1.6 g Sugars 2.4 g Protein 7.3 g

Gyros with Tzatiziki sauce

Gyros is one of my all time favorite foods, ever. When I was pregnant with the Little Witch we had to pass 2 gyros places weekly on our way to Lamaze class. Needless to say we had gyros for dinner at least once a week! I love love love it!!!!

While the Witch has a well stocked and equipped kitchen, I do not have a spit or a rotisserie, which would make making gyros hard. After all its a cone shaped loaf of meat, with a large skewer through the middle that is grilled on a vertical rotisserie. Not exactly standard home kitchen equipment. So what does a Kitchen Witch do when she wants to make gyros but has no gyros rotisserie?

I decided to make the gyros meat into a loaf, much like a meatloaf, seasoned gyros style. That means lots and lots of garlic, Mediterranean herbs and spices and a blend of beef and lamb. I used a 50/50 mix of ground beef and ground lamb for cost savings as the lamb is expensive, and most gyros is a lamb/beef blend. Because it is a meatloaf I added some basic binders, 1 egg and a bit of cracker crumbs, to help hold it all together. The Witch then chucked all the ingredients into the food processor and let it all blend together well, which helps it to bind and form a cohesive loaf that won't fall apart when sliced.

When you order a gyros sandwich they shave the meat off the spit so each piece of meat is browned. Its so good, and something I didn't want to forgo in my homemade version. After the loaf cooked I removed it from the oven and allowed it to rest for about 20 minutes. I then sliced the loaf into thin (1/8 inch thick) slices and pan fried them in a bit of olive oil. The meat slices browned up nicely and got crusty and browned on the edges, just like a good gyros should be. Pile the meat onto a hot pita bread, top with tzatiziki sauce, lettuce, tomato and feta and feast!! The final browning step is optional but I'd not forgo it, the seared edges really helped transform the gyro loaf from a meatloaf to a gyro sandwich.

Gyros
makes 8 servings
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
6 cloves garlic minced
1 medium onion minced
1.5 t kosher salt
1/8 t pepper
1 sprig fresh rosemary minced
3 sprigs fresh oregano minced
1/2 t cumin, ground
1/8 t coriander seed, ground
1 egg
2 T milk
6 saltine crackers OR 1/4 c bread crumbs
3 T olive oil

Pita bread (click here for a homemade version)
Tzaiziki sauce
shredded lettuce
feta cheese
diced tomatoes

Tzatziki
makes 8 servings, 2 T each
1 cup greek yogurt plain (Greek Gods Traditional Greek Yogurt is what the Witch used and recommends)
1/2 cucumber, grated and squeezed dry
1/2 t dried dill weed
about 6 leaves each mint and oregano, chiffonade
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 t kosher salt
1/8 t ground pepper

Combine everything into a bowl and stir well. Allow to sit for at least 1 hour before eating so the flavors can blend.



Preheat oven to 375F

Finely mince the herbs and press garlic thru a garlic press (or finely mince, your choice). Combine everything BUT the olive oil into the work bowl of a food processor. Run for 30 seconds or until the mixture forms a ball and is throughly mixed.



Form the meat into a long rectangle, (about 8 inches wide and 2 inches tall, 14 inches long) making it slightly thinner in the middle. Drizzle 1 T olive oil over the top of the loaf and bake for 35-45 minutes or until it reads 160F internally. Remove from oven and allow to rest before slicing.

OPTIONAL: Slice meat into thin (1/8 in) slices. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add 1 T of olive oil. Once oil is hot fry the slices of gyros until they are golden browned. Flip and brown on 2nd side. Remove from pan and allow grease to drain off.



Assemble the gyros sandwiches with 3-4 slices of gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, feta cheese and tzatizki sauce wrapped in a warmed pita bread. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe Calculator
Gyro meat ONLY
8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 371.8
Total Fat 30.3 g
Saturated Fat 11.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 14.2 g
Cholesterol 107.4 mg
Sodium 467.7 mg
Potassium 295.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 2.6 g
Dietary Fiber 0.1 g
Sugars 0.2 g
Protein 20.7 g

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Tzatiziki sauce ONLY

8 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 35.2
Total Fat 2.8 g
Saturated Fat 1.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 7.5 mg
Sodium 77.9 mg
Potassium 25.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 1.8 g
Dietary Fiber 0.1 g
Sugars 1.5 g
Protein 1.1 g

Spanakopita

My first experience with spanakopita was with my Aunt Katina. She's from Greece and these were always one of her specialties. I remember small triangles of some awesome flaky pastry with cheese and something green in them and that they were amazingly good. My mom always heated them up in our toaster oven - they were a perfect little snack! Little did I know that 'those triangle things that Aunt Katina makes' had a real name and that you could actually get them from other places than Aunt Katina! Who knew?

This recipe might not be an authentic Greek version, I don't know if they use cream cheese or Asiago cheese, my guess would be not. The Kitchen Witch uses these cheeses because, well, they're delicious and work well with the spinach. Something both versions do have in common is the use of feta cheese, its salty sharp tang is what makes this spinach pie delicious. Well, that and the filo dough, and the butter. Mmm...butter...

If you've never worked with filo don't fear it! It's not as hard as it looks. You'll find filo (or phyllo) dough in the frozen section of your grocery, where pie shells are. One box has 2 sleeves of dough in it, and you'll use less than 1/2 of one sleeve for this recipe. Allow the dough to thaw completely before using it, if its even a little frozen it will rip and tear. Been there, done that. Unroll the filo dough and cover it with a damp towel. Have your butter melted and the pan that the dough is going into ready to go. Work quickly as the thin sheets of pastry like to dry out but do not be alarmed if the dough tears. Its very thin and this is to be expected. Honestly, after its all baked no one will ever know if your pastry is pieced together because it kept ripping or if it stayed in one nice sheet. Again, I've had both happen, they both ended up fine.

Spanakopita can be made in a large pie form as I've done here, or you can make smaller appetizer sized ones by folding a bit of filling into strips of buttered filo dough and folding into triangles. Both versions can be frozen with great success. Enjoy this Greek delight!

Spanakopita
makes 8 wedges
12 oz bag frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
4 green onions sliced very thin
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 c asiago cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t dill weed, dried (if using fresh double the amount)
a few gratings of fresh nutmeg or a pinch ground nutmeg
1 t kosher salt
1/8 t white pepper
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted
7 sheets filo dough

Combine everything BUT the butter and the filo dough sheets. Mix well.

Preheat oven to 400F

Using an 8x8 pan butter the bottom and sides liberaly with melted butter. Lay 1 sheet of filo dough over the pan, making one edge flush to the sheet of dough and the other overhanging. Press into place and up the side. Brush that sheet of dough with melted butter. Place another sheet of filo over the 1st one, leaving another edge hanging off. Repeat 2 more times so each side of the pan has a piece of overlapping filo dough.




Spread the spinach and cheese mixture evenly into the pan.



Bring the overhanging sides up and over the cheese mixture, buttering each layer before folding the next over top.

Butter 2 full sheets of filo dough, fold in half and lay on top. Press into place. Butter top layer.

Using a sharp knife cut the pie into wedges or squares before baking.



Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 212.9
Total Fat 16.1 g
Saturated Fat 10.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.9 g
Cholesterol 50.3 mg
Sodium 600.9 mg
Potassium 174.3 mg
Total Carbohydrate 11.1 g
Dietary Fiber 1.6 g
Sugars 0.5 g
Protein 7.2 g

Kapama

This recipe came to me courtesy of my cooking buddy Eric. He said that kapoma, a Greek chicken stew, was a family favorite when he was growing up. I say we never had deliciousness like this when I was a kid, but I am very glad to know about it now!

This dish couldn't be more simple or delicious. Its got 7 ingredients in it, and that includes salt & pepper! I bet you have most everything in your pantry right now!

Chicken pieces are dredged in cinnamon and braised in tomato and lemon juice. It sounds odd I know, but believe the Witch, its delicious! The cinnamon is not at all dessert like, you won't think that someone somehow mixed up a cinnamon roll with your chicken dinner. The cinnamon mellows a lot while cooking, the acidity of the tomato and lemon also help take it in a new direction far away from the cinnamon in desserts that we all know and love. The sauce that results is amazing, so rich, flavorful and delicately scented with cinnamon.

I do hope you'll try this dish soon. Its become a family favorite here as well - the 4 yr old Little Witch loves it and requests it often. I'd call that a success any day!

Kapama
makes 4 servings
6 chicken thighs OR 4 chicken breasts, your choice (I used boneless skinless thighs but have done it with boneless skinless breasts too. I'm sure you could use bone in meat, it would probably have more flavor in the finished dish as most bone in meat tends to be more flavorful. If using bone in adjust cooking time to 1 hr)
3 T cinnamon
1 t kosher salt
1/8 t pepper
2 T butter
29 oz can tomato sauce
juice of 1 lemon
about 1/2 c water

Mix the salt, pepper and cinnamon together. Dredge chicken pieces until thoroughly coated in cinnamon mixture.



Heat butter in a large non reactive skillet with a lid. Once butter stops foaming add the chicken pieces and sautee until browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and brown 2nd side.



Pour the tomato sauce over chicken. Add the water to the can to rinse it out and pour into the skillet as well. Add lemon juice. Bring up to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and simmer on low heat for 45 min to an hour.

Serve chicken with sauce over rice or orzo pasta.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 258.3
Total Fat 10.5 g
Saturated Fat 4.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.0 g
Cholesterol 101.5 mg
Sodium 1,611.8 mg
Potassium 946.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 21.1
Dietary Fiber 6.7 g
Sugars 8.9 g
Protein 23.3 g