Hearty Minestrone

Hearty Minestrone
makes 8 generous servings
1 can chick peas drained and rinsed
1 can red beans drained and rinsed
1 can italian style stewed tomatoes
3 carrots diced
2 ribs celery diced
1 small onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 zucchini diced
about 1 c cherry tomatoes
1/2 green pepper diced
1 t dried oregano
1 T kosher salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
8 c water OR chicken stock OR equivalent (aka Better than Bullion)
1 c V8 vegetable juice
2 T olive oil
4 oz cooked ditalini pasta

Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat.  Once hot add the onions, carrots & celery.  Sautee vegetables for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.  Add garlic, stir well and sautee 1-2 minutes longer.  Once garlic is very fragrant  just before it starts to brown, add the tomatoes, juice & all.  Stir well to get the garlic up off the bottom of the pan.  Add everything else and bring up to a boil.  Once it boils reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 1 hour.  Taste for season before serving, adjust salt & pepper if needed.  When ready to serve place a small portion of cooked ditalini or other small shape pasta in the bowl and ladle the soup over top.  Garnish with grated parmesean cheese if desired.



Nutrition Facts calculated at Spark People recipe calculator 8 Servings Amount Per Serving Calories 188.3 Total Fat 4.5 g Saturated Fat 0.5 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g Monounsaturated Fat 2.6 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 1,029.1 mg Potassium 491.5 mg Total Carbohydrate 31.9 g Dietary Fiber 5.8 g Sugars 4.3 g Protein 6.8 g

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

Summer Squash Gratin

The Witch has some SERIOUS over achievers in her garden right now. Yes folks, its that time of year again, ZUCCHINI and CROOKED NECK SQUASH is here!! Yay says the Witch as she pulls her first veggies out of the garden. Hooray for my beloved green zucchini and tasty yellow crooked necks! My mind swims with ideas on how to prepare these treats from the garden. But after a few weeks the song changes from YAY zucchini! to UGH! more freaking zucchini?? What the hell am I supposed to do with all of these???? After your friends and family have taken on their fair share you're still left with TONS of green and yellow fruits and the usual prep method of planks sauteed in olive oil until golden brown just isn't seeming as delicious as it did 2 weeks ago.

So after some serious squash overload I went to my favorite go to place for recipes, blogs! While browsing I saw that Siri over at Siriously Delicious had posted one for Summer Squash and potato gratin. Gratin you say? Hmmm...I like cheese. Yes, gratin it is! Cheese is a key component to gratin. A quick trip through the fridge shows Emmental Swiss cheese, something the Little Witch picked out (she has great taste! What can I say?), a small chunk of mozzarella and as always Asiago. Those 3 cheeses sound pretty darn good together, the swiss for a robust cheese flavor, the mozz for the melting factor and Asiago has a pungent flavor that's just delicious.

When seasoning the dish I kept it simple, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Powder?? Yes, powder. I used garlic and onion powder fairly often, in specific dishes, mostly because I like the way they perform in some ways. In dips, sauces and dressings the powders are great because you don't get a sharp bite that you can get from fresh garlic and onions. I like it in marinades too, as the garlic powder won't burn like fresh garlic will. The main reason you'll see me use onion powder or dehydrated onions in place of fresh is because my Witchy Sissy has an onion allergy, poor thing, and can't have fresh onions. Powdered or dehydrated is fine, however. So when I know she'll be eating a dish I'll use the powdered stuff. In the case of this gratin I used it for 2 reasons: I wanted a light flavor of onion, this is a squash gratin, not an onion one and I feared a fresh onion would overpower the squashs' delicate flavor. And 2, my Sissy was going to be eating it. 'Nuff said! The simple seasonings really highlighted the flavors of the squash and cheese resulting in a delicious side dish that makes me excited to pull more zucchini and crooked neck squash out of the garden. Thank you, gratin!

Summer Squash Gratin
makes 8 side dish servings or 4 main dish servings
1 zucchini
1 yellow crooked neck squash
3 oz good quality Emmental Swiss cheese
2 oz mozzerella cheese
1 oz Asiago or Parmesean cheese
1 t Kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 t ground black pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
4 sprigs thyme OR 1t dried thyme
about 1/2 c heavy cream (a little less is just fine)
1/2 c fresh bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350F

Slice crooked neck squash in half and remove the seeds if desired. The larger the squash get the more pronounced the seeds are. Its a personal preference, if you dislike the seeds, remove them, if not leave them in.

Using a food processor with a slicing disc OR a mandolin slice the zucchini and yellow squash into thin rounds. Place slices on paper towel to absorb moisture. You will want a single layer of squash on each towel, yes you'll go through quite a bit. Don't skimp on this step or you will have a watery gratin.

Shred cheeses and reserve cheese.

Spray a casserole dish with non stick spray.

Begin assembling the gratin

First layer: yellow squash first. Use about 1/2 of the yellow slices in the first layer. Sprinkle squash with about 1/4 t kosher salt, some black pepper and a light dusting of garlic and onion powder. Next layer 1/4 of the shredded cheeses on top of the seasoned squash slices.

2nd layer: zucchini rounds. Use 1/2. Season as above (salt, pepper, onion & garlic powder) then top with 1/4 of the cheese. Pour 1/2 the cream over the squash on this layer.

3rd layer: Yellow squash, seasoned as above and add the thyme, then cheese.

4th layer: Remaining zucchini slices, seasoned and the remainder of the cheese. Pour remaining cream over top of the cheese. Top the cheese with the bread crumb.

Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until browned on top and bubbly. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving so the cheese has time to solidify before slicing. Enjoy!


Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 127.3
Total Fat 9.6 g
Saturated Fat 5.9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.2 g
Cholesterol 30.2 mg
Sodium 372.7 mg
Potassium 169.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate 4.2 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g
Sugars 1.3 g
Protein 7.9 g

Cheesy veggies with bacon

It was a typical week night: The Witch has been busy (probably playing on facebook or blogging, but busy nonetheless) and suddenly, the Husband is home! Oh joy, its so good to see you Husband but holy crap! When did it get so late? What's for dinner??? I should have thought about this hours ago! A quick inventory yields pork chops, I decide to simply bread and pan fry them. We'll need vegetables, of course. What can I get the girl to actually eat? More importantly, what do I have on hand?

A can of corn. Zucchini. Cherry tomatoes. Onions, garlic, of course. And bacon. Bacon, why yes! The little Witch loves bacon, I can get her to eat the veggies if there's bacon in them. Hmm...there's extra cheese in the fridge too. She likes cheese. The combo of cheese and bacon would be the double whammy to veggie consumption I was sure of it!

And I was right! She passed up everything else on the plate and demolished the veggies. She even had seconds!! And much to everyone's surprise, she ate it ALL, zucchini and cherry tomatoes included. She claims to hate zucchini, and I saw her start to tell me that she wasn't going to eat that part, but after she put it in her mouth all doubt was gone. This side dish was a hit to say the least - I hope you enjoy it as well!

Cheesy veggies with bacon
makes 4 servings
4 strips bacon, sliced into bits
1/4 onion diced fine
1 clove garlic minced
2-3 ears corn, taken off cob OR 1 drained can of corn
1 zucchini diced
about 15-20 cherry tomatoes OR 3 roma tomatoes diced
4 oz cheddar cheese shredded
1/4 c white wine or water

Cook the bacon in a large sautee pan until crispy. Remove and drain bacon, reserve for later use.

In the same skillet use 4 T of the rendered bacon fat, discarding the rest, and cook the onions and garlic until they start to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the diced zucchini and cook until golden, another 10 minutes or so. Stir frequently to avoid hot spots & burning. If using fresh off the cob corn add it now too.

Once the zucchini has started to turn golden add the corn (if using canned) and cherry tomatoes. Stir well to coat everything in the bacon fat. Cover and allow to cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring ever few minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the wine or water. Stir well scraping the bottom to dissolve the cooked on browned bits. Simmer for 4-5 minutes to reduce liquid.

Once the tomatoes burst add the cheese in an even layer over the top and cover with bacon pieces. Cover and remove from heat. Allow cheese to melt, about 2-3 minutes and serve.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 217.8
Total Fat 14.0 g
Saturated Fat 7.3 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.8 g
Cholesterol 39.8 mg
Sodium 417.4 mg
Potassium 303.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13.9 g
Dietary Fiber 4.6 g
Sugars 0.8 g
Protein 9.0 g

Zucchini Bread

Ah, the zucchini. A favorite of many gardeners to plant and grow due to its prolific fruits. But what do you do with all that zucchini? After you've grilled it, stuffed it, covered it in cheese and anything & everything else you can think of, you're still stuck with a few HUGE zukes at the end of the season. At least the Kitchen Witch is!! When I discover the big boys in the garden, you know the ones, they start small and you say "I'll harvest you tomorrow, you'll be perfect then" and then forget, come back a day later and WOW! its MONGO zucchini? Zucchini loses its flavor and texture the bigger it gets which is why those big ones are perfect for making bread!

The addition of zucchini to a quick bread adds fiber and moisture and (thankfully for zucchini haters) very little flavor, which is why the big ol' ones are perfect for bread. The base flavor of zucchini bread is cinnamon, ideal with am coffee. This version of zucchini bread is a less sweet, lower in fat and calorie version. It retains all of the original moisture thanks to the yogurt. Perfect with a drizzle of honey.

If you're using a 'normal' sized zucchini you'll probably need 2. If you have a giant one, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds then grate. The Kitchen Witch does not squeeze the moisture out of the shredded zucchini - I want all that moisture in my bread, thank you very much! Zucchini bread also freezes extremely well so make a few loaves and treat yourself to a slice long after the harvest is history.

Zucchini Bread
makes 2 loaves, each loaf serves 8
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 t vanilla
3 t cinnamon
2 c AP flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t table salt

Mix the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla and yogurt together in a work bowl until thoroughly combined. Add the zucchini and mix well.



In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda & powder, salt & cinnamon.

Add the dry ingredients into the liquid in 3 installments, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition.

Divide batter into 2 loaf pans that have been sprayed with non stick spray. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick tests clean.

Allow to cool and remove from loaf pans. If freezing, wrap cooled loaf in plastic wrap then wrap again in aluminum foil. Will keep up to 6 months in the freezer.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 184.6
Total Fat 7.6 g
Saturated Fat 0.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 4.3 g
Cholesterol 26.9 mg
Sodium 167.9 mg
Potassium 125.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 26.4 g
Dietary Fiber 0.8 g
Sugars 13.8 g
Protein 3.1 g

Caramelized onion goat cheese and zucchini galette

Another galette? Really, Kitchen Witch??

YES! A resounding YES is my answer to that question. If you haven't tried making a galette yet my only question is WHY NOT?!? They are easy, impressive and best of all, delicious!! Heck, the Kitchen Witch has become so obsessed with them that she now keeps a round of galette dough in the fridge ready to roll out: you never know when the galette jones is going to strike - who wants to wait 3 hours for deliciousness to be done? By keeping a round of pastry in the fridge I can have a galette on the table in 1 hour flat.

I've made and blogged about a few galettes now. Every time I make one I'm impressed with how flaky the pastry is, how delicious the filling is and how simple it was to prepare. A galette is the perfect canvas for any flavors you like, sweet or savory, using the best of whats in season in a different and tasty way. Which leads me to today's galette, caramelized onion goat cheese and zucchini.

Its no secret that the Witch loves the following items:
goat cheese
caramelized onions, deglazed with white wine preferably
zucchini
galette pastry
Which is why they ended up in the best galette I've made to date. Creamy. Smooth. Rich. Savory. Indulgent.
Goat cheese can be slightly grainy so the Witch counteracted that with a small amount of cream cheese. Whipping the two cheeses together with a bit of fresh thyme and a splash of white wine really smoothed out the texture making it perfectly spreadable. Goat cheese has a tang to it which played so nicely off the caramelized onions. I browned the onions slowly in a bit of butter and a few sprigs of thyme. 90 minutes later they were a golden color so I deglazed with white wine, the fond that had formed on the bottom of the pan was dissolved by the wine and redistributed onto the onions, added even more sweet delicious flavor. Garden fresh zucchini were sliced very thin and arranged on top of the cheese and onion layer, adding a pretty punch of color and a delicate flavor. A grating of Asiago cheese over top completed the galette, it also helped it to become golden brown in the oven.

The flavors in this galette are out of this world good. So savory, so rich, so delicious!! Both the husband and the Witch agreed that we'd be more than happy to spend up to $10 a slice for this deliciousness in a French bistro. If you've got some friends or family or just yourself that you'd like to impress with your mad cooking skillz, make this galette. You, and your guests, will be happy you did.


Caramelized onion goat cheese zucchini galette
makes 8 wedges
1 1/2 c flour
1 t table salt
1 stick butter diced
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c ice water
2 t lemon juice
1 small zucchini sliced into 1/8 in slices
2-3 onions sliced thin
2 T butter
splash white wine (1-2T)
7 oz goat cheese, chevere
2 oz cream cheese
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 T fresh grated asiago cheese
1 egg yolk and a splash of water for egg wash


Make dough: In the work bowl of your food processor, add the flour, salt and cold butter. Pulse 10 times (1 second bursts). Mix the sour cream, water and lemon juice together. Add the liquid to the processor and pulse 7-10 more times, until the dough starts to form a ball. Remove dough and press into a large flat circle (about 10 in diameter), cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour minimum.

Caramelize the onions with 2 T of butter in a small dutch oven over medium low heat. This takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to achieve a blond color, do not rush this step! The slow caramelizing process really brings out the sweetness of the onion, rushing this step could result in burned bitter onions. Add 3 sprigs fresh thyme after browned, a pinch of salt and splash of white wine (about 2T) to deglaze. Stir up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan and reduce until liquid is syrup consistency.

Mix the goat and cream cheeses together with a pinch of salt, 1 sprig of thyme leaves and a splash of white wine. Whip well with a stand mixer (or hand mixer if that's what you have) until its lightened and fluffy.

Slice the zucchini thin, into 1/8 inch rounds and set aside.

Roll the chilled galette dough out to form a large circular shape (about 14-16 inches diameter). Transfer the rolled dough to a parchment or silpat lined sheet pan for construction.

Spread the goat cheese mixture in the middle, leaving at least 3 inches of pastry on the edges to form the top crust.



Top the cheese with the caramelized onions, removing thyme stems.



Arrange the zucchini slices in an overlapping spiral pattern over top of the onion layer.



Fold the edges of the galette over on top, making a crust/overlap. Fold and pleat the dough as needed to make it round(ish) and create an edge crust to hold everything in while baking. Brush the edges with the egg wash, applying an even coating to assist in browning. Top the entire galette with fresh grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese.



Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes, or until galette is browned. Serve with a small salad if desired. Stand back, wait for the compliments to roll in and bask in the glory :)



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
8 Servings (1 slice per serving)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 353.6
Total Fat 25.0 g
Saturated Fat 15.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 6.6 g
Cholesterol 87.8 mg
Sodium 450.3 mg
Potassium 134.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate 22.4 g
Dietary Fiber 1.4 g
Sugars 0.3 g
Protein 9.8 g