Hello, all and welcome, Dena! I have been cooking quite a bit recently but I don't really feel ready to be putting any new recipes on here. My cooking has been more oriented in a skill-building direction, following existing recipes written by professionals. The big news is I have started teaching myself how to bake bread! I got a fantastic book simply entitled "Bread." It is actually a DK guide. Thus far my experiences with this book have been excellent! The recipes are so detailed and thorough that it's basically impossible to mess them up so long as you are literate and at least passably good at following directions :)
Beyond the bread-making front, it is Gazpacho season!!! I love Gazpacho season. It is one of my favorite times of year. This year my garden is pretty much an epic failure. The fates are conspiring against me and I have had basically zero luck getting anything to grow and stay growing. So I have been leaning heavily on my local farmers’ market for my produce. Fortunately, they have phenomenal stuff!
K, maybe I lied a little because I am going to include a recipe for “zucchini carpaccio.” The name is a little over the top but you can blame Tyler Florence for that because I sharked the idea from him.
Zucchini Carpaccio:
2 small zucchini
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ a lemon (recipe works without this too but this adds a pleasant freshness and makes it more salad-y)
Freshly cracked pepper/ lemon pepper
Salt
2 tbs julienned basil and/or julienned mint
Parmesan to taste ( I would recommend using the real stuff for this just because it’s pretty major in the recipe. Shaved will give you the best texture compliment too)
Very thinly slice the zucchini into rounds using either a very sharp knife and a steady hand or a mandolin. Dress with the oil, lemon, salt, and pepper. Shave your parmesan over the zucchini using your mandolin, sharpy-sharp knife, or the shaving side of a box grater. Add your julienned herbs (a combo of mint and basil is actually really nice on this). Mix gently and eat J
*I have been making this the night before for my lunch and it refrigerates well. The zucchini stayed firm and everything was delicious.
