Every time I cook a meal, at some point, there is total silence. That’s a good sign. It means people are enjoying their food.
Last night there was a lot of quiet.
The meal started off with a Zucchini, Apple and Blue Cheese Salad. Crunchy and sweet chunks of apple tempered the tang of the cheese. The colorful salad could be topped with walnuts, I had them out in a dish. But I forgot them on both of my servings. It was a delicious salad. A great way to start the meal, simple to make – I see many in my future. Maybe with bacon? Mmmm.
The Pasta-Free Lasagna with Zucchini and Chicken took longer than expected to come out of the oven, but as one of my guests said, it was worth the wait. Long thin slices of the summer squash layered with pounded chicken breast. It’s actually something my husband used to make when he was on the Atkins Diet, without the zucchini. The sauce I made was full of flavor, cooking the sliced squash to al dente perfection. Another great way to make a low-carb “pasta” that tastes good and is reminiscent of home.
The Zucchini Dessert Trio was excellent. The Lemon Zucchini Sorbet with Poppy Seeds was bursting with quadruple lemon flavor. Lemon juice, Lemon Verbana, Lemon Thyme and Lemon Balm blended together with the green zucchini to make the most gorgeous shade of citrus sorbet. When making it the texture seemed odd, so I added the poppy seeds as a distraction. But once frozen the dessert came together nicely, the poppy seeds adding a pop - as they should, according to their name.
The Zesty Zucchini Cookies with Quinoa were almost too healthy to accompany the other desserts. The steel cut oatmeal cookies made with homemade apple sauce, orange zest and yellow squash were par-baked during the day so I could serve them hot out of the oven with a cold glass of milk. Everyone got a bag to bring home!
The Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting were out of this world. Spiced up with ground cloves, moist with the zucchini and topped with a little dab of sweet heaven. We almost annihilated the cupcake tree. The best part? I have an extra bag of icing in the fridge. Strawberries, anyone?
Another successful dinner - and “only” three courses, unless you count the three desserts separately. And you count the two bread courses - which I loved. Two courses of bread with butter, what’s not to love? Other than the fact that it’s summer and I don’t fit into any of my shorts.
Stay tuned for the video!
Bang on, my peeps!
-HH
PS - I've tried to include links for some of the recipes. Please note that I rarely follow a recipe exactly as written. Neither should you.
