"Veg Mix": A Recipe from Kevin

Hanna and I just got back from Hanna's parents' home in Maine, where they preside over an abundant vegetable garden and three chickens who provide lovely, lovely eggs (especially, says Hanna, if you feed them comfrey from the plants in front of the house).

Future summer squash.

We eat well and plentifully when we are in Maine, thanks to Hanna's father Kevin who does most of the cooking. And we always come home with bags and boxes filled with vegetables picked straight from the garden and canned goods -- hot pepper jelly, strawberry jam, pickled beets, and more.

A happy hen
(a Buff Orpington, Hanna says).

We have more than one recipe on file from Kevin (the "file" being a blue folder stuffed with bits of paper -- something that deserves a post of its own one of these days!), but I thought I'd share this one with you because it's so good for using up summer veggies. We find that the amounts listed here are roughly good for a two-person meal, with some possibly left over for lunch the next day. Expand as necessary and improvise with the veggies you happen to have around. The scrap of yellow notepaper just describes this as "Veg Mix" though I think technically it did come from a recipe book at one point. We have also been known to call it "that tasty veggie squodge" around here.

Lunch at the Clutterbucks

VEG MIX (BY KEVIN)


2 large carrots, grated
1 large zucchini, grated
1 large onion, diced
2-3 oz feta cheese
1/4 cup white flour
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 Tbl parsley
Salt and pepper as desired
1 large egg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit and use olive oil to grease a 9" glass pie plate or equivalent baking dish.

2. Mix grated carrots, zucchini, onion, and feta in a medium bowl.

3. Mix flour and spices together, then toss with veggies until coated.

4. Whisk egg and then add to veggie mix using hands to thoroughly combine.

5. Press into baking pan and cook for 20-30 minutes until the top begins to look slightly golden and crusty.

6. Serve hot, cut into wedges, as a main or side dish. Reheats beautifully and is also tasty cold.

Curry Shakshuka

Last week, beginning on the 4th of July, we has a stretch of HOT, muggy days wherein no one really feels like cooking or eating until about 10pm at night when the sun has gone down. And when one does get hungry, turning on the oven is not advisable.

Because you don't feel like cooking, it's also hard to consider shopping. Especially when you're in the middle of walking the three miles from work home through the late-afternoon urban fug. So on Tuesday night, we improvised with what we had in the fridge and the cupboards ... and came out with this sauteed vegetable curry with poached eggs. I'm calling it "curry shakshuka."

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium zucchini (approx 5" each), chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 tsp. crushed garlic (or 1-2 cloves, minced)
1 cup frozen or fresh sweetcorn (I used Trader Joe's roasted for the flavor)
2 veggie burgers, crumbled (optional; for extra protein)
4 eggs
1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt
2 Tbl. curry powder

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a large frying pan, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions start to go translucent.

2. Add zucchini and saute until zucchini begins to soften

3. Add corn and protein (if desired), stir thoroughly and leave to heat through.

4. Mix yogurt and curry powder thoroughly, adding water as needed to thin the mixture until about the consistency of tomato sauce. Pour into veggies and stir until combined.

5. Add water as necessary to make sure the veggies have plenty of liquid. Crack eggs into the center of the veggies and cover to poach. 5-7 minutes? I'm bad at poached eggs, so go with whatever you usually do! (This is where having enough liquid will help make sure the bottom of the veggie mixture doesn't burn as the eggs cook!)

6. Serve hot ... you may wish for more yogurt (greek style is tasty!) to cut the curry.

It's also tasty as chilled left-overs!