Hello Friends,
It's been a few weeks since I posted, and what a few weeks it's been. My CSA has been going strong (yay) and my remaining tomato plants have little green tomatoes that are (slowly) growing toward fruition. All of this is wonderful, except for the part where, as a result of my job at Big Boston Firm, I am never home. I am almost to the point where I will have to drop off food at people's houses, ring the bell, and then run away before they know it was me.
Of course, the zucchini frittata on the front step might give that away.
One of the things I like about keeping kosher is that it requires mindful eating. No matter where you fall on the spectrum (if, like me, you believe that there is such a thing), from mashgiach to "everything but bacon", if you keep kosher to any degree, you are thinking about what you are putting into your body, what you consume, where it comes from, and how it got to you.
I was contemplating this yesterday afternoon as I meticulously inspected and pitted sour cherries. The cherries in question had come from a cherry tree in my friends' yard (thanks Jane and Brett!) that had been sadly neglected by J&B's landlord. As a result, the tree had lovely fruit but a roaring fruit fly infestation. Hence my careful cherry-by-cherry inspection. Keeping kosher for me means not eating bugs (at least, not those that can be avoided by careful inspection), so I went through and checked each cherry for any blemishes, then hand pitted the good cherries, and plopped them into the sugar and cinnamon and blueberries. Of the fruit I picked, about half made it into the cherry-blueberry cobbler I made last night. I stole, I mean adapted, the recipe from 101 Cookbooks, which is one of my favorite cooking blogs (find the recipe here). Needless to say, a careful perusal of 200 cherries is time consuming, but it was nice to know that I was eating local (and presumably organic, if you can call it organic with the ground-level pollutants that may linger in Somerville back yards) cherries that I had picked myself.
In addition to the cherry-blueberry cobbler (a la mode), we had Greek salad with cucumber, arugula and mesclun from my CSA, and zucchini-corn quesadillas with zucchini and corn from my CSA. I've included the zucchini and corn quesadilla recipe below. I will admit that, had I had less time, I would happily use canned "refried" beans in this recipe - TJs has a mix that is totally awesome. If you were feeling really ambitious (clearly I was not), then you could start with dried pinto beans or similar white beans, soak them for 24 hours, boil them, and then begin with the recipe below. Any of these three options would be acceptable. Do what works for you.
Zucchini-Corn Quesadillas
1 large zucchini, washed, stems removed, in 1/2" dice
1 ear corn, husked, kernels cut off with a sharp knife (try not to hurt yourself while doing this).
1 medium onion in 1/4", divided
1 can pinto beans
2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
salt and pepper to taste
3 whole wheat regular-size tortillas (or other tortillas of your choice)
1 1/2 cups low-fat shredded cheese (mexican-style blend, if you can find it, mild cheddar or pepper jack if you can't)
6 tsp EVOO, divided
1/2 cup each sour cream and salsa, for serving
1. In the skillet, place 2 tsp of EVOO and heat to medium-high. Add half the onion and cook until translucent and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add can of beans (including juices). Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 more minutes. Remove from heat. With a potato masher or fork, squish the beans until the mixture resembles a thick paste. If the beans are too chunky, add a couple tablespoons of water. Season with salt and pepper (easy on the salt). Transfer beans into a tupperware container. Rinse out the skillet.
2. Put the skillet back on the heat, add 2 more tsp. EVOO, and add the remaining half of the onion. Again, cook until translucent. Add zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until zucchini is falling apart and browning in places, about 10 minutes. Add corn and cook an additional 2 minutes. Put in a second tupperware container and wipe out skillet.
3. Assemble the quesadillas. In each tortilla, spread about 1/4 cup of the bean mixture on one half of the tortilla. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of cheese over the beans. Cover with about 1/3 cup of the zucchini-corn mixture. (You can fiddle with these proportions depending on your taste). Repeat with the remaining two tortillas. You will probably have some leftover zucchini mix and beans (dinner tomorrow night too). Fold each tortilla in half to create a half circle of deliciousness.
4. In skillet, pour a scant amount of EVOO (1/2 tsp?) and heat over medium-high. Swirl oil around in pan, then add the quesadillas. Cook on bottom until brown and crispy (keep an eye on it to avoid scorching) and then gently flip over to brown the other side. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. Serve with sour cream and salsa.
Enjoy!
Zucchini-Corn Quesadillas
1 large zucchini, washed, stems removed, in 1/2" dice
1 ear corn, husked, kernels cut off with a sharp knife (try not to hurt yourself while doing this).
1 medium onion in 1/4", divided
1 can pinto beans
2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
salt and pepper to taste
3 whole wheat regular-size tortillas (or other tortillas of your choice)
1 1/2 cups low-fat shredded cheese (mexican-style blend, if you can find it, mild cheddar or pepper jack if you can't)
6 tsp EVOO, divided
1/2 cup each sour cream and salsa, for serving
1. In the skillet, place 2 tsp of EVOO and heat to medium-high. Add half the onion and cook until translucent and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add can of beans (including juices). Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 more minutes. Remove from heat. With a potato masher or fork, squish the beans until the mixture resembles a thick paste. If the beans are too chunky, add a couple tablespoons of water. Season with salt and pepper (easy on the salt). Transfer beans into a tupperware container. Rinse out the skillet.
2. Put the skillet back on the heat, add 2 more tsp. EVOO, and add the remaining half of the onion. Again, cook until translucent. Add zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until zucchini is falling apart and browning in places, about 10 minutes. Add corn and cook an additional 2 minutes. Put in a second tupperware container and wipe out skillet.
3. Assemble the quesadillas. In each tortilla, spread about 1/4 cup of the bean mixture on one half of the tortilla. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of cheese over the beans. Cover with about 1/3 cup of the zucchini-corn mixture. (You can fiddle with these proportions depending on your taste). Repeat with the remaining two tortillas. You will probably have some leftover zucchini mix and beans (dinner tomorrow night too). Fold each tortilla in half to create a half circle of deliciousness.
4. In skillet, pour a scant amount of EVOO (1/2 tsp?) and heat over medium-high. Swirl oil around in pan, then add the quesadillas. Cook on bottom until brown and crispy (keep an eye on it to avoid scorching) and then gently flip over to brown the other side. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. Serve with sour cream and salsa.
Enjoy!
