Summer Abundance, Continued

A former dear neighbor showed up this morning as we were about to leave for town. She was a bit early to leave the sack on the front doorstep and run undetected. The bag contained four healthy zucchini, a bag of cucumbers destined to become pickles, and a giant head of cabbage. I returned home having skipped the entire vegetable section at the grocery store, in anticipation of the bag sitting on my counter. The cabbage beckoned first, so I decided to do something Mom loves, stuffed cabbage, playing a little fast and loose with some of the traditional ingredients to include other elements waiting in abundance on the counter. Taking a half pound of turkey Italian sausage out of the freezer (see a previous posting) I began assembling the following in a nonstick skillet with the meat: 3 chopped small red, yellow and orange peppers from Trader Joe's, 2 chopped scallions, 3 big chopped mushrooms, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. dried onion, 1-1/2 cups cooked basmati brown rice, 1 chopped medium yellow summer squash, 1/3 cup white wine, 1 T. balsamic vinegar and some chopped fresh basil, lemon thyme and oregano (the usual suspects). Toward the end, I opened a jar or prepared pasta sauce with Italian sausage and added 3 T. to the rice/meat/vegetable mixture, reserving the rest to cover the cabbage rolls. I put 2 inches of salted water into a large enameled dutch oven, discarding the silicon steamer insert when it proved too unwieldy for the entire head of cabbage, which had the core removed but still protruded above the lid. As it cooked away, I finished sauteeing the vegetables, turkey sausage and rice, turning off the burner. The filling rested as the other elements completed cooking. Starting at the base of the semi-cooled cabbage, I peeled away entire half-cooked leaves, cutting out the fibrous rib before filling each leaf with the rice/sausage/vegetable mixture and adding grated cheddar and parmesan cheese before rolling them up in a large casserole dish. The rolls were covered with the remaining tomato sauce and some grated cheese. I ended up with another covered glass casserole dish with two remaining cabbage rolls and sauce before putting both into the oven at 325 degrees. About 50 minutes in, I took off the lids and let them cook an additional 10-15 minutes before taking them out to rest about 10 minutes. Mom thought the cabbage was still a little tough, but she has no lower denture plate. I think another day in the fridge ought to give them a little more tenderness before reheating. They were a bit 'healthy' but quite tasty, especially the ones I had embellished with a sprinkle of red chili flakes just for me.

Guilt-Free Lasagna

Zucchini glut can be a good thing. A large but firm zucchini sat on the counter for a day and a half, daring me to do something with it. An online search for yet another zucchini recipe pointed me in the right direction. I have since tweaked and twisted the recipe another 45 degrees. This is what I did: I sliced the zucchini lengthwise with a sharp knife into thin slabs about 1/4" thick. A mandoline also works for this task; I avoid them whenever possible, having sacrificed one too many bits of flesh. I cooked up a bechamel in a saucepan with about 1/2 cup of dry milk, 3 T. of cornstarch, a 1/2 tsp. each of garlic and onion powder, plus freshly grated nutmeg. Mixing the dry ingredients, I added 1/3 cup of evaporated milk, 1/4 cup dry white wine and 3/4 cup of water, cooking while stirring constantly over medium heat. Once it had thickened, I pulled the pan off the burner and grated in a little parmesan. In a skillet on medium high with 1 T. olive oil, I quickly sauteed the white part of two scallions, chopped, adding three chopped baby sweet orange, red and yellow peppers, (one-half a large sweet red or yellow pepper would also work). I used a small can of mushroom pieces, drained and added as the other vegetables cooked, but 3-4 fresh mushrooms would do the trick if most of the moisture is cooked out. As I pulled the skillet off the burner, I added three large chiffonaded basil leaves, plus the chopped leaves from two sprigs each of fresh marjoram/oregano and lemon thyme. Emptying the contents into a bowl, I added another bit of olive oil to the skillet and quickly broke up about 1/2 pound of uncooked turkey Italian sausage, breaking it up and sizzling it just long enough to get rid of most of the pink. I augmented its flavors with 1 tsp. of fennel seed crushed between my fingers, one minced garlic clove, some red pepper flakes, and another little splash of dry white wine. Starting with a thin layer from a jar of prepared pasta sauce in a large non-reactive covered rectangular/oblong casserole dish, I put down a layer of zucchini slices, with a thin layer of bechamel spread over the squash. That was followed by grated mozzarella (about three cups in the whole batch) and a sprinkle of grated parmesan (about 3/4 of a cup total). Then I added a layer of the pepper/mushroom mixture, some of the turkey Italian sausage, and another layer of tomato sauce, with the green scallion tops, some chives and a large basil leaf scissored over it. The successive layers of squash slices, pasta sauce, cooked vegetables, sausage and cheeses ended with tomato sauce, dotted with the remainder of the bechamel and some mozzarella and parmesan sprinkled on the top to brown. I baked it in a slowish 325 oven for an hour and 10 minutes, then let it rest a half hour before serving. It was perfectly delicious; the noodles were not missed and it was not mushy. The recipe I downloaded baked the zucchini slices 10-15 minutes. That recipe also lacked Italian sausage, but added thawed frozen artichoke hearts, patted dry and chopped, as well as capers. Rather than a bechamel, the downloaded recipe used cottage cheese, though ricotta seasoned with some nutmeg and garlic would also work. I used what I had on hand. The result is a delicious addition to my zucchini repertoire. While it is a work in progress, the recipe has already been handed on to my gluten-free brother in Louisiana.