Zucchini Fritters

Howdy ho!  Here's what's been going on with me: 

1.)  It was my birthday this past weekend!  My sweet hubby bought me a new (old) record player.  I've been collecting records for a a few years , but only had one of those cheapo Crosely record players.  DO NOT ever use those.  They are shit and ruin your records + the sound is awful. 

We went to Bananas Music here in St. Pete.  Did you know that they have one of the largest record collections in the WORLD with over 3 million records?!?!  They also have a warehouse with a ton of equipment.  I was able to pick out a perfectly functional vintage turntable, amp, & speakers and they are glorious!  Music never sounded so good. 

2.)  I joined a spinning studio and love it.  Central Cycling is my new place. For me, I have to pay for my exercise because I feel much more accountable if I do so.  This place it great.  Totally dark, except for some rad black lights and motivational sayings in neon paint on the walls.  When I look up, all that I see is phrases like "SWEAT IS FAT DYING" or "DO IT FOR THE HOLY SHIT, YOU GOT HOT" or "YOU DON'T GET THE ASS YOU WANT BY SITTING ON IT", and it motivates the hell outta me! 

3.) We got our flights to Merida, Mexico for November!  My baby brother is getting married to the most lovely lady from Merida.  They have been together for a while and I've heard so many great things about this city.  So excited to finally visit. On the invite, it says the reception goes from 7:00pm until 6:00am! I guess they even serve breakfast at Mexican weddings.  My 9:30pm bedtime ass better figure out how to make it through the night :) 

 Now onto this recipe.  Can you believe that I made these about 5 months ago and am now just getting around to writing it?  Sheesh, it is a shame because they are so good.  My timing is probably better because summer gardens are in full swing and your garden should be runneth over with some zucchini soon.      

They are basically crispy, GBD (golden brown delicious) pancakes... with some zucchini in them.  That makes them totally healthy :)  The recipe is super easy, very forgiving and you can whip these up on a whim very quickly.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!   

  

Zucchini Fritters
2 medium zucchini, grated
1/2 onion, grated
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced

flavor-less oil for frying (vegetable, canola, avocado, grape seed, etc.)
Sour cream mixed with lemon zest, salt & pepper for garnish

Grate the zucchini and onion.  Place in a kitchen towel and squeeze until you have extracted most of the water.  In a large bowl, add zucchini, onion, and the remainder of the ingredients.  Mix until a thick batter forms.

In a heavy skillet, fill up with about a 1/2 an inch with oil.  Heat over medium high heat (about 350-375) and drop large spoonfuls into hot oil.  Cook for about 2 minutes until golden brown and then flip.  Remove when the opposite side is brown and cool on a paper towel lined cookie sheet.

Season with salt & pepper, serve with seasoned sour cream and enjoy this indulgent vegetable fritter!

Baked Camembert

Sharing a super quick appetizer recipe with you.  A few reasons why this is the most perfect crowd pleaser: 

- CHEESE!  Ooey, gooey, melty cheese! 

- Bread.  Hello gluten! 

- Garlic, because face it, if they don't love your garlic breath, they can go pound sand.

- Rosemary, so we can be sure to get our daily dose of greens :)   

Seriously though, don't you want to jump into your screen and dig into this?? 

Baked Camembert
1 wheel Camembert cheese
1 baguette
1 bunch rosemary
4 cloves garlic, sliced into thin chips (madolin works best to get paper thin slices)
2 tablespoon good olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Chop up a baguette and toast or grill until charred. If you are feeling really randy, you can use the rosemary to skewer the chunks of bread.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Remove cheese from wrapper and slice the rind off the top.  Place the wheel of cheese back in the wooden container (I obviously did not do this) and cook on a sheet plan in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Preheat olive oil over medium and add garlic chips.  Cook until brown and crispy.  Don't let the garlic burn!  Chop up some rosemary (about a teaspoon).

Remove cheese from oven and drizzle with garlic oil, garlic chips, chopped rosemary, and salt & pepper.  Dip the bread into cheese and experience pure nirvana!

Blistered Shishito Peppers + Sesame + Sriracha + Brown Sugar

Hey you guys!  Long time no speak.  Once again, I am here to apologize for my long hiatus. There really is only one reason for it.  I am sick of screens!  I work remotely and am mostly on my computer all day.  By the time quittin' time rolls around, I can barely look at a computer screen for another minute! 

I even did something crazy.  Like REALLY CRAZY.  I deactivated my personal Facebook profile and I want to shout form the mountain tops how liberating it feels!  For a long time, I kept thinking about getting off the Book, but couldn't bring myself to pull the plug.  I had about 700 "friends", but in reality, I only speak to about 20 of them in "real life".  

After being on Facebook since it's inception, I wonder how many hours I spent scrolling, and scrolling, and SCROLLING though my feed absorbing mind numbing information.  So, one day I did it.  I clicked the deactivate button.  Now don't get me wrong, I still have  Instagram and Snapchat, but I prefer those social media platforms infinitely more than Facebook.  Don't worry, my Owl with the Goblet Facebook page is still alive and well and I hope to be more active on that, now that I am cooking up a storm again. 

   Now on to these cutie-pa-tooty shishito peppers.  ERMAHGERD they are sooooo good!  I got the idea from our local ramen place, Buya Ramen.  Yes, Florida has ramen restaurants.  I was just as surprised as you, since May through October, I pretty much sweat even thinking about downing a bowl of soup or hot beverage in Florida.  But Buya is so good, I might just make an exception for them during the summer.  In addition to bomb-ass-ramen, their blistered shishitos with brown sugar are the perfect appetizer. 

After I had their peppers, I was determined to make them at home.  I even put my husband on "shishito pepper watch" at every grocery store he frequented, but sadly, he was not successful in this quest.  Yesterday, I had a leisurely trip to Locale Market, AKA heaven on earth, and they had a whole basket of shishito peppers.  I basically took the entire basket and poured it into a produce bag.  Two pounds of peppers later, I am finally sharing this recipe with you. 

Moral of the story; if you see shishito peppers at your market, buy them all and cook them like this! 

  

PS- It feels good to be back :)

Blistered Shishito Peppers + Sesame + Sriracha + Brown Sugar
1 pound shishito peppers
1 tablespoon oil (best to use an unflavored one like canola or avocado)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Sriracha to taste
Salt to taste

 In a bowl, toss peppers with oil and salt.  Heat up a heavy skillet (cast iron works best) over high heat.  You want it to be barely smoking.  While the pan is heating up, turn your broiler on high.

Once broiler is hot and pan is smoking, add peppers and place in oven under the broiler.  Leave them there for about 5 minutes, or until skin is blistered and peppers have softened.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with brown sugar, drizzle sesame oil, then salt & sriracha to taste.  You can eat the entire pepper.  Except the stem.  Don't eat the stem.

Now... "ALLEZ CUISINE"- in my best Iron Chef voice

Classic Creamy Hummus

Hey hey my fellow foodies!  Can you feel it?  The weekend?  It is almost here!  This week I was in Baltimore for work and got a taste of the lovely {cooler} fall weather up north.  I forgot how charming the Inner Harbor is there. My trip was both bitter-sweet.  Meeting with our team is always amazing, but I also had to say goodbye to my dear friend/colleague Michelle who is moving to Africa.  Jeez it was a tough goodbye, but thank the lord for social media to keep in touch!  

I am so excited to share this recipe with you.  I made this hummus early on in my blog.  Loved it, but in my opinion it wasn't creamy enough.  I found a recipe on Food 52 that incorporated the baking soda.  Bingo!  I think it helps break down the chickpeas for the creamiest hummus known to man. Boiling the chickpeas until they are basically falling apart helps as well.   

This hummus is nuts!  I have been making this just about every other week and keep it around for snacking during the day.  There is something so comforting about classic hummus that is done right.  No need for any other flavorings.  You have to try this silky smooth hummus... mmmmmmm.  

Classic Creamy Hummus

1 cup dried chickpeas

2 teaspoons baking soda, divided

5 garlic cloves

1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup ice cold water

2/3 cup tahini 

1/4 teaspoon cumin

for garnish: olive oil, paprika, chives and/or parsley

Place the chickpeas and 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a large bowl and cover with water.  Mix to dissolve the baking soda. Let sit overnight.  The chickpeas will double in size, so be sure to use a very large bowl to allow them to soak. Skim any skins off the top, drain and rinse chickpeas. 

Place chickpeas and remaining 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Place pot on stove top over medium high heat and bring to a boil.  Simmer for at least an hour, skimming off any white foam that rises to the top.  You want the chickpeas to be very soft, mushy and almost falling apart.  

While the chickpeas are boiling, peel the garlic and squeeze and strain the lemon juice. Add garlic, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of salt to blender or food processor and buzz until blended and liquefied.  Let the garlic mixture sit for at least 30 minutes to mellow out the flavor.  Add tahini and 1/4 cup of water and buzz until ingredients are blended, smooth and pale. 

Drain chickpeas and add to blender with cumin.  Blend until hummus is smooth and creamy.  You may need to lift the lid and push down the sides a few times.  Taste the hummus and add more salt, lemon juice or tahini to taste.  

Serve in a bowl and drizzle with lots of olive oil, paprika and chives or fresh parsley.  Serve with veggies, pita or any other fixing of your choice!