Zucchini Walnut Bread

For the last couple of years Mr. Smith and I have been huge fans of grilling the summer squashes that I grab at the farmers markets. But to be quite honest- I.am.over.them.... That is, until the weather broke this weekend and I had the opportunity to turn on my oven for a bit of baking. These three baby squashes finally got their turn to shine in this yummy bread! The lemon zest really picks up the freshness of the zucchini, and the addition of dried cranberries in place of raisins adds the perfect amount of tartness. This recipe will make 2 loaves, but I'm already through half a loaf, and the second one will make the beach trip for Labor Day weekend!


Zucchini Walnut Bread
Recipe from: Bartlett's Ocean View Farm Cookbook
2 1/2 cups zucchini, unpeeled and shredded
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 raisins (or dried cranberries)
2 teaspoons lemon zest, grated
1 cup chopped walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Place zucchini in colander to allow moisture to drain off (about 20-30 minutes).
Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.
On a large mixer bowl, beat eggs until very light (I used a hand mixer for this and it was perfect). Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is very light. Add oil and mix well.
Using a rubber spatula, blend in flour mixture until smooth. Add zucchini (make sure to squeeze out any additional moisture first), honey, raisins, lemon zest, and nuts. Stir until well blended, but do not over stir.
Pour batter into 2 well- greased loaf pans and bake for 50- 60 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool pan for 10 minutes, then cool on wire racks.
Wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight before slicing.

Coffee and Pepper Crusted Steak

In my former life as a corporate event manager, my crew traveled to Arizona every spring to put on our annual conference. As anyone in the business knows, after smiling and putting out fires for a week, all you want on Friday is a place that no one knows you and you can drink the coldest beer known to man. In Scottsdale, Don & Charlie's is such a place. They also have the most amazing steak tips to help you with the beer. While this is not their recipe, it comes pretty close, and I use it on tips as well as sirloins. So bust open a Bud heavy and enjoy.


Coffee and Pepper Crusted Steak
Adapted from: Weber's Art of the Grill Deck: Recipes for Outdoor Living
1 tbsp whole coffee beans
2 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp sea salt
4 New York Strip steaks, or alternately use steak tips

Grind the coffee, pepper and salt in a food processor, or spice grinder.
Rub the mixture on both sides of the steak.
Grill the steaks until desired doneness, and let rest for 3 minutes under aluminum foil.
Serve warm.

Cole Slaw

So, to go with those super trashy pulled pork sandwiches, I love to whip up a batch of crunchy cole slaw. Somehow a love of all things cabbage eluded me for the first 3 decades of my life, but I have embraced it with a vengeance! Deb over at Smitten Kitchen shares my love and has a great recipe which I share below. Keep in mind, this is more technique than actual ingredients, so please use whatever your heart desires!

Dead Simple Slaw
Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen
2 1/2 lb green cabbage, cored and cut into chunks, then finely shredded
1 lb red cabbage, cored and cut into chunks, then finely shredded
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 large carrots, coarsely grated
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar

Toss all vegetables in a large bowl with 1 tsp each of salt and pepper. Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar, then toss with slaw. Chill, covered, stirring occasionally, at least 1 hour (for vegetables to wilt and flavors to blend).

Do ahead: Slaw can be chilled up to 1 day.

Pulled Pork

August- really? yowza! Well you already know I haven't been here, blogging my heart away. So where have we been? At the beach of course! and if the memory card on my camera has anything to say about it, Mr. Smith has taken to a life on the other side of the lens (Note to self: if Mr. Smith has the camera on vacation, download all the pictures before playing photographer in the kitchen, or be prepared to wait 45 minutes to go through them all).

Anywho... It was Mr. St.P's birthday last weekend, so I needed to whip something up that wasn't going to heat my kitchen up to atomic levels. So here comes some super trashy pulled pork sandwiches to fill the need! When making this treat, don't bother with super gourmet root beer. Use the A&W or Mug that you find in the supermarket and save the Boylan's for yourself. Also, although this recipe calls for tenderloin, I often supplement it with a pork shoulder or another cut with a bit more fat in order to keep it from drying out. The real trick is to just cover the pork with the root beer in your slow cooker and let the magic happen. I serve this along side some homemade cole slaw and soft rolls for making sandwiches.

Recipe adapted from: Allrecipes.com
1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (5 pound) pork shoulder
Salt and pepper
1 (liter) bottle root beer
1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce
8 hamburger buns, or dinner rolls for sliders
Directions:
Place the pork in a slow cooker and lightly season with salt and pepper. Pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Alternately, you can cook on high for 4 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over rolls with your favorite cole slaw.