Zucchini Pineapple Loaf

By now we are in zucchini overload...but when the first ones appear in the garden every year...this is the recipe I reach for. It's on a tattered and stained recipe card...origin unknown...but tested and tried in my kitchen on many occasion. This year I made mini-loaves and muffins....easy to freeze and pull out a bite or two at a time.

Pineapple Zucchini Loaf

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 cup raisins (optional...or substitute chocolate chips)

Method:

1. Whisk eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Stir in zucchini and pineapple.
3. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts and raisins.
4. Mix dry ingredients together with wet ingredients...and stir until moistened.
5. Pour into two large, greased loaf pans.
6. Bake at 350° F for 1 hour.

*or grease 8 mini-loaf pans and bake at 350° F for 30 minutes.

I challenge you to try to keep up with your zucchini plant!

Raspberry Clubhouse Salad

This salad is simply a summertime version of several salads that I enjoy. Since the raspberries are plentiful at this time of the year...they are showing up in everything from desserts to salads around here...and it's all good! Mixed greens, crumbled feta, red onion, caramelized pecans and raspberries...combined with the sweet and sour tang of raspberry vinaigrette...make for a delightful summer lunch.

Layer the following ingredients on individual salad plates:

• mixed greens
• sliced red onion
• feta cheese, crumbled
• real crumbled bacon (optional)
• caramelized pecans (*see note)
• fresh raspberries
  

Drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette (recipe below)....and enjoy on a sunny summer day!

Raspberry Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar (**see note)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Blend raspberry vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper and honey...slowly add olive oil and blend well.

*To caramelize pecans, combine 1/2 cup pecans with 2 Tablespoons sugar in a large frying pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar melts to a golden syrup and roasts the pecans (about 5 minutes). Turn onto parchment paper; cool and break into pieces.

**To make your own raspberry vinegar, combine 2 cups fresh raspberries with 2 cups of white vinegar in a glass jar with tight fitting lid. Mash raspberries slightly with handle of wooden spoon; store in refrigerator for one week...shaking jar daily. After seven days, strain the liquid and use in your favorite gourmet dressings. Store in refrigerator.

Lemon Chess Pie

Lemon chess pie is an old-fashioned southern favorite...which is quite new to me. We have a coffee shoppe in our town...located at our local airport that draws people from far and wide...mostly for their delicious pies. It was here that I first sampled lemon chess pie...with blackberry sauce and whipped cream. It was simply delicious...and so I decided to replicate it in my test kitchen. My recipe is a combination of several...but quite like the one found in the Company's Coming Pie cookbook by Jean Parè.


Lemon Chess Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell (use your favorite pastry recipe or purchase frozen piecrust)
• 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 Tbs. flour
• 5 large eggs
• freshly grated zest of one lemon
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Place pie crust in 9-inch pie plate...and flute edges.
3. Combine sugar and flour in mixing bowl.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed with mixer until well blended.
5. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, and melted butter. Mix well.
6. Pour filling into the prepared pie crust.
7. Bake on lower rack of oven for 45 minutes at 325°F...or until puffed and golden brown in colour.
8. When cool...cut and serve each wedge with a dollop of whipped cream...and a sauce of fresh raspberries or blackberries.

Since the raspberries are in season at the moment...and readily available in the garden...I simply mashed the fresh berries, added sugar to taste...and drizzled a little over each piece of pie.

*If a thicker sauce is preferred...combine 1 1/2 cups mashed berries with 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch dissolved in 1 1/2 Tbsp. cold water...and cook in microwave until thickened (about 3 minutes on high)...stirring every minute. Cool and chill before using.