AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Camel-Chini (Recipe: Zucchini Bread) DATE: 9/04/2009 09:08:00 AM ----- BODY:
I have few memories of the year my family lived in Israel when I was 3-years old. But I remember the memories, and they have tinted the stories of my childhood when we were back in the States. The Passover story, recited every year at the Seders around the globe, tells of the Jews’ exodus from Egypt during the time of Pharoh. For most of my youth, I thought we were actually part of that exodus – and that’s why we were in Israel. And when my father served us camel-chini at dinner, instead of the usual zoo-chini, it made sense that we would eat that because we used to live in the Middle East.

When I returned to my garden after a week on the farm, I didn’t know what to expect. I forgot to follow the weather to see if it rained, though I believe the temperatures were a scorching 90+ for several days. Would the tomatoes wither from the blight? Would I finally have zucchini? And would my tiny little lettuce seedlings that I planted the week before survive?

I had two zucchinis the size of baseball bats. Maybe these were the storied camel-chini of my youth? I immediately sliced up the first for that night’s dinner. It was tough and woody – not pleasing at all. With all sorts of zucchini breadrecipes popping up all over the blog-o-sphere, I realized that grating was the only way to combat the texture.

Yesterday, I tore out the zucchini plant. While I had hopes of a bumper crop, I only harvested those two overgrown specimens. And I’ve come to realize this happens because of where I planted the seeds. I’m so concerned about overgrown plants, peddling zucchini plants on my street, that I plant them in the least sunny patch of the garden. And with the torrential rains this summer, I discovered that location also gets the most run-off. If I’m to plant zucchini again, I need to commit to a sunnier location.

Zucchini Bread
from Morning Glory Farm Cookbook, via Dine and Dish

2 to 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray two 9″ x 5″ bread pans with nonstick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
Beat sugar into mix until it is thoroughly creamed.

Once liquids and sugar are well mixed, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until batter is well blended and even in texture. The batter should be smooth, outside the zucchini shreds. If it’s not, add a little juice from the zucchini.
Pour batter evenly into pans.

Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until bread is brown and springs back when gently pressed in the middle.




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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous noble pig DATE:9/04/2009 10:17:00 AM Thanks for the story, and Camel-chini he-he. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types DATE:9/04/2009 11:31:00 AM Great story, and interesting learning on the zucchini harvest. I have a similar recipe that uses one cup of whole wheat flower along with the touch of cinnamon. It's really addicting! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Steve DATE:9/05/2009 03:40:00 PM I had the same problem with my zoo- chini this year. The skin was like leather, the seeds as big and tough as pumpkin seeds. Not sure whether it was the weather, my picking them too late, or the variety I planted. Very frustrating. This recipe will provide a nice use for the few I have left in the garden. Thanks. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: The Quest for Authentic (Recipe: Tandoori Chicken) DATE: 7/20/2009 11:32:00 AM ----- BODY:
When I travel abroad, I like to buy cookbooks that feature the local cuisine. Usually, they're unavailable in the US. And especially with the books purchased in Asia, they have not been tailored to the “western kitchen.” True or not, I think the recipes will be more authentic to the region. And I feel confident enough in both my cooking skills and ability to find the unusual ingredients in the Boston markets that I am unfettered by these recipes.

Thanks to the magic of the internet, Wendy Hutton's books are now available in the US. Her recipe for tandoori chicken is exceptional in flavor and tastes as good as anything I’ve eaten in a restaurant. I use this recipe for both lamb and chicken.

Mine little resembles in appearance the restaurant version since I don’t use food coloring and leave on the marinade when I cook it. I love the flavor of the marinade roasted in the butter and chicken juices, and could easily make a meal of those drippings slathered on naan. Since I don’t have a tandoori oven at home (and who does??), I cook it in a cast iron skillet on the charcoal grill outside. I was less pleased with her naan recipe and use the one from Stonyfield Farms that comes courtesy of Peter Franklin.

Tandoori Chicken
with no adaption from Singapore Food by Wendy Hutton

1 chicken, about 2 lbs.
1 tbs. melted butter or ghee

Marinade 1
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. white pepper
pinch cloves
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1 ½ tbs. lemon juice

Marinade 2
4 tbs. plain yogurt
1 heaping tbs. cilantro, pounded
1 heaping tbs. mint, pounded
1 tbs. cumin
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. crushed fresh ginger
1 tsp. white vinegar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1/3 tsp. cardamom
few drops of red food coloring (opt.)

1. Remove feet, head and skin from the chicken and make deep cuts in the thighs and breasts. Combine all ingredients for marinade 1 and rub well into the chicken. Leave in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

2. Combine ingredients for marinade 2 and rub evenly all over the chicken, making sure some of the marinade penetrates the slits. Leave in refrigerator for at least 6 hours.

3. Brush grill with ghee or butter and cook chicken over hot coals, brushing from time to time.

Yogurt Flatbread (Naan)
1 cup warm water
1 packet dry, active yeast
1 cup Stonyfield plain yogurt
2 teaspoons salt
5-6 cups all purpose flour
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter


1. In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer (i.e. Kitchen Aid), combine the water, yogurt and butter, and yeast. Mix well and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Mix together the salt and flour, and gradually add to the liquids. If the dough becomes too stiff to mix, add a bit of warm water, 1 tbs. at a time. Knead by hand for 5-6 minutes, until dough is smooth and shiny.
3. Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for +/- 20 minutes.
4. Portion dough into 2 ounce pieces, and roll very thin (tortilla like thickness) with a rolling pin. Layer rolled-out pieces on flour dusted parchment or waxed paper until ready to cook.
5. The Naan may be cooked in a skillet (cast iron is best…heat to medium high heat, ungreased) or even on a barbecue grill. Cook about 2 minutes per side, or until desired level of doneness. Dough will bubble and rise a bit as it cooks. This is normal.
6. Serve warm.


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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types DATE:7/20/2009 03:02:00 PM I do the same, picking up local recipe books when I travel. I feel like that is one real way to take the food and the culture home with you. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) DATE:7/20/2009 06:57:00 PM I've made Peter's naan, and it's delicious. Now I'll have to try the tandoori. I've hunted for English-language books in every country I've ever visited -- it's always a highlight of my trip when I find a locally published book, in English, to bring home. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Karen DATE:7/20/2009 08:09:00 PM ooo, I always hit the grocery stores/markets when I travel, but never thought to look for cookbooks as well. Great idea! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Reeni DATE:7/20/2009 10:00:00 PM I love tandoori chicken - this looks wonderful! Great idea to look for cookbooks! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous noble pig DATE:7/21/2009 11:27:00 AM Oh wow, it is delicious looking and sounding too! I haven't had Tandoori in a while but this has my taste buds craving this wonderful dish. Authentic is always key as well! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Julia DATE:7/22/2009 09:24:00 AM T.W. - Do you have a favorite cookbook?

Lydia -- I had the most difficult time in China finding a good book. Did you get a good one?

Karen -- Grocery Stores and markets are key too :)

Reeni -- What souvenirs to you get from travels?

noble pig -- Sometimes it's hard to recreate authentic just because the ingredients taste so different here. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Langdon Cook DATE:7/22/2009 11:56:00 AM Good on ya. Tandoor is one of those things I've always left to the "experts," but now you've inspired me to give it a whirl.

p.s. Word verification is "Lester." Who the heck is that? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Anonymous Jude DATE:7/26/2009 10:30:00 PM Interesting recipe. I've always thought the red color was from paprika or some other spice. ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Challah Cravings DATE: 9/30/2008 01:07:00 PM ----- BODY:
I woke up the other day with a phantom scent of Challah in the air – that sweet, yeasty aroma. And while drinking my coffee, I could practically taste it. Have you ever had that feeling before? I have… it was a few months ago when I was visiting the farm. Lucky for me, Brett had all the ingredients in the pantry: bread flour, yeast, oil and sugar. Eggs were out in the chicken coup. The two loaves of challah had barely come out of the oven before I began tearing into. I pretended to have made only one loaf because when Brett and Chris returned, that’s all that was left. It was so, so good that when I got home, I immediately stocked my pantry with bread flour and yeast.

Challah is not an easy craving to satisfy quickly. The dough itself only takes about 20 minutes to pull together, but then it must rise twice: first in a big mass of dough and then a second rising after the loaves are formed.

My patience paid off…. And those aromas wafting through my house are real. Mmmm….

1 package dry yeast
3 ½ cups bread flour
½ cup oil
¾ cup warm water
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup sugar
3 eggs
Poppy or sesame seeds

Combine water, yeast and ½ cup of flour in a mixing bowl (use the bowl of a kitchen aid if you have one). Mix to combine. Let sit for 20 minutes or until the slurry gets frothy.

Meanwhile, combine the oil, 2 eggs, sugar and salt. Add this to the flour/water/yeast mix and combine. Add the remaining flour and knead in a machine with a dough hook (10 minutes) or by hand (15 minutes).

Let rise for 4 hours on the counter, covered with plastic wrap, or in the refrigerator.
Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll out into strands. Make two loaves with 4 strands each. For tips on braiding challah, go here. You can also watch YouTube videos.

Make an egg wash with the remaining egg, and brush on top of the loaves. Sprinkle with seeds on top. Let rise for 1 hour.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Ideally, you should let it cool before eating, but you don’t have to.

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----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger PG DATE:9/30/2008 01:57:00 PM Oh nice. I'm thinking about making some challah this weekend for a belated Rosh Hashanah dinner. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger samaBlog DATE:9/30/2008 02:08:00 PM Brett??? Chris??? Who are these people? ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:Blogger Julia DATE:9/30/2008 04:43:00 PM PG, I think I need to make more too! Shanah Tovah!

Samablog, Brett and Chris are my friends that live (and work) on a farm. When I visit them, I cook a lot -- often during the day when they're working. You can click on the link in the post to read about them. ----- --------