Gardening Recipes

Our winter in central Alaska has been a long one.  I can't wait for it to be over.  If you read my blog yesterday, you will see that I am dreaming of my garden even though there is still snow on the ground.  Besides, wishing for the start of my garden I am also looking forward to using what we get out of it.  Here are a few recipes that use the different types of veggies that we grow each year.

Carrot Soufflé

My boys love this!  It is not big and puffy like a regular soufflé. No worries about it falling.

1 1/2 lbs. carrots, sliced

6 T. butter

3 lg. eggs

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 1 1/2 qt. dish, set aside. Cook carrots in boiling water to cover for 15 min. or until tender, drain. In food processor or blender, combine carrots, butter, eggs, flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and process til smooth. Spoon into prepared dish. Bake about 1 hour or until set and lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Spaghetti Salad

4 oz. uncooked spaghetti noodles

1 tomato, chopped

1 small cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup chopped bell pepper

1/4 to 1/2 cup Italian dressing

Salad Supreme 

Cook the spaghetti noodles.  Drain and rinse. Add veggies to noodles.  Pour enough dressing over the mixture to coat it.  Mix well.  Sprinkle with Salad Supreme and mix well.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  You can add more Salad Supreme before serving.

Crunchy Zucchini Circles
3 small zucchini
1 egg
2 T oil
6 T unseasoned fine bread crumbs
3 T. Parmesan
1/4 t. salt
1 t. dried basil
1/2 oregano
1/2 t. onion powder
Slice zucchini 1/4 inch thick.  Beat egg in small bowl. Put oil in frying pan and heat to medium. In a medium-sized bowl mix bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt, basil, oregano, onion powder.  Use a fork to hold a zuke slice. Dip into egg and then dry ingredients. Put zucchini in pan.  Cook 5 min. and then turn them over and cook 5 minutes more.  You can also put the zukes on a baking sheet and spray them with oil and then bake them in the oven.  We serve these with Ranch dressing.

This recipe is the best one I have found for making zucchini bread in bulk. You can freeze some of it for later!

Roasted Green Beans

fresh  green beans

olive oil (maybe about 2 T for 2 lbs. of beans)

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Place the beans in an oven safe dish. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste.  Mix completely. Roast for about 15 minutes until beans are crisp tender and starting to brown.

 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

{More strawberry than rhubarb}

2 cups rhubarb, chopped

4 cups strawberries, sliced

1 1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 T. lemon juice

1/4 t. cinnamon

pastry for a double-crust pie

In a bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and cinnamon. On lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry and line a pie plate. Spoon in filling.  Roll out pastry for top crust (you can either do cookie cutter shapes for the top (like I do) or do a lattice top. Flute edge of crust. Bake on a baking sheet with sides in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for another 60 minutes or until rhubarb is tender, filling thickened and the crust is golden. Let stand 20 minutes before cutting.

 

Rhubarb Cake

(This is to-die-for!  Even those that don't like coffee or rhubarb eat this...I should know because Tim claims to hate both!)

Cream:

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup shortening

Add:

2 t. cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

Add alternating:

1 cup cold coffee

3 cups flour

Mix in:

3 cups finely chopped rhubarb

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle with brown sugar and nuts (optional on the nuts or you could substitute with oatmeal).  Bake 45 min. in a 350 degree oven.

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

(This is my grandma's recipe)

Cook together:

4 cups chopped rhubarb

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

Mix together and then put in the bottom of a pan and spoon the rhubarb mixture over it:

1 cup flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/3 cup shortening

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

I don't have the baking instructions. Grandma never wrote them down.  But you can put the cake in a 9 inch square baking pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cake is done.