I have been given several monstrous zucchinis this summer from people who have overflowing gardens! These plants grow in most temperate climates, and are low-maintenance enough to easily grow huge zucchinis in your own backyard. I have been looking up tons of zucchini recipes to find a way to cook these enormous vegetables, because loaves of zucchini bread get tiresome after a while!
Scallion pancakes, or cong you bing in Chinese, are savory unleavened flatbreads that can be both an informal street food and a restaurant dish. It’s made with dough, which is drier than a traditional pancake batter, which makes it crispier than a breakfast pancake. Variations of scallion pancakes can be found in Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia and Korea.
Samosas originated in the Middle East as early as the 9th century, then spread across Africa and Asia under a variety of names. The pastry dumplings are usually filled with a combination of potatoes, peas, lentils and spices, and are either baked or fried. This recipe comes from chef Melanie daPonte, a vegan personal chef located in Florida who posted these samosas on her blog earlier this summer.
Strawberries are one of the first fruits to ripen in the late spring and early summer, followed by rhubarb. Washington State has a $49 billion agriculture industry, and there are plenty of places to pick your own fresh fruit if you’re willing to drive outside of the city. The sweetness of the strawberries complements the tartness of the rhubarb, so when my friend gave me a big bag of rhubarb from her parents’ farm, I had to find some strawberries to go with it.
Everyone loves a crossover episode, when your favorite characters from one show join forces with the characters from a completely different show to reach a common goal. I teamed up with Sara from “Adventures of a Hungry Ginger” and a few other friends, and our goal was to cook up a ton of Greek food and eat it all.
Many classic Hungarian flavors appear in this creamy mushroom soup, such as paprika, onion, dill, sour cream and lemon. This recipe is a version of the traditional gombaleves, which predictably translates into “mushroom soup.” It’s similar to a cream of mushroom soup because it uses a flour roux stirred into the soup as a thickener, but it’s a far cry from the cans of Campbell’s mushroom soup that you would find on the grocery store shelves.
This gorgeous soba noodle salad from Rachael Ray has tons of crisp vegetables and a light ponzu dressing, and is a great addition to any summer picnic or cookout! The recipe is very simple to follow, and easy to customize by adding your favorite protein.
Outside of Vietnam, Seattle is one of the best places to find authentic pho noodle soup. In fact, the world’s largest bowl of pho can be found in the city’s International District! Dating back to the early 1900’s, pho is traditionally made with beef broth and rice noodles, and filled with a combination of vegetables, tofu, meat and garnishes. This savory veggie pho broth is filled with aromatic spices, and can be frozen to use as soup stock for any number of vegetarian recipes.
I needed a quick salad dressing to bring to a dinner party, so I borrowed the dressing that was included in an Edible Seattle recipe for Green Goddess bowls. First published in the New York Times in 1948, the cool, creamy dressing is green because of all the blended herbs that give it a distinctively fresh flavor.
These cherry almond-amaretto bars are ridiculously good and easy to make. The amaretto gives the cherries a little kick (but nothing too strong). Experiment with different flavor combinations of fresh and dried fruit, zest and nuts to create a snack that’s perfect for you!
Louisa Gaylord 