Eggstra , Eggstra – Scrambled Egg Egg-Salad (Yep, It’s Gluten Free, too)

Do you ever have left over scrambled eggs? Ah, what a sad state of affairs. A lonely little portion left all alone in the frying pan just wondering what’s its fate will be.Oh, such circumstances make me shudder. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t eat all of their portion? We’re taking EGGS! Especially these gorgeous ones with their dark yolks. Mmmmm!

Well, such blasphamy occasionally occurs in my household as my children don’t always eat all of their breakfast. Let me clarify, they most definitely DO eat breakfast. Just sometimes not all of it.

I found myself with a portion of left over scrambled eggs yesterday, but didn’t want to toss them. No, no, no! So guess what I did instead? Guess! Huh, huh, huh? Come on, guess! I made scrambed egg egg-salad! Ha! (Hey, its acronym is a palindrome! S.E.E.S!!! Yeah, I'm a few yolks off when it comes to "word" issues!)

I’ve done this before, and the results are just wonderful. In fact, when you are crunched for time, and the clock shouts at you that you don’t have enough minutes to allow for the hardboiling/cooling/shelling ritual, this method works beautifully.

Here’s what I did. It’s so simple, I wonder why I even bother with the boiling method. Anywhooo ... take your left over scrambled eggs (or scramble them on purpose just for this) and break them apart with a fork into bits.If not already cool, they will be quickly. Now, transfer them to a mixing bowl and proceed as you would for regular egg salad.I added just mayo as my scrambled eggs were already seasoned. Go ahead and add whatever your little tastebuds cry out for.Then, assemble your sandwich or stuff your tomato or scoop it on a plate and serve. I opted to use it as a sandwich filling along with some wee red tomatoes and my gorgeous garden lettuce. (NOTE: This is a wheat free bread we are trying for my gluten free daughter. So far, so good. It does have “sprouted wheat”, but doesn’t contain traditional flour. I really like it. What’s more, it allows her to enjoy a sandwich every now and then.)The scrambled egg egg-salad was terrific. The texture was very similar to traditional egg salad, yet it took just minutes to make. I made yummy noises as I took the first bite. Then again when I took a second bite. Then again. You see where I’m going with this, don’t you?

So do you think you would like to give this a try? What do you do with your left over eggs?

Summer Stuffed Zucchini (it’s gluten free, too!)

Did anyone besides me get a kick out of Wednesday's numerical date: 07/08/09? My kids were telling me the corny joke: Why did number 6 fear number 7? Because 7 "ate" 9. Yeah, I know. It did make me laugh though.

Any-who, movin' on ... I’m getting a jump-start on the plethora of zucchini soon to be making it’s annual summertime appearance. I love zucchini. My favorites are the baby or small sized green goodies; however, I’m not picky at all when it come to the preparation method. I’ll eat it sauteed with garlic and cheese; I’ll eat it au gratin if you please. I would eat it in my house, I would eat it with my spouse. I would eat it with green eggs and ham; I would eat it with Sam I Am! Uh, I’m hoping you are all familiar with Dr. Seuss ... you know ... green eggs ... ham ... Sam.Just look at that golden crisp top! I bet every Dr. Seuss character would love love this. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Its origins are Northern Italian, and I got it out of a cookbook by Biba Caggiano years ago. You may recall that I’m Southern Italian. There is a big difference between those two regions; however, I love all Italian food and this recipe is no exception.

I’ve tweaked the original recipe to be gluten free. It’s easy. It uses regular ingredients. And it’s very filling. You will love it. Love. It. This baby is *company-serving-worthy*, too. Your guests will love it, and will love you for making it! Love. You. Yep, lots of love in this recipe. This recipe is easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc.

Let’s begin!

2 small zucchini
Alfredo sauce – see below
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
½ cup cooked ham, chopped (don’t use a sweet ham)
½ cup rice or corn Chex, crushed fine (corn Chex are now gluten free, too!)
NOTE: You can substitute fresh breadcrumbs for the Chex.
Seasoned Salt
Ground Pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese

Alfredo Sauce (Makes more than you need)
1 stick butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup 2% milk
1 cup cream
¼ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup parmesan cheese
¾ cup Mozzerella cheese, freshly shredded

Make the sauce first. In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, and swirl around in the butter for about 20 seconds. Add the milk, cream, and white pepper all at once, stir, and bring to a low simmer. Add the parm cheese. Stir. When it is incorporated, add the Mozz cheese. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 7-8 minutes or until thickened. It will thicken even more as it sits.

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a baking dish. Prepare zucchini by washing it. Fill a large pan 2/3rds full with salted water and bring it to a boil. Add zucchini. Cook for about 5 minutes for really small zucchini, or a couple minutes longer if your zucc’s are medium sized. The zucchini should be barely tender. Rinse under cold water, then pat dry. Trim ends off zucchini and slice zucchini in half lengthwise.Scoop out the pulp using a melon baller or small spoon, and place the zucchini cut side down on paper towels to drain. Place the pulp in a mixing bowl, and roughly mash the pulp with a fork or two knives. Stir in the chopped ham.How are your chopping skills? I give myself a B+. I’m pretty good with this particular knife, but I’m not going to enter a chopping competition. Now, if we were talking about shredding or peeling ... I’m your girl. I can peel carrots and potatoes at the speed of light, and dispense pounds of shredded cheese in mere minutes. Um, sorry ... let’s get back to the recipe. After you add your ham, add the parsley, Chex, seasoned salt, and pepper. Fold in about ¼ cup of sauce.Filling should be the consistency of a bread stuffing. Taste and adjust seasoning. My youngest loved the filling right out of the bowl. Fill the zucchini shells with the mixture – really mound it high. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Put the stuffed zucc’s in a buttered baking dish.Bake 20 minutes, crank up the broiler and broil for about 5 minutes or until the top is golden brown.Mmm, mmm, good! These are deceptively filling, and are the main dish – definitely not a side dish. It pairs perfectly with a summer green salad tossed with a light vinaigrette. Just look at how great these are!The ham is so delicate in the filling, but definitely is an important component of the overall dish. The alfredo sauce made with just one garlic clove is the perfect binder for the filling. The Chex perform outstandingly as they provide great body in the filling.So, when your garden is overflowing with zucch’s, give this recipe a try. What’s your favorite way to prepare this green goody?

PS: Follow the link to Mediterranean Kiwi's blog titled Organically Cooked -- she's posted a great zucchini recipe (dated 07/08/09) served with veal! YUM!

Garden Tuesday – The Babies are Here!

Cucumber tendril

Well, after a few days of glorious sunshine and slathering the children in sunscreen, we are back to overcast skies and cool temperatures. *sigh* I was hoping to say goodbye to my Casper look. Come back, sun, I need you! So does the garden!

The wee garden really flourished with both the heat and sun last week, and, as a result, we’ve got lots of baby veggies making their first appearances.

Baby Cherry Tomatoes. This is the first time I’ve grown the cherry variety, and I’m hoping to get a bumper crop.

Green Pepper buds. My little green pepper plants are just that. Little. I don’t quite know what’s going on here. I talk to them. I encourage them. I water them. They look healthy, but just are not growing. They are easily the smallest plants in the garden. Still, it looks like there will be a couple peppers ... although they will probably be the size of marbles.

I’ve got two cucumber mounds. This one is sporting several baby cuke’s. My oldest gal will be thrilled. She would survive on cucumbers alone if I’d let her.
I just love how the cucumbers send out these tendrils. Isn’t it cool how they curl around the trellis? Don't they kind of remind you of telephone cords? Does anyone remember what telephone cords look like? Hmm, I wonder if my kids know what a telephone cord is!

Speaking of curling, check out how Mother Nature drives these beanies to climb up this trellis!

Lots little baby beans bouncing around in the garden, too.

Any babies showing up in your gardens?

Crunchy-licious Waldorf Salad!

Yeah! It’s Friday! Even better, my husband has the day off (or so he says). My husband works very looooong hours, but thankfully we still recognize each other when we see each other. It will be nice to tackle some of the chores waiting in the queue to finally get done, as well as get in some quality play time. Now, before you go thinking that I tax him with chores on his day off, the main thing that needs to get done is building the shed that HE wants.

After working in the hot sun that has at long last arrived in our neck of the woods, he’ll need a cool refreshing salad to go along with his lunch. Enter in the Waldorf Salad! Have you ever had a Waldorf Salad? Ooooh, you are in for a real treat with this one. There are many, many versions of this salad floating around including making some with mayo, using grapes, adding onion, etc. I like something much different, and this one with it’s cool sour cream and honey dressing is my all time favorite.

It’s so simple, yet is always a bit hit. This recipe prepares two servings, and is very easily multiplied to serve more. Talk about easy to prepare .... it’s a total snap!

Waldorf Salad (Makes 2 servings but is easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc.!)

1 large crisp apple, chopped or sliced into bite sized pieces. Leave the skin on. (I used a Fugi, but use whatever you’ve got)
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon, heaping of honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ - 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sliced celeryIn a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the sour cream, honey, lemon juice, and zest. Stir in the apple, walnuts, and celery. Serve immediately, or put in the fridge for up to two days. You can, if you’d like, stir in some raisins, craisins, or slice grapes. I prefer to add either raisins or craisins, as I like the contrast of the crunchy apple with chewiness of the raisins/craisins. Oh, and of course, this is gluten free!

On another note, my hubby celebrated his 48th birthday this week.Isn’t this gift box a total hoot? It’s a pop up box that you place the gift inside, and then seal it up. The recipient has pull tabs that they use to open the box. It’s from Hallmark and we loved it!My kids always make cards. I love what they put together. What about you? Do you like homemade cards or store bought ones? Some of the store bought ones are a hysterical!, but I love the stuff the kidlin’s make, too. For the cake, my husband said he wanted a chocolate cake, and so my youngest daughter really, really, REALLY wanted to decorate his cake. Did I mention that she wanted to decorate his cake? REALLY wanted to? This was her first time decorating (beyond spreading frosting), and I gave her free reign to do whatever she wanted. I showed her how to use the frosting tip to write with, and then left her alone.She called for me a short time later, her face fallen, moaning that her lettering looked bad, that she didn’t like how it turned out, and how could we fix it. I took one look at her cake and told her that I absolutely loved it and so would her daddy. Assuring her that her cake with its homemade look would mean wayyyyy more to her dad than anything that a store bought baker could produce, her frown turned upside down, and we set out the cake. When her dad came home and saw the cake, he made a big deal out of how much it meant to him that she decorated it herself. Ah, times like that make me remember why I fell in love with that man!

Happy Fourth of July wishes to you all, and best wishes that you all have a lovely and safe holiday weekend!

Garden Tuesday 06/30/09 - Tomato Suckers and More!

Gouda Garden Greetings! While taking time out to sip some “nettles” tea (supposed to help allergies ... I’ll let you know if it works), I realized it’s time to share what’s going on in the Gouda Garden. I know, I know ... you need a container for your joy! Still (ahem), I’ve got to admit that I’m simply enamored with my tiny garden plots. Especially now that the sun is gracing us with daily appearances, the garden is really starting to take off. In fact, summer is supposed to hit tomorrow with temperatures in the 90’s (it was in the 40’s last night!).

So, let take step outside the patio door and see what’s happenin’!

Tomato Tutorial: See Ya Round, Suckers!

There are two types of tomato growers: those who remove suckers and those who do not. I belong in the former category. What’s a sucker, you ask? They are branches that grow out of the joints on the tomato plants. Suckers don’t hurt your plants, but there is some evidence that they do “rob” your plant of fruit production energy. Since my garden is so small, I pinch off the suckers to keep the plant focused on growing fruit, not leaves. Suckers do NOT bear any fruit themselves, they just produce leaves.Look for suckers growing at the plant joints. In the photo above, my pointer finger is touching the new sucker on this plant.Grab hold of the sucker (sounds like a move scrip ... “Hey, you, grab hold of that sucker!”) at the base.Simply snap it off! See ya, sucker! (That's probably the only time I'll say that. It's just so out of character for me. If you knew me, you'd understand. Even if I did mouth the words, you'd shake your head and tell me that it just doesn't work coming from me. *sigh* My friends would bust out laughing, and then they, too, would tell me to give it up and stick with "blast and darn it".)Suckers grow fast!

The Case of the Fascinating and the Curious: Things that make me go “hmmm”!

Here are a couple tidbits in the garden that fascinate me.

This is the first time I’ve grown cherry tomatoes. This plant doesn’t have a center stalk!It is growing in a V formation. Do all cherry tomato plants grow this way?

Someone’s been eating my porridge ... uh, make that beans. Some little creature decided to chow down on this leaf. No others, just this one. Don’t you just love the vein structure on the underside shown here in this leaf? I feel a homeschool lesson coming on! Hey kids, come look at this!
Isn’t this a hoot? It’s called “salad mix” which is basically a bunch of different types of lettuce! Ha!


I just love the delightfully delicate yet Samson strong qualities of pea tendrils! Plus, aren't the two-toned pea leaves darling? (I like the word darling. I use it often.)

I just love the fuzzy quality of these Potato Flowers! Do you like fuzzy things? You know, like small critters, and, uh, potato flowers!

What’s new in your garden this week? Anything fuzzy?