Runs with Spatula

I have had this recipe bookmarked in one of my favorite cookbooks for two years.  I kept reading other posts about how watermelon and feta cheese taste incredible together, but I just didn’t believe it!  After a recent string of blog posts with similar combinations, I thought…I need to finally try it.  I went back to that cookbook, Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson and read it over again.  I have to admit that I have a special place in my heart for Nigella Lawson.  You could call her my “girl crush”…well her and Rachel Maddow, but that is a story for another day.  If there are any women I would “jump the fence” for it be one of them. 

I am not going to post the recipe here on my site, as my description of how to make this salad would pale in comparison with her description.  The way she describes food is truly beautiful.  From steeping red onions “cut into very fine half-moons” in lime juice to “diminish their rasp” and the description of pouring “now glowingly puce onions” onto the salad are truly food porn to me.  You can read her original recipe here on her website.  I warn you though…you may have a girl crush (or boy crush) after reading her recipe too.

WOW.  I don’t know what I was waiting for.  The flavors in this salad are incredible.  The clean taste of the herbs blend with the sharp cheese, red onion and sweet watermelon in a way that I would never have imagined and can’t even think of how to describe.  You honestly must try this.  Next time, I will go a little lighter on the olives and cut both the watermelon and the feta in a little less rustic fashion.  That way it will be a little easier to get the “perfect bite” on my fork with a taste of each element of the salad. 

We always had a huge garden when I was growing up. With a garden comes a ton of zucchini and the need for creative ways to use it. This was one of my mom’s favorite zucchini dishes and one she made more than anything I can remember other than her Zucchini Bread. Last week I got a craving for it and had to make it. It turned out great and just like I remember it. I think I spiced it with a little heavier hand than my mom did, but it was as delicious as I remember it being. I consulted with my sister, Clare and we both agreed on the general ingredients. When she makes it, she often adds other vegetables to it that she might have on hand, such as fresh mushrooms or banana peppers. She also makes hers a little saucier than my mom did and serves it over rice. I like mine just as is with a little grated cheese on top. I picked up more zucchini and tomatoes at the market this weekend and plan on making another big batch and taking half of it to my mom. I believe this recipe could be listed in the “freezes beautifully” section…bonus points to anyone who can name the movie that line is from!

The amounts listed in this recipe can really be considered recommendations. This recipe is very forgiving and you can vary the amounts of zucchini and tomatoes to your liking (or your garden’s bounty) or add other vegetables, like my sister Clare does! I ate this topped with a little Hot Pepper Asiago that we picked up from Hill’s Homecured Cheese at the Lansing City Market. You can serve it plain, serve it on rice or top it with a little grated Asiago or Parmesan!

Zucchini and Pork (printable recipe)

serves 4 – 6

• 12 ounces lean pork, cubed
• 2 T cooking oil (I used Zoye soybean oil)
• 1 cup sliced vidalia onion
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed
• 6 – 8 cups sliced zucchini (split in half and then slice in 1/2 inch slices)
• 6 – 8 cups chopped tomatoes (I used a variety of yellow, red and roma tomatoes)
• 1 – 2 t smoked paprika (I used Hot Smoked Paprika)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat cooking oil in large dutch oven or frying pan. Add onion slices and garlic and saute until onions are translucent. Add pork and cook until no longer pink. Season with smoked paprika, salt and pepper and stir to incorporate well. Add zucchini slices and cook for several minutes, until they start to soften. Add tomatoes and stir to blend mixture. Turn heat down and allow mixture to simmer, stirring frequently to break up tomatoes and allow tomatoes to cook into a sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Corky and I went on a camping trip earlier this summer.  For years, I have gone camping each summer with the Lansing Jaycees.  When Corky entered my life and started going with me on these trips, it turned into us staying at a local “2 star hotel”, which is as close to camping as he is ever going to come!  This year’s trip took us to Silver Lake State Park.  Our sleeping arrangements were close by in Hart, Michigan.  Our motel room was equipped with a window AC unit, running water and we even had access to a fish cleaning station right outside our door!  I think the campers at the state park had a little more luxurious accommodations.

Campfire cooking is one of my favorite camp activities.  For years, Friday night has always included a lot of pie iron cooking.  We have come up with some unbelievable combinations for pie irons.  There was Carrie’s Classic Reuben Sandwich in a Pie Iron with corned beef, swiss cheese and sauerkraut, dipped in Thousand Island Dressing of course.  Then there was Angela’s Beef Pot Pie with Dinty Moore Beef Stew inside a crescent roll crust.  There were also a few flops, like when I tried one filled with canned corned beef hash…epic failure.  There has been a variety of sweet combinations too that go well beyond the canned pie filling variety.  Bananas Foster can be made with bananas, butter and brown sugar in a bread or crescent roll crust.  The combinations are seemingly endless.  This year there were three pie iron combinations that stood out to me. 

Angela made a gorgeous caprese pizza with mozzarella, fresh basil and pizza sauce.

I brought a package of Pimento Cheese from Trader Joe’s and made a Pimento Cheese and Vidalia Onion Pie Iron.  This one was good, but just for the record, Pimento Cheese over a campfire gets freaking hot and very liquid and will burn your chin like hell.  If you try this one, let it sit for a few minutes before your first taste.

The Pie Iron Creation that I was most proud of was my Coney Dog Pie Iron!  On Saturday night we had hot dogs and hamburgers over the fire.  The Pie Irons were close by from Friday night and I decided to combine the two dinner plans into one and the Pie Iron Coney Dog was born.  This one went down as one of my favorite Pie Iron Creations, right after Angela’s Beef Pot Pie from two years ago and the Bananas Foster from years past. 

The Coney was served with raw Vidalia Onion and Yellow Mustard…a new Campfire Classic was born.