Chilled Tomato Gazpacho with Cucumber and Feta

(I originally authored this post nearly a year ago now, back when we were homeless and living with my in-laws while deep in our house hunt. The recipe was an instant hit but alas, the photo I took before we devoured the soup was not. And so I had to wait a year for my next crop of tomatoes to come full circle so I could make the soup again and snag a better picture. I made this soup with my tomato bounty tonight. Yowser. It's just as good this year as last. If not even better. The ripe tomatoes produced such a natural sweetness in the soup that my husband asked if it was made out of watermelon after taking his first bite. So without further adieu....read on for last year's post and the recipe):

I have already mentioned our Tomato Conundrum. When we moved in with my in-laws back in June, we brought more than just boxes of our belongings. We also brought my patio garden which we added to the plot that was already here. So between all of our tomato plants, fresh tomatoes are piling up almost as rapidly as my 5-year-olds unanswered questions.

This week's menu-planning was easy. Our September Food and Wine Magazine arrived and it's as if they'd peaked over the fence and spied our tomato problem. The issue was plum full of tomato recipes so I dog-eared every one and have great aspirations of catching up with the ripening fruit in the days ahead. I wasn't expecting to have a post-worthy success so early on but this soup struck gold and so I couldn't help but share.

I never would have expected raw pureed tomatoes to taste so amazing but when they are ripened on the vine in your very own garden, there is no comparison. If you don't have a Tomato Conundrum, I'm sure you can find some ripe beauties at the farmer's market that will do just as well. This recipe is fast and easy and I had it ready to serve in the time it took my husband to whip up a tower of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. Make sure you use large tomatoes - I used 6 medium-sized Romas and felt like 3-4 more would have better achieved the volume I was shooting for. The tomatoes are first chopped and then pureed in a blender with a drizzle of honey. The soup is topped with red onions and that are lightly caramelized and olives and then tossed with red wine vinegar for a slightly sweet yet tangy contrast to the smooth soup. If olives aren't your thing, leave them out. I have made the soup both ways and the results are lovely. Cucumbers add crunch and feta cheese provides a delicious finish to this late summer hit.

Chilled Tomato Gazpacho with Cucumber and Feta
(adapted from Food and Wine Magazine)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

1 small red onion, thinly sliced 
3/4 cup pitted Kalmata olives 
2 tablespoons oregano leaves or 1 tsp dried oregano
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar 
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt 
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped into small cubes 
1 tablespoon honey 
6 large tomatoes, chopped 
Freshly ground black pepper 
4 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved 
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup) 

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, olives and oregano and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in vinegars. Season with salt. Cool to room temperature. 

Meanwhile, in a bowl, toss the cucumber with 1/2 tablespoon of the honey and season with salt.

In a blender, puree the chopped tomatoes with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of honey and season generously with salt and pepper. 

Pour the soup into shallow bowls. Top with the onion-olive mixture, cherry tomatoes, cucumber and feta.

Serves 4

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

I got to run away for the weekend. It was rough. And by rough I mean I got to stay in a 4 story beach front home WITH an elevator with four amazing girlfriends (and two adorable babies). We spent nearly the entire weekend talking. You'd think us women would eventually run out of things to say but you're wrong. I've been alive over thirty and a half years now and that still hasn't happened. There is just so much to talk about and so little time! Though we didn't manage to cover every topic on the planet, we did talk about the inevitable: meal planning and food budgets (boy, "girl talk" sure looks different for me these days!) The topic came up because we'd all left our husbands and most of our offspring at home and we knew we'd be returning to some degree of chaos which more than likely included an empty fridge. Or negative empty. If there is such a thing. 

People sometimes think that since I love food, that I must love all things food-related. That I frolic cheerfully through the grocery store pushing a cart containing three perfectly-behaved children who never whine or grab things off the shelves. It's true. Our life is just like that. My kids have never licked the floor or begun to eat something before we've paid, and no, that certainly wasn't my child that you saw just yesterday, twirling in the aisle with a mop as cleaning products spewed in every direction. Yeah, I love food so that sort of thing doesn't happen to me. NOT. 

Meal planning is the same story. I have the traditional late Sunday afternoon moment of petrified Darn-We-Are-Out-Of-Food-And-I-Need-To-Plan-A-Menu-For-The-Week-Like-NOW panic attack just like the rest of you. Unfortunately, even the lovely beach front setting I found myself in that past weekend, couldn't keep the attack at bay and I was racking my brain for inspiration so I could make an emergency grocery list as we packed up and prepared for our return trip. I was reminded of my desire to incorporate more vegetarian entrees into our diet, primarily for cost-saving measures (this of course was prompted by another riveting "girl talk" conversation in which we discussed the ghastly prices of meat - seriously, who have we become!?) Anyway, I realized that setting a specific goal of say serving one vegetarian meal a week could simplify my menu planning and make it less daunting. When I have a blank slate in front and all food's fair game, I have a hard time making a decision and picking recipes I'd like to make in the coming week. But when given a category to work with, it narrows the playing field and I do much better.

We have a few skeptics in my household so I am working to identify some vegetarian favorites that appease even the meat lovers. I stumbled upon this recipe a few years back because it received such rave reviews online. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was simple and easy AND delicious. The tacos are just as you would expect, given their name: crispy. The recipe calls for black beans that are partially mashed and seasoned with cumin. You could get fancy and add some other seasonings but it's really quite good as is. The key here, I think, is the fresh lime juice in the slaw. Shredded cabbage is tossed with a few green onions and cilantro and then dressed simply with lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. The cabbage absorbs the flavor of the lime, providing a nice tangy pop when stuffed inside the tacos to accompany with the black beans. The tacos are finished with a crumble of feta and hot sauce for us spice addicts - yum! So simple and fresh and cheap! Happy non-meat eating to us all.

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

(adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine)

2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained

1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 cups shredded cabbage or undressed coleslaw mix
4 green onions, chopped
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
8 (6 inch) wheat and corn tortillas (Trader Joe's sells these)
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Bottled hot sauce (I like Sriracha)

Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Mix 1 tablespoon olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of tortillas to the skillet in single layer (parts of them will hang over edge of pan) . Spoon 1/8 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. Fold tacos in half and flip, cooking until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, tortillas and bean mixture. Fill tacos with feta and slaw and serve with hot sauce alongside.

Serves 4-6

Zucchini Keftedes with Feta and Dill

I must confess that it wasn't until I came here to share this recipe that I finally looked up what a keftede was. I have prepared this recipe in ignorance for three summers and running now. As it turns out, keftedes are Greek and refer to fried meatballs that contain breadcrumbs, onion and mint.  Apparently these are their vegetarian counterparts, though I would called these more "pancakes" than "balls."

If you find yourself surrounded by zucchini plants that don't seem to understand the definition of "all things in moderation, " then this recipe is for you. It's not like those zucchini bread recipes (or even the cupcake recipe I posted recently) that barely make a dent in your pile of summer squash. This one actually uses a substantial amount and the result has been deemed delicious by all members of my family.

It was my husband who first dog-eared this recipe in what has become one of our favorite cooking magazines. Imagine my surprise when my meat-loving man made a move in the direction of a vegetable. Granted, they are practically fried (though I greatly reduced the amount of oil the original recipe called for and they turned out fine), but a vegetable dish all the same. I made them immediately so as not to lose his peaked interest.

Historically I have shyed away from any recipes that contain dill. It may be yours but dill isn't traditionally my jam, or at least so I thought. It could just be that the depth of my relationship with the herb goes only as far as a piece of bland and dry salmon sprinkled with the stuff and then stamped with a proud "Northwest Favorite" on the restaurant menu. But, for the undying affection of my husband, whom I adore, I decided to follow the recipe and buy and small bunch and see where it landed me. HEY! As it turns out, dill ain't so bad, particularly in this recipe where I might go as far as to say it's presence is essential.

These keftedes (or how about we call them pancakes?), unlike a lot of zucchini recipes, are packed with flavor. The feta cheese and cool tangy yogurt add a lovely finish. Of note, to create pancakes that hold together, it is important that you remove as much of the moisture as possible from the zucchini first. I find sometimes it is easier to make this recipe phases. It sounds like it takes a long time but it really doesn't. I grate the zucchini first thing, sprinkle it with salt and then let a kitchen towel absorb the moisture for a while. After an hour or so, I return to make and form the pancakes and then throw them back in the fridge until dinnertime when they can be cooked up pretty quickly to serve.

Zucchini Keftedes with Feta and Dill

(adapted slightly from Bon Appetit Magazine)

1 1/3 pounds (about 4 medium-sized) zucchini, trimmed  

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt 
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions  
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill 
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint  
2 garlic cloves, minced  
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel  
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)  
1 large egg, beaten to blend  
1 cup coarsely crumbled feta cheese 
4-6 Tablespoons canola oil (for pan frying)  
Plain non-fat Greek-style yogurt (for garnish)  
Additional chopped fresh dill (for garnish) 

Grate zucchini on large holes of box grater onto clean kitchen towel. Sprinkle zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt; let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil. Wrap zucchini in towel; squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place zucchini in medium bowl. Mix in green onions, 3 tablespoons chopped dill, mint, garlic, lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Gently stir in panko and egg, then feta. Using 2 tablespoons zucchini mixture for each, shape mixture into 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter patty; place on baking sheet. Chill at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 4 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Pour 1 to 2 Tablespoons of canola oil at a time into heavy large skillet; heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches and adding more canola oil as needed, place patties in skillet. Cook until golden and cooked through, adjusting heat if browning too quickly, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Using thin slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels.

Arrange keftedes on platter. Top each with dollop of yogurt. Sprinkle each with dill. Serve warm or at room temperature.