last taste of summer

A friend of mine gave me some killer zucchini! They are massive vegetables. I decided I wanted some grilled zucchini for dinner. Time for improvisation!

Look at these!


Time to slice this sucker up!


All sliced. I put them in a big bowl and tossed them with some extra virgin olive oil, just enough to coat them well. Don't drown them.


I grabbed some fresh basil (green and purple), threw in some thyme (one of my favorites), garlic/sea salt (one of those fabulous grinders from McCormick!), ground black pepper, oregano, and some paprika for a little kick.


Doesn't it look yummy already? I had to stir this a lot to coat every slice. There was so much zucchini in here to season!


I got the stovetop grill nice and hot (medium-high for mine). I grilled them 3-4 mins. per side. I couldn't wait to eat this!


How fabulous does this look? I decided to be a little sinful and grate some Parmesan cheese on top. Oh my god, it was like heaven! I can give you a rough recipe...

Grilled Zucchini
1 large/super large zucchini
olive oil (just enough to coat zucchini)
handful of green basil chopped
handful of purple basil chopped
1 tbs oregano
2 tsp thyme
palmful of paprika
salt
pepper
parmesan cheese

1. Cut zucchini into 1/4" slices. Put into a large bowl. Add olive oil, just enough to coat each piece.
2. Add in herbs and seasonings. I found it easier to add in half the amount, stir, and then add in the rest. I had a lot of zucchini in this bowl to coat.
3. I used a the grill top on my stove, I set it to medium-high. I grilled each slice 3-4 mins. per side, enough to get nice grill marks on them.
4. While hot, grate Parmesan cheese on top.
5. Eat and enjoy!

how can you go wrong with honey?

I decided to make this first post something sweet, just like me. Seriously though, I love honey. I love anything related to honey. When I think honey, I think baklava. Oh yeah, baklava! Sticky, syrupy square of heaven. I make it once or twice a year. I should make it more often, but then I would eat it more often, and I don't think my hips would appreciate that...On to the baklava!



I'll post the actual recipe below. I found it over here. This is what most of my recipes look like. Scraps of paper thrown into drawers and random books. I keep saying that one day I will organize my recipes, but who knows when that day will be....


I try to get everything ready before I get going, but I always make it complicated and end up with a big mess.



Mmmm...honey. Yummy.



You know you want to try this. You know you can almost taste it right now. Okay, don't worry. Here's the recipe....

Easy Baklava
1 pound frozen phyllo sheets
1 cup melted butter
2 cups finely chopped almonds*
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup honey
1 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

*You can obviously use walnuts, I'm just not a huge fan of walnuts.

1. Thaw phyllo dough.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Grease baking pan. It calls for a 15"x10"x1". I think I used a 9"x13".
4. Layer half of the sheet, brushing melted butter between each sheet.
5. Combine nuts, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle all over the top of the sheet of dough.
6. Layer the remaining sheets, buttering each one as before.
7. Cut phyllo dough into diamonds (I do rectangles) and bake for 30-35 mins.
8. Meanwhile, combine water, 3/4 cup sugar, honey, and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 mins. stirring occasionally.
9. Cool mixture a bit, and then pour it all over the baklava.
10. Eat and enjoy! :)