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Litha Recipes
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Most recipes for Litha have fresh fruits and vegetables. They also remind you of sunny days.
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Steamed Mussels in Tarragon Dijon
Emulsion
This recipe always reminds me of summer on Cape Cod.
4 pounds mussels
2 cups dry white wine
3 chopped shallots
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Discard any mussels that have cracked or are damaged. Remove beards from mussels, and scrub each mussel under cold water. Rinse until water runs clear.
Combine the wine, shallots, bay leaf, and thyme in a very large pot and bring to a slow simmer over medium heat.
Add the mussels to pot, and turn heat up to high. When steam starts to escape from cover, reduce heat to medium. Shake pot to redistribute mussels, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until mussels have opened. Remove from heat, remove mussels from liquid and discard any unopened mussels.
Pass the broth through a fine sieve into another saucepan. Reduce liquid on high heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and with a hand held blender add the olive oil, Dijon, and tarragon. Season with salt and pepper and spoon over mussels.
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Chocolate Zuchinni Bread
Who does not love chocolate!
Ingredients
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 box instant chocolate pudding (small)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. Vanilla
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Preparation Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat eggs, oil, and sugar. Add zucchini and stir in other ingredients. Pour in 2 greased loaf pans and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes.
This recipe is super, especially with the chocolate chips and nuts added.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roasted
Red Bell Pepper Soup
Another taste of summer
Ingredients
3 red bell peppers
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1 Preheat oven to broil.
2 Place the bell peppers on a baking sheet and broil on the top rack of the oven, using tongs to turn them as each side blackens. Place the blackened peppers in a paper bag, close tightly and allow them to cool for 20 to 30 minutes. Then peel the skin off the peppers and discard the stem and all the seeds. Chop the peppers and set aside.
3 In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Now add the chopped, roasted red bell peppers and saute for 2 to 3 more minutes.
4 Next, add the chicken broth and the beans, stirring well. Using a blender, puree the soup in small batches and return to the pot over low heat for 5 minutes.
Makes 3 servings
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Green Basil Salad
1 cup basil leaves (whole)
3 chopped deep red tomatoes
1/2 cup black olives
5 chopped cloves garlic
two cups small pieces crustless, very fresh, firm white bread - Italian bread is
perfect
4 cups salad greens (cos lettuce, lamb's
lettuce, dandelion greens - good tough greens
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Zucchini Fritters
1 pound zucchini, cut in 1/4-inch cubes
8 scallions, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh mint, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon peel, grated
Pepper
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup flour
oil for frying
pinch of salt
Saute zucchini and scallions in olive oil until brown but still firm. Place in bowl and stir in feta, herbs, lemon, and pepper. Add egg yolks and flour to zucchini mixture and stir until just blended. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with salt until stiff peaks form, and then gently fold into zucchini mixture. Drop 1/4 cup of mixture into hot skillet with a thick layer of vegetable oil. Fritters are done when the outside is brown and the inside is moist.
Makes 12 to 14 fritters.
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Broccoli-garlic
saute
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cups chopped broccoli, steamed until tender-crisp
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 cup julienned roasted red bell pepper
In large non-stick skillet, heat oil; add broccoli, garlic and oregano. Saute
over medium-high heat, stirring, 3 minutes, until garlic is golden. Add bell
pepper to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, 2 minutes.
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Ginger-Soy-Lime Marinated Shrimp
2 large shallots, peeled and chopped
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp, shells and tails on
Place shallots, ginger, garlic, soy,
lime juice, and sugar in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the green onion
and oil and blend until combined. Season with black pepper, to taste. Place
shrimp in a large bowl, pour the marinade over, and let marinate at room
temperature for 20 minutes.
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1
cup sugar, divided
Cooking
Spray
4
cups skim milk
1
(3-inch) piece of vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or 1 Tbl extract
¾
cup plus 1 Tbl semolina Flour
Dash
of salt
3
large eggs, lightly beaten
¼
tsp nutmeg
Place
½ cup sugar in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, and cook until sugar is
golden. Immediately pour sugar
syrup into a 1 ½ quart souffle dish coated with cooking spray. Tipping quickly
until carmelized sugar coats bottom of dish; set aside.
Combine
milk and ½ cup sugar in a large heavy saucepan; stir well.
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean add seeds and bean to milk mixture.
Cook over medium hihg heat to 180 or until tiny bubbles form around edge
( do not boil). Remove from heat
(add extract at this point if using in place of vanilla bean) cover and let
stand 10 min. Discard bean.
Preheat
oven to 375
Place
milkmixture over medium heat. Gradually
add flour and salt, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 12 min. or until bubbly thick, stirring constantly.
Gradually add hot milk mixture to eggs, stirring constantly with a whisk;
stir in nutmeg. Spoon mixture into prepared dish.
Bake
at 375 for 45 min or until puffy and almost set. ( cake will be slightly jiggly
in center) Cool in dish 5 minutes.
(Cake will deflate slightly upon standing)
Loosen cake from sides of dish using a narrow metal spatula.
Place a plate upside down on top fo cake invert onto plate.
Sevre warm or chilled.
Yields
8 servings
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Orange
Crunch Bars
Crust:
1-cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted
Filling:
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp. orange rind, grated
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
Combine crust ingredients and mix well. Spray an 8 or 9 inch square baking pan
with non-stick cooking spray. Press crust ingredients into the bottom of the
pan. Combine filling ingredients and mix well with a hand mixer or in a food
processor. Spread over crust and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow bars
to cool and place in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. If you
prefer, you may use lemon juice and rind instead of orange.
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Pineapple Macadamia Pie
1/3 cup coconut
1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell*
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 cup light-colored corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 8-oz. can pineapple tidbits, well drained
3/4 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts (one 3.5-oz. jar)
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp. cream of coconut or 1 Tbsp. sugar
Sprinkle coconut evenly over bottom of unbaked pastry shell; set aside. For
filling, in a large bowl, combine eggs, corn syrup, the 2/3 cup sugar, the
butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the pineapple and nuts. Carefully pour
filling over coconut in pastry shell.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 60 to 65 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. If necessary to prevent overbrowning, cover pie with foil for the last 20 minutes of baking. Cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate within 2 hours. Cover pie for longer storage in the refrigerator.
To serve, in a chilled medium bowl, combine whipping cream and cream of coconut or the 1 tablespoon sugar. Beat with chilled beaters of an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Spoon some of the whipped cream mixture onto each serving of pie. Makes 8 servings.
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