Random Veggie Gratin

Here I am, about to go on vacation, and there's close to ten pounds of zucchini in the fridge. And Brussels sprouts. And some other stuff. I suppose I could have frozen the stuff, but why freeze it when I could cook it up and have a freezer meal ready for one of those weeknights when I am lazy as fuc... can't be bothere... too tired to functi... need a quick meal to stick in the microwave? I was missing just two ingredients, so after a quick trip to the store, mixed veggie gratin went into production!

This is totally one of those recipes where I tossed shit in and didn't measure. I cannot tell you with any accuracy what the temperature on the oven was. Nor can I guess how long they were in there since I went out and mowed the lawn and did some other stuff. So, be warned!  

• 4 large zucchini/summer squash (mine were between 8 and 10 inches long, and about 3 inches in diameter), plus a few of the small ones 
• A large onion 
• 2 pounds brussels sprouts (if you can find the shredded, go for it!)
• 8 random shishito peppers
• As much minced garlic as you'd like 
• 4 cups+ of shredded cheese 
• a pint of light cream 
• 3 eggs 
• Salt
• Pepper 
• Paprika 
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme 
• A large and deep baking dish (hey - this recipe is not about measuring too many things)

• Preheat your oven to about 375? 
• Slice your veggies to even size - about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick on a mandolin; slice the peppers into thin lengths
•  I started with a layer of peppers and onions, a layer of cheese, a layer of sprouts, a layer of cheese, a layer of zucchini, a layer of cheese. All until the ingredients were used up; end with a layer of cheese on top
• Whisk together the garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, eggs, and cream; pour it over your veggies (obviously be careful not to fill your dish too much!). I ended up with this stuff filling up about a quarter of the dish.

Cover with foil (not too tightly or else you'll end up with melted cheese on your foil and not in your belly), and bake. I *think* it was in there for about 45 minutes - but it was definitely bubbling and the veggies were cooked through. Remove the foil and let the dish bake another 10 minutes or so to evaporate some of the liquid from the squash, and to give that cheese some color.

Remove from the oven and let it cool so the excess liquid from the squash is reabsorbed and the whole dish sets nicely.

Share with other people if you don't end up eating it all.

When this is cool, it actually slices like a lasagna. Yummeh.

Quick Stewed Shrimp

Oh hai! Thought I'd forgotten about this blog, eh?

Well, I did. :) But I'm back!

It's tomato season on the farm, but the weird weather this year hasn't been very good for the tasty fruit, so yield has been a lot lower. By comparison: last year at about this time I went to collect my share and was gifted with ten pounds! I made salsa for the small people. This past week, I only got about three pounds. But I have zucchini coming out of my ears, so if you have any recipes for those..

Okay, on to the point.

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound of tomatoes
1 pound of zucchini
1 large bell pepper 
1/2 vidalia onion
as much minced garlic as you'd like
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice

• Place shrimp in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper to taste, a few teaspoons of lemon juice, a few teaspoons of minced garlic, and whatever else you want to throw in there (for example, I used Trinidad green seasoning and powdered habanero, because I put that stuff on everything). Let the shrimp marinade for about a half an hour.
• Cut the zucchini into spears about the size of your pinky finger (2 inches long, 1/4 inch wide and thick); cut the bell pepper in half lengthwise, and slice (about a 1/4 inch thick)
• Thinly slice the onion
• Chop the tomatoes up into 1-inch chunks 
• Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet; add the garlic and onion and saute until fragrant and very lightly browned 
• Add the zucchini and pepper, and saute for about two minutes, seasoning with just a little salt and pepper
• Remove the veggies from the skillet, and add the butter 
• Saute shrimp for about one minute until they just start to turn pink; add the tomatoes to the shrimp and cook for an additional two minutes 
• Add the veggies back to the pan, and cook until there's a nice amount of liquid your dish, and it's bubbling happily 
• Serve by itself as a stew, or over rice, or over pasta, or with some crusty bread, or however you feel like eating it.