Leftover chicken stuffed zucchinis

 I love the end of May / beginning of June, as it's the time of the year where my local Farmer's market starts to carry a good choice of vegetables. Last Saturday, I was happy to find my first round zucchinis of 2015. I knew it was time to make some stuffed zucchinis.In France, traditionally, people make stuffed vegetables with whatever meat leftovers they've got around. We roasted a chicken last week and we didn't eat it all yet, hence this recipe.

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 2 small round zucchini
• About 2 cups of leftover chicken
• 1 onion (I like the red ones the best)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
•  A pinch of ground cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe

1. Cut the top edge of each zucchini 
2. Using a spoon, empty each zucchini, leaving around 1/2 inch of flesh around
3. Cut the zucchini flesh from above, as well as the meat, onion and garlic in small pieces
4. Mix in the basil, cumin, salt and pepper
5. Fill the zucchinis
6. Drizzle with Olive oil
7. Bake at 400˚F / 200˚C for 45 minutes
8. Enjoy!

This recipe can accommodate any kind of leftover meat. For a vegetarian option, you can substitute cooked rice or any grain of your liking.

Making your own yogurts

Hi guys,

Making your own yogurts is easier and faster than people often realize.
I have been making my own yogurts for quite a while: I love that I can control exactly what I put inside, no hidden unwanted ingredients. In addition, live cultures in your homemade yogurts are good for you, as they help your digestive system.
Bonus notes: it's fun and you can create your own special flavor combinations you won't be able to find in store!

There are a few keys to successfully make your own yogurts at home:

• The quality of your ingredients:   

 It seems obvious. Of course, the better the ingredients you start with, the better the result. So try to use the freshest most flavorful ingredients you can get.

• The quality of your milk.  

I used unpasteurized raw milk from a local farm. This type of milk is the best you can get to make successful yogurts. If you don't want to go that route, you have to know that the higher the fat in your milk, the firmer your yogurts will be. Store bought low fat yogurts usually contain thickening agents or have been strained to improve their consistency.

• The quality of your starter. 

 The starter is a mixture of bacteria that makes the milk turn into yogurt by fermentation. There are two ways to obtain a starter: buy a freeze-dry yogurt starter (one of my favorite is Yo Gourmet Freeze Dried Yogurt Starter) or use a yogurt with live cultures (I had the best results using the Brown Cow Farm ones)

• The incubation time and temperature.

The bacteria that ferment milk into yogurts are thermophilic, meaning that they thrive at high temperatures (around 110˚F / 45˚C). You can incubate your yogurts in warm water overnight in your close oven (I did it for years and it works OK), but, in my hands, the best way to achieve perfect yogurts is to invest in a yogurt maker. I bought a Euro Cuisine YM80 Yogurt Maker from Amazon and couldn't go back to the oven method anymore: it's more straight forwards (you press a button and you're done, whereas you have to check the temperature of your water before placing the yogurts on the oven) and the results are always great.


Now, let's make our own yogurts!
As a general process, you will have to follow these simple steps:

1. You first need to heat your milk to just below boiling temperature (175˚F / 80˚C). This step is necessary to break down the milk proteins and have a thick homogenous consistency instead of separation during the fermentation process.
2.  Let it cool down quickly to 105˚F / 42˚C (warn to the touch), by placing your pan in your sink filled up with cold water for example.
3. Mix about 1 cup of warm milk to your starter (dried powder or yogurt) until the starter is dissolved completely
4. Add your starter mixture to the rest of the milk and stir gently.
5. Transfer to clean jars
6. Incubate in your yogurt maker or close oven for 8-16 hours
7. Place your yogurts in the fridge at least a couple of hours to let them set completely

 And now, the fun part: choosing your flavor! This week, it will be Blood Orange - Cardamon yogurts (for 7 yogurts, to fill the Euro Cuisine YM80 Yogurt Maker jars).

1. Heat 1 quart /liter of milk of choice (remember: higher the fat content milk will give you firmer yogurts)  + 1/8 to 1/4 cup of sugar (I use evaporated cane sugar) + the zest of one blood orange (my advice is to pick organic fruit for the zest as you don't really want to ingest nasty pesticides) or regular orange + 2 cardamon pods
2. Cool down to 105˚F / 42˚C 
3. remove the cardamon pods
4. Mix 6 oz (a single serving container) of Vanilla yogurt with active live cultures (my favorite one is Brown Cow Cream Top yogurt) to about 1 cup of your warm milk mixture and add to the rest of the milk
5. Transfer to jars and incubate overnight
6. Let rest in the fridge for a few hours
7. Enjoy!

Butternut squash quiche

In our Home, we try to eat as much local food as possible. And when cold weather comes, it can be tricky to find yummy recipes for the few in-season vegetables we can find around... This quiche is one of my favorite way to eat butternut squash. The combination of the buttery flaky crust, the light and fluffy squash garnish, the crispy bacon and the sweet and tangy onion jam is very heartwarming and delicious. I just love it and I hope you'll enjoy it too.

Ingredients

    For the crust

• 1 stick butter, cut in small pieces and warmed-up at room temperature
• 3/4 cup all-purpose white flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• water (start with 2 Tbsp and increase as needed)

    For the pie filling

• A small butternut squash, cooked and pureed
• 2 egg, white and yolk separated
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 pinch of ground nutmeg
• A few slices of bacon, cooked until crispy and cut into small pieces

   For the caramelized onion jam

• 2 large red onions, sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil or butter
• 1/4 cup sugar (we use cane sugar)
• 1/8 cup basalmic vinegar

Pie recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Prepare the pie crust (see below 1) or use a store bought crust
3. Mix the heavy cream with the egg yolks and the pureed squash
4. Beat the egg white until stiff and carefully fold into the squash mixture
5. Place the cooked bacon bits on the crust and poor the squash mixture on top
6. Cook in the oven for 35 minutes
7. Enjoy with a side of caramelized onion jam (see below 2) and some mixed greens.

Pie Crust recipe

1. Mix both flours, salt and butter together and mix using your fingers (the dough will be very flaky and crumbly)
2. Add water, a little at the time, and mix until the dough is not flaky anymore. Stop when you can shape it into a non-sticky ball. If it's sticky, you added too much water and you have to add a bit more flour.
3. Flat down to shape into your pan.

Onion jam recipe

1. Heat the olive oil (or butter) until shimmering 
2. Cook the onions over medium heat, stirring occasionally, under soft and golden brown
3. Add the sugar and a bit of water if needed
4. Cook on high heat until the sugar is melted and starts to caramelize, about 5 minutes
5.  Add the basalmic vinegar and simmer over low heat, until the mixture thicken.