Zucchini patties, by Cheryl

First new recipe in the new house! Woohoo! Making a new recipe is always a milestone every time we move - it means the kitchen is finally unpacked fully!

So the new recipe is a very easy one since I've had two buggers on my heels for the last 6 weeks. I had a lot of zucchini to use. More than I needed. I didn't want zoodles and didn't feel like making fried zucchini circles. So I decided to use these in a recipe that's similar to my eggplant balls (except instead of boiled I shredded them). They were sooooo good! I loved them plain with a sprinkle of sea salt on them and Julia loved them dipped in some applesauce like potato latkes. Definitely making these again! Yum!

Ingredients:

2 zucchini, shredded
1 egg
breadcrumbs
salt

Directions:

1) Take the shredded zucchini and place in a colander (preferably one that has very small holes). Sprinkle salt all over to coat the zucchini. Leave in the sink or in a bowl for an hour or more to allow the water to get out of the zucchini. Squeeze the water out. Pat dry. Preheat the oven to 350.

2) Mix zucchini in a bowl with one egg. Mix in some breadcrumbs (maybe a cup?) until you are comfortable forming patties that stick together. Take about a handful and make a patty! Place on a baking sheet with some spray. Bake for a total of about 25 minutes at 350 flipping the patties halfway through.

3) Sprinkle some salt on top and eat hot!

Basic Shepherd's Pie, by Diane

Apparently when it's cold out I innately make shepherd's pie. This is the 4th iteration on the blog, and while I've created Moroccan, Kale/Chorizo/Sweet Potato/Pumpkin, and Brisket shepherd's pies I discovered today that I've never posted a classic version. And today was the perfect day for this dish because it is windy, cloudy, and in the 50's even though it's the start of Labor Day weekend. Since I chose to have a staycation this Labor Day this should last me all through the weekend- already looking forward to leftovers!


Ingredients:

2 lbs. yukon gold potatoes (you can use any but these taste the best IMO!)
1 lb. ground beef (I used grass fed as I can tell a huge taste difference!)
1 lb. ground lamb (I used free range, same thing!)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 bags frozen mixed veggies
1/2 cup red wine
4-6 tbsp worcestershire sauce (I really like the taste of this so I used more)
1 small can beef broth
1 tsp each rosemary, black pepper, sea salt, and dried parsley
Flour
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp butter
Optional: milk
Fried onions


Directions:

1. Boil a large pot of water to cover the potatoes, and cook until soft.

2. While the potatoes cook, add the meat, onion, and garlic to a large saucepan and cook until meat is brown and crumbled. Reserve the liquid in a separate bowl and place the meat mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

3. Add the veggies to the pan with a little bit of the pan drippings from the meat mixture. Cook until softened, then drain and add to the meat mixture in the baking dish.

4. Add the remaining pan drippings, wine, worcestershire sauce, broth, and the 1 tsp worth of spices to the pan. Bring to a boil.

5. Make a rue with the flour by adding some flour (a few tbsp) to a small bowl and whisking in the sauce until completely smooth and liquid. Then add back into the pan, whisking until completely smooth. Bring to a simmer for another 2 minutes until gravy is thickened.

6. Pour the gravy over the meat and vegetable mixtures and stir well.

7. Preheat the oven to 350.

8. In a large bowl, make the mashed potato mixture by adding butter, salt and pepper (and milk if you want) until your desired consistency. Layer the potato mixture over the meat and veggies in the baking dish.

9. Sprinkle fried onions on top of the potato mixture in an even layer.

10. Place the baking dish onto a baking sheet to avoid overflow in the oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes until the mixture is bubbling.

Homemade Coconut Milk, by Diane

I suppose it was bound to happen that I would make this recipe at some point. Having already made my own oat milk and almond milk it was only a matter of time! I recently switched to coconut because I wanted to see if almonds were giving me headaches, and I was eating a lot of my milk in soaked oats so having oat milk seemed like overkill. I've been buying store bought coconut milk for a few weeks now, but I don't love all the added chemicals and lack of nutrients that raw coconut has, plus I know it's way cheaper to make your own milks at home! So this week I learned how to make coconut milk, and let me tell you, it's not only easy and cheaper than store bought milk but it's also WAY tastier! Coconut acts really different than grains and nuts, so there were a few variations on this recipe that differed from the other two. When I looked online, no two recipes were the same. Some had the coconut soaking for a while before using, some had varying ratios of coconut to water, etc., so I just did what made most sense to me which is below!

I keep finding new ways to customize it by adding flavors, proteins for easy smoothies or tonics, or spices to help boost the immune system. This batch here has tocos and cinnamon in it and it's delicious. I also made a matcha version that is seriously seriously good and tastes amazing on soaked oats! Of course, the plain version is also fine :)

Ingredients:

*makes ~7 cups of milk*

2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
6 cups of hot water (I use our spring water that we get locally, but filtered water would work too)
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch sea salt
Optional sweetener (I don't think it needs it unless you're drinking it plain)


Directions:

1. Soak the coconut for a while. It can be 30 minutes or it can be overnight, if you're pinched for time it doesn't have to be soaked at all!

2. Heat the water- you want it to be hot but not boiling. Apparently this helps the coconut release more of the good stuff.

3. Strain the coconut and add it into the blender with the water. Make sure you use a spatula to really push the liquid out before adding it. (Some recipes say you shouldn't drain the water the coconut is soaking in, I'll try that next time!)

4. Blend on high power for about 5 minutes to allow all the nutrients to leach out of the coconut.

5. Strain the mixture, pushing with a spatula to get all the liquid out of the coconut, then add the milk back into the blender along with whatever other ingredients you are adding (if using vanilla, salt, and sweetener, add them now). Blend on high for 30 seconds (or long if you are adding powders).

6. Pour the milk into a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Shake well before using.