Weekend Herb Blogging #246 recap

I'm excited to be hosting Weekend Herb Blogging this week, and once again I'm amazed by the variety of fruits and vegetables that were featured this week, and the creative ways that everyone used them.  Without further ado, here are the entries that I received, and please let me know if I missed anyone or need to make any corrections.

Janet from The Taste Space gives us a recipe for Lebanese Eggplant with Pomegranate Molasses (Batinian Bil Rumman), a very versatile dish using pomegranate molasses and seeds:

Rachel from The Crispy Cook found a creative way to use up some of her zucchini and made Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles:

Stash from The Spamwise Chronicles tells us more about okra (one of my favorites!), and gives us a recipe for Okra, Shrimp, and Tomato Curry:

Anna from Morsels & Musings tells us about a Spiced Cherry Pie that she made for her dad's birthday:

Soma from eCurry tells us about a popular chilled soup in India, Aamer Ombol - Chilled Green Mango Soup or Cooler:

Oz from Kitchen Butterfly tells us about picking blackberries (a sometimes painful undertaking), and several ways to use the berries, including a Blackberry Granita:

Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything at Least provides a unique way to use spaghetti squash in her recipe for Stir-fried Spaghetti Squash with Pancetta and Leek:

And finally, I contributed a recipe for fig gelato:

Thanks to everyone who submitted entries this week and, as always, thanks to Haalo for organizing this event.  Next week Marija from Palachinka will be hosting, so check out the rules and send her your entries.

Fig gelato recipe

I'm not generally a fan of fruit-flavored ice cream because it usually has a fake, chemically taste to me (unless we're talking about fresh peach ice cream from Dickey Farms).  But gelato is another matter.  I've had my fair share of gelato (while backpacking through Europe in college, I lived off of bread, cheese, peanut butter, and gelato for 10 weeks), and I always prefer the fruit flavors.  My favorites are apple (I remember a particularly good version in a gelateria in Rome) and kiwi (strangely, the first thing that comes to mind is a train station in Vienna).  I don't recall ever having fig gelato, but I was excited to find this recipe.  I don't know that it lives up to the best gelato I've had in Italy, but it's definitely the best I've ever made.  I might reduce the lime juice by half next time (it was good, but hid the fig flavor a little bit), but otherwise it was fantastic.  I'm submitting this dish to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is organized by Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once.  I'm hosting this week, so make sure to send me your entries by Sunday (check the rules for details).

Fig gelato (adapted from About.com)
(Printable version)

1 lb fresh figs, stems removed (you can peel them if you want, but I didn't)
juice of 1 lime (next time I'll only use half)
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp honey

Combine the figs and lime juice in a blender and blend until smooth.  Then add milk and honey and blend briefly, just until combined.  Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturer's directions.  Serves 3-4.

Light summer squash casserole recipe

One of my favorite southern foods is squash casserole.  The squash is mushy (in a good way) and almost melts in your mouth.  It must be a family favorite, too, because Mom always made one for Thanksgiving until I took over the cooking duties and tried to focus on more seasonal concoctions (I may have to give some of the responsibility back this year, though...).    Most squash casseroles are full of butter, cheese, sour cream, and bread/cracker crumbs, and although there's not anything wrong with that, I wanted to make a lighter, everyday version.  I loved the taste of this casserole, and I didn't feel bad eating half of the pan.  I didn't miss any of the other ingredients, which honestly surprised me.  And with all of the squash that I inherited from my grandmother's freezer, I can make this all winter!


Light summer squash casserole (adapted from Vintage Victuals)
(Printable version)

1 1/2 pounds yellow summer squash, sliced thinly
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp butter
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan, then add squash and let cook until it's tender (about 10 min).  Drain the squash and return it to the pot.  Then add the onion, egg, butter, and salt and pepper, and mix well.  Pour mixture into an 8x8 baking pan and cook at 375 for 45-60 min, until the edges are brown.  Let cool for 10 min before serving.  Serves 2-3.