Bocata Bistro Café, Tucson, Arizona
Early 90s
Carol Jean Bondy
 
The Bocata Bistro was a restaurant not far from my dad’s in Tucson.   It became a regular dining spot on my visits to my fathers.    The second time I ordered the squash soup, I kept the menu and jotted down all the ingredients, hoping to recreate the recipe at home.  The waiter seeing my efforts asked if I would like the recipe he would check with the chef.    When he came back he had the recipe printed out on the letterhead.   I learned that day, that it’s ok to ask for the recipe in a restaurant.   Some restaurants will comply.   This remains a fall favorite.

1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp thyme
1 ½ tsp coriander
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp ginger
1 bayleaf
Salt and Pepper to taste

Toast above in sauté pan, then set aside.
 
Dice and sauté in olive oil
1 ½ onions
1/8 cup minced garlic
Add:
The toasted herb/spice mix
2/3 cup ground hazelnuts (which have been toasted and peeled and ground fine)
1 ¼ each butternut, banana and acorn spuashes
5 oz canned tomatoes
Cover with vegetable stock and add:
6 oz Frangelico
1.5 oz whiskey
 
Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer covered until squash begins to soften  - about 45 minutes.   Remove cover, raise heat slightly to med-low and simmer and additional 10-15 minutes.   Add peas and spinach to stew at the last minute (right before serving to guests)
1/16 cup peas (handful)
1/16 cup fresh spinach (handful)
 
Place stew in bowls and sprinkle a few candied hazelnuts on top.   Garnish with shipped sweet potato rosettes.  ( whipped sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, butter)

Apple season is fast approaching and this is one of our favorite (if slightly decadent) ways to enjoy the harvest.

​Mary Helen Bondy
(Red Star Inn via Ruth Hirsch via Shirley Newman via)

Serves… well that all depends…. 2, 3, 4???
 
Preheat oven to 450°
 
Make batter of ½ cup milk,  ½ cup flour, 3 eggs,  1 tsp sugar,  Dash of salt                               
Peel and slice 2 or 3 large tart apples (Jonathans preferably). Lightly cook in 4 Tablespoons butter in heavy oven-proof skillet.   Swirl butter up sides of pan before pouring batter over apples.  Bake in oven until raised and nearly done (8 minutes).  Dot with butter and sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  (Maybe 1/3 cup sugar, ½ tsp cinnamon)  Bake until brown.  (5 minutes)  Remove from oven and sprinkle on lemon juice. 
 
2 dinner portions.

~Hilda Joy
If you grow some of your vegetables, you may have a wealth of peppers in August.  If not, the local farmers markets have them.  These crisp green goblets are perfect vessels for holding food.  I have eaten this dish in the homes of friends but always like this recipe best.  Mostly, this is my Mother’s recipe but with added flavor in the sauce.  This generous recipe is a bit time-consuming to make but is worth the effort as it can feed a family or be frozen in batches for one or two people to enjoy at a later date when there is no time to cook but one wants a nourishing hot meal.  Simply defrost and reheat.
 
After getting married, I became serious about learning to cook well and had an appreciative audience of one.  My husband was not hesitant to praise or to make suggestions.  He had a good palate, and his critiques were fair and therefore welcome.
 
The first few times I made stuffed green peppers, I used a lot of pots.  Not so anymore.  One large stockpot is used for parboiling, making the sauce, and steaming.  This is a dish to be made when one is feeling loving and calm and not rushed.  It’s like therapy.
 
Some cooks sauté the ground meat for the stuffing, but it is more tender if used raw (also saves time).  It steams for an hour or so bathed in a tomato sauce.  Some cooks bake rather than steam stuffed green peppers, and this results in a thick goopy sauce, which I find distasteful.  The peppers need to be parboiled for a very short time to soften them, but they should not be mushy.  Goopy and mushy are each a no-no.
 
The sweet-sour tomato sauce is a variation on the Austrian Paradeis sauce.  When I read that a Czech-born opera singer said she added lemon zest and cinnamon to her Paradeis sauce, I did the same, and my brother proclaimed that my stuffed green peppers, especially the sauce, were even better than our Mom’s.  High praise indeed.
 
The shrimp variation resulted from seeing a heap of multi-colored peppers at a market.

EnJoy

This week's recipe is from Sonia Nikolic and Sonia's food blog - Restorative Cuisine 

Summer is here which also means never-ending zucchinis. Don’t get me wrong, I love myself some zoodles or grilled zucchini but sometimes I really just want to do something different with my CSA zucchini.

The idea of zucchini bread was calling my name but I didn’t want anything sweet. The goal here was to find something to replace my morning paleo bagels. Insert savory pumpkin seed zucchini bread here.
It’s moist yet crunchy and tastes even better when toasted. I love to top it with a soft boiled egg or some dairy-free cream cheese and lox.

An easy way to use up your summer zucchini! This savory bread is great at any time of the day.

Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time35 mins
 
Servings: 10
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup grated, drained zucchini
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp chopped chives

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir until combined.
• Squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can from the zucchini. Add eggs, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, pumpkin seeds, and chives.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
• Spray a loaf pan with avocado oil and pour the batter into it. Cook for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.