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Another recipe adapted from the City Gardener’s Cookbook. These quesadillas were great - spicy with good chile/cumin flavor. I ended up serving two for dinner along with a green salad and it was a filling dinner. A nice, light, fruity white wine goes wonderfully with the meal. This filling would also be excellent in tamales.

Ingredients

• 2 cups coarsely chopped kale, make sure it is not in long ribbons else you will pull pieces of kale out of the quesadilla when eating it
• 1/2 cup red onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 fingerhot, serrano or jalapeño peppers, minced
• 7 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 Tablespoons cilantro, minced
• 4 flour tortillas
• 1/3 (8 oz) block cheddar cheese

Directions

Steam the kale until tender then set aside.

While kale is steaming heat 1 teaspoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, peppers, cumin and chili powder and sauté 1 minute more. Add tomatoes and kale and sauté another 3-5 minutes until you can squish the tomatoes easily with the back of a spoon. Put mixture in a bowl, add cilantro and mix.

Assemble the quesadillas. For each quesadilla, cover the lower half of each tortilla with 1/4 of the kale mixture. Lay thin slices of cheese over the kale mixture. Fold in half and set aside on a plate.

Wipe out the skillet and add 2 teaspoons oil. Heat the tortillas one at a time for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until browned. Add more oil, as needed.

Yield: 4 quesadillas

I recently got a new cookbook, The City Gardener’s Cookbook, which focuses on how to use up all your garden produce. I do not have a garden but I love veggies so I figured this book would be good. It is my favorite cookbook of the week! This book has so many yummy and unique vegetable recipes - I cannot wait to try them all. Cheesy Vegetable Casserole, only slightly modified, was my first recipe out of the book. It turned out quite well and is a great way to showcase summer produce. It sounds looks more complicated to make than it really is.. I think the whole thing took me 1.5 hrs which includes the 30 min baking time for the eggplant and the 45 min baking time for the casserole. So mostly, I was just sitting around reading.

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
• 1 medium potato, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground pepper, to taste
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (8 oz) block cheddar cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the eggplant slices on a greased baking sheet and bake covered with foil for 30 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, steam to potatoes for 5-7 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat and let cool. In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs, basil and oregano. Mix salt and pepper with eggs.

When eggplant is done, remove from oven and turn oven down to 375 degrees.

Oil a 9×13″ pan and dust with 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs. Make two layers of: eggplant, potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, egg mixture, olive oil, breadcrumbs, cheese.

Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

Serves: 8-10 as a side dish; 4-5 as a main dish

This is a fun spin on eggplant Parmesan. You could serve over pasta, but it’s great on its own as a small plate for dinner or an appetizer.

Ingredients

• Eggplant, sliced length-wise about 1/4 in thick
• Beaten egg
• Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/2 C olive oil (or other frying oil)
• 2-4 oz chevre
• Standard tomato sauce (see previous recipe)
• Fresh basil

Directions

In a large skillet, heat the oil till it crackles and pops when you drop a drop of water in it. Dip the eggplant into the egg wash and then dredge it in breadcrumbs. Place in the skillet, one at a time. When the edges start to turn brown, turn the eggplant over. When both sides are brown, remove from oil.

Next, you’re going to place a piece of eggplant on a plate, then spread some goat cheese on. Then put another piece of eggplant on top of that and some more goat cheese. Stack it about 3-4 slices high. Don’t put goat cheese on the top piece.

Spoon the tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with basil.