Watermelon Lime Margarita

Bill and I found this recipe in Organic Gardening Magazine. It is one of the best margarita's we've ever tasted! It's a perfect drink for a hot summer day and if your looking for a real thirst-quencher just omit the tequila.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups cubed seedless watermelon
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup sugar, or more to taste
• lime slices, for garnish (optional)or mint sprigs
• 8oz Premium white tequila 

Preparation:


Place half of the watermelon cubes in a blender and process until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl; discard the solids. Repeat with the remaining watermelon cubes.

Add the lime juice and sugar to the watermelon juice, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Taste, add more sugar if necessary. Transfer juice to a nonreactive pitcher and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Then add 8 ounces premium white tequila. 

Serve over ice with lime slices and/or mint sprigs for garnish if desired. 

Summer Squash, Bacon and Mozzarella Quiche

Our garden has been producing some beautiful summer and yellow squash. Instead of using them for a typical side dish I wanted to incorporate them into a main dish, and thought up this quiche. I've never used mozzarella for a quiche and came out very creamy! 

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 tablespoons ice water (or more if needed)

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 12 ounces summer and yellow squash cut into 1/8-inch rounds
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
• 1 shallot chopped
• 5 slices prepared center cut bacon chopped
• 3 large eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (packed)

Preparation

For Crust:

Blend flour and salt in processor. Add butter slowly pulsing until coarse meal forms. Add 4 tablespoons ice water slowly pulsing until dough comes together in moist clumps, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out dough on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 10-inch diameter pie pan. Shape sides to make a pretty border. Line dough with foil and pie weights. Bake until sides are set about 25 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees. 
For filling:

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add squash, thyme and shallots. Add any seasoning of your choosing (I used a sprinkle of 21 seasoning salute from trader joe's). Saute until squash and shallots are translucent and tender, about 5 minutes. Cool squash mixture. 

Whisk eggs, cream, salt, pepper and bacon in bowl. Place squash over bottom of the crust. Coat the squash with 1/2 the mozzarella and pour egg mixture over the top and use the rest of the cheese on top of the egg.

Bake quiche until golden and set in center, about 35-45 mintues. Transfer quiche to rack, cool 15 minutes. 

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I loved this spaghetti recipe! Instead of using veal I used 1 1/2 lbs of beef and to save on time I used pre-made italian and regular bread crumbs.

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 pound ground beef 
• 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
• 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 extra-large egg, beaten
• Vegetable oil
• Olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

• 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
• Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

Recipe Adapted from Ina Garten- Barefoot Contessa