thyme

Tomato and Summer Squash Cobbler + A Giveaway

Amanda from HeartBeet Kitchen is one of the sweetest bloggers I know, and I’ve fallen in love with her new cookbook: Smitten with Squash (Northern Plate). Since my squash plants are incredibly prolific this year, I am so grateful for this resource. It has many, many wonderful-looking recipes for both summer and winter squash.

Tomato and Squash Cobbler | Healthy Green Kitchen

The first recipe I decided to try was the Tomato and Summer Squash Cobbler: I served this last weekend at my family birthday dinner. I used a combination of Sungold and regular cherry tomatoes (the Sungolds were from my garden but I didn’t have a whole pint of ripe ones so ended up buying the others) along with homegrown pattypan squash and zucchini.

garden veggies | Healthy Green Kitchen

I also grew the thyme, onion, and garlic!

thyme, onion, garlic | Healthy Green Kitchen

The flavors of the tomatoes and squash really deepen in a beautiful way when they are baked…this dish is SO delicious.

veggies in pan | Healthy Green Kitchen

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Baked Endive with Anchovies and Thyme

Baked Endive with Herbs from Healthy Green Kitchen

*Disclosure: I am so pleased to be working with the wonderful folks from California Endive Farms again. I receive complementary boxes of endive and I am being compensated to develop recipes to share with you in the coming months; all opinions expressed here are 100% mine.

Baked Endive with Herbs from Healthy Green Kitchen

The great thing about being an “endive ambassador” is the seemingly never-ending supply of this healthy vegetable in my refrigerator; I’ve eaten endive all winter long just about everyday and in many, many ways. I love it both raw and cooked, but for different reasons. When it’s raw, endive functions like a bitter green that’s excellent for digestion; when it’s cooked, the bitter flavor mellows so endive makes a palate-pleasing side dish. No matter how you choose to eat it, though, endive is high in vitamins and fiber, but low in calories and carbohydrates; it’s also grown in the USA and is unique because it’s always “in season”.

The preparation of baked endive you see here was adapted from a sweet book I picked up in my local independent book store last weekend: Mr. Wilkinson’s Vegetables: A Cookbook to Celebrate the Garden. The original recipe calls for fennel, but I had a hunch endive would work very well in its stead: it did. This recipe also includes anchovies, and I know this may scare some of you a bit, but anchovies in a dish like this are pretty magical. They add a wonderfully salty flavor! I used anchovies from Vital Choice, which are harvested sustainably and contain protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D (so this dish quite nutritious). If you don’t want to give the anchovies a try, though, it’s okay to omit them.

For the breadcrumbs, I suggest you use a traditional sourdough loaf (or ciabatta, as recommended in the original recipe). I definitely could have torn mine into smaller pieces, so feel free to do that. If you avoid bread because you eat a low-carb or paleo diet, this dish will be just fine if you leave the breadcrumbs off. If you are gluten free but you like the idea of the breadcrumbs, use your favorite sturdy gluten-free bread.

endive 2

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The Sprouted Kitchen’s Gluten-Free Crackers

I love a good cracker: one that’s subtly flavored with herbs and just the right amount of sea salt. A cracker that pairs well with cheese and doesn’t break apart even when you’re a little too aggressive with whatever dip floats your boat.

Gluten-free crackers that meets the above criteria gets bonus points.

I recently found cracker perfection in these nutty/seedy beauties, the recipe for which comes from the brand new cookbook: The Sprouted Kitchen: A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.

I discovered Sprouted Kitchen a couple of years ago, but I remember the first time I landed on the site like it was yesterday. I was immediately captivated by the combination of Sara’s winning whole foods recipes and Hugh’s stunning photos, and the wonder I felt returns every time I visit their blog.

I am so impressed with what Sara and Hugh have achieved with their first cookbook: it’s positivity lovely, and it’s warm and welcoming style will have you running to the kitchen. I’m working my way through the recipes: in addition to these crackers (and the Lemon and Herb Hummus pictured here with them), I’ve made the Coconut Loaf, the Greek Grilled Chicken with Tzatziki, and the Black Cherry Refresher so far. Everything has been terrific…kudos to the Sprouted Kitchen team: you two should be very, very proud :)

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Roasted Tomatoes with Fontina and Thyme

Sliced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, thyme, and fontina cheese. That’s all you need to create the skillet full of deliciousness you see here. These roasted tomatoes with fontina and thyme were inspired by this baked fontina dish over at Leite’s Culinaria. I loved the idea of a fondue-like snack without any hassle, and I thought … Read more