Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Summer: Scalloped

I haven't done a food post in a long time.  Actually, now that I think of it, I haven't done any post in a long time, have I?  Hm.  Oh, well.  Let's pick up and move on, shall we?

We just got home from another trip to Minnesota to visit some of Nathan's family, and I realized I hadn't taken a single photo.  And then I got photos off my camera and realized that yes, I did actually take this one of the boys feeding seagulls at a rest area in Indiana.  So there, I did make (some sort of) a photographic record of our summer trip.




Okay, I said this would be a food post, and I wasn't talking about seagull food.

My Mom makes these fantastic scalloped potatoes that are also the easiest and yummiest scalloped potatoes ever invented in the history of womankind. They're... amazing.

However, I'm currently a bit short on potatoes and long on zucchini.  I'm also short on ways to make my children love zucchini as much as I do (come on you guys!  It's bland!).  Last night we had zucchini-ricotta fritters: devoured.  Score one for the momma. 

Tonight, I used a few potatoes, a lotta zucchini, a couple onions and smoked sausages...



...add salt and pepper, make it swim in fresh goat cream....




...et voila!

Yum

Okay, okay, it does have to be baked first.  The time in the oven makes them all bubbly and gooey and creamy.

I actually don't have an after photo because, um, it's still in the oven and if I hold off on this post for that, the post won't happen, thanks for understanding.


By the way?  Have I mentioned how much I love my cream separator?  I do.  A lot.  Goat cream doesn't rise to the top like cow cream does (I was talking with an Amish lady recently who assumed that's because goat milk doesn't have cream).  But the separator makes us able to have plenty of wonderful raw cream from our own goats' milk.



So what if it's hand-cranked?  I have an able-bodied boy who does a great job keeping it going for the tenish minutes it takes to separate 2-3 gallons.

I've often wished for a goat who gives all cream.  (Have you noticed that I like cream?  A lot? I do.)  Failing that, this separator does the trick.  The skim milk is useful for chicken feed or for halting pest and disease problems on certain garden plants.

And now I'm off to get supper on so we can enjoy those summer veggies swimming in cream in the oven...



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Edited to add:  Yes, the zucchini has a high water content, so it took longer to cook, and then it was over-salted (this dish made with just potatoes is never too salty), probably because it cooked down so much.  In the future, I'll adjust accordingly, but it was still yummy!

1 comment:

  1. You're so clever. After you tweak and perfect this recipe, save it for your future cook book "Zucchini Au Gratin" because the world needs more zucchini recipes!

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