Veggie Tales

A few weeks ago (months, for some) I planted some seeds and plants in my backyard. It's so much more fun to eat veggies when you've grown them yourself! Here are my first pickings.

Some of the zucchini were used in Okonomi-yaki that my amazing husband Ted made yesterday (that's a savory Japanese pancake, by the way). They're my absolute favorite, and he makes them a lot. We've adapted our own recipe, depending on what vegetables we have on hand, and what we're in the mood for. But here's our basic recipe:

Ingredients:

(Pancake)
2 oz. self rising flour
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup super dashi
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 scallion, chopped
1 cup thinly chopped zucchini and cabbage

(Sauce)
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. Ponzu sauce
1 1/2 tsp. sake
squeeze of lemon juice

(Topping)
Japanese mayo
pickled ginger
dried bonito flakes

Combine the flour, milk, dashi, and salt in a bowl. Add the egg and stir. Next add the scallion, zucchini and cabbage and mix to combine. Heat a non-stick frying pan over moderate heat, and add the batter, like making a regular pancake. Wait for the bubbles to appear, then turn over to cook on the other side.

Combine the sauce ingredients.

Serve the pancakes hot, topped with Japanese mayo, the red sauce, pickled ginger, and bonito. (This picture is just half of a pancake, since they're so huge!)

And here's the recipe for my favorite sweet, lemon sponge pudding. A great way to use the many lemons from our tree (sorry, my own picture didn't turn out well)!