A Collaborative Effort

Did you know we have a garden this summer? It's not at our house, but on some unused land that we (and some other faculty and staff) are borrowing from Bethel just a few blocks away. For some odd reason, I planted four large mounds of zucchini plants. Yeah, we're overloaded with zucchini right now. I've already made 4 loaves of zucchini bread and a huge batch of zucchini-filled enchiladas, and as of Sunday, I still had a stack of zucchini in my fridge. So in addition to shredding and chopping some up, then freezing it in zip-lock baggies for more bread and enchilada fillings later, I made a soup out of about three pounds of it (recipe to follow).

As I was making my menu and grocery list on Sunday night, I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what to serve with the zucchini soup I was planning on making. Thank goodness, my ever-thoughtful and creative husband came up with the idea of grilled tomato and mozzarella sandwiches. Yum!

Whole-wheat bread, Roma tomatoes, sliced button mushrooms, and fresh mozzarella were the orginal ingredients planned for our summery sandwiches. But it felt like something was missing. Enter an arugula pesto with herbs from the little herb garden outside our kitchen window. Fantastissimo! And so easy, too!

While Eric expertly grilled the sandwiches out on the deck, I finished assembling the soup inside. A recipe from this month's Food and Wine magazine, this chilled zucchini soup is simple and fresh. Although, next time I make it, I'm going to use less water than the recipe originally called for; it was a little too thin for my taste. The flavor, on the other hand, was exactly what I expected: fresh, herby, and summery. Perfect with the hot grilled sandwiches.

Chilled Zucchini Soup (with modifications)
from Food & Wine Magazine, August 2009

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
8 small zucchini (or 3 pounds), thinly sliced
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 c. water
2 T. finely shredded basil
2 c. baby arugula
1 c. ice

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil; add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until translucent, about 8 minutes. Stir in the thyme and bay leaf and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat; discard the bay leaf and stir in the basil and arugula. Puree the soup until very smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and add the ice. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until thoroughly chilled.


Grilled Tomato Sandwiches

10 slices whole wheat bread
15 Roma tomato slices
5-6 button mushrooms, sliced
fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 cup baby arugula
1 tsp. each of fresh basil, sage, thyme, and chives
3-4 T. chopped walnuts or pine nuts
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
2-3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
more olive oil for drizzling on bread

Prepare bread, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese. To make the pesto, combine arugula, herbs, nuts, garlic, crushed red pepper, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a food chopper or small processor, and puree until as smooth as possible. Brush one side of each piece of bread with olive oil. Spread about 2 tsp. of pesto on the other side of 5 slices of bread. Place mushroom slices, tomato slices, and cheese on top of the pesto. Grill the sandwiches open-faced, until the cheese is melted and the grill sides of the bread are golden. Place the tops on the sandwiches and serve immediately.