What’s at the end of the rainbow? A rainbow veggie pizza!

This pizza is also a clever way to get the I-don’t-want-vegetables contingent to eat more of them. Thanks to Pampered Chef for the recipe.
 
RECIPE: RAINBOW VEGGIE PIZZA

Ingredients

Turn summer vegetables into a colorful pizza (photo courtesy Pampered Chef).

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F (218°C).

2. BRUSH a pizza stone with oil. Place the dough in the center of the stone and roll to the edges, pressing with fingers as needed. Pierce the entire base. Bake the crust for 14–18 minutes, or until the edges are light golden brown. Meanwhile…

3. PREPARE the vegetables. Slice the broccoli, dice the bell peppers and onion, halve the grape tomatoes, etc.

4. REMOVE the crust from the oven and lightly brush the edges with oil. Top with ½ cup (125 mL) of prepared pesto sauce and 1 cup (250 mL) of shredded mozzarella cheese. Arrange the vegetables as shown and bake for 18–21 minutes.

5. GARNISH with basil and serve.
  

[2] Heirloom carrots grow in several colors. In fact, orange was one of the later developments; check out the history of carrots (photo courtesy The Wayfarer | NYC).

[3] These are different types of heirloom radishes. Check out your farmers market or plan ahead to grow your own (photo courtesy Little Park | NYC.

[4] Cepa Vieja is a top sherry vinegar (photo courtesy DiBruno Bros.).

“Vegetable-forward presentation is huge on menus,” says Flavor & The Menu, a magazine and website that high-end chefs follow to see what’s trending nationwide.

“It’s moved beyond innovation and into its own movement called veg-centricity,” where vegetables have moved beyond their traditional role: a supporting role to the protein “star” of the plate.

Now, instead of filling out the plate or rounding out a healthy meal, says Flavor & The Menu, vegetables now “co-starring, rather than serving as extras.”
 
RECIPE: VEGETABLE CRUDO WITH FRUIT

Some think that eye appeal is the excitement-generator for a dish of food.

But it starts before then, with anticipation: a menu description, or a host announcing the course.

The dish in the photo could have been described as “raw vegetable plate,” which might be enough to entice anyone who wants a vegetarian/vegan dish.

But call it “vegetable crudo” (CROO-doe), and ears perk up.

Crudo is the word for raw in Italian; crude is one word for raw in French (hence, crudités for raw vegetables).

The photo shows an artistic arrangement of sliced raw vegetables, accompanied by orange segments.
 
RECIPE: VEGETABLE CRUDO WITH FRUIT

Ingredients

 
The dressing need only be a squeeze of lime juice and a drizzle of olive oil.

Or, you can serve a ramekin of vinaigrette—Dijon vinaigrette would be lovely—on the side for dipping or pouring.

Also consider a sherry vinaigrette*: sherry vinegar has a distinct and delightful flavor. You can use it in the same Dijon vinaigrette.

See more about sherry vinegar below.
 
Preparation

1. MAKE the vinaigrette. Set aside until ready to use (or refrigerate overnight).

2. SLICE the vegetables thinly. The slices should be delicate; not chunky, but not paper-thin. They need to be picked up with a fork.

3. SEGMENT the fruit.

3. PLATE the vegetables and fruit. You can use the photo #1 as a guide, or create your own design.
 
ABOUT SHERRY VINEGAR

Sherry vinegar is not broadly used in the U.S. Fortunately, it is available; and you can treat yourself to a bottle. A premium bottle is also a nice gift for anyone who cooks (or anyone named Sherry).

Authentic sherry vinegar is made in Spain using the solera style of aging. The wine is fermented for years in a series of increasingly smaller oak barrels. This long aging process and artisan technique mean that sherry vinegar commands a higher price tag than most other vinegars.

A dark, intensely-flavored vinegar with a sweet finish, sherry vinegar is used like fine balsamic to add a gourmet touch to dishes. Like sherry wine, the vinegar appeals to connoisseurs. The attributes “fat” and “rich” are often given to vinegars made from sherry, and a fine product’s complexity can be considered “mellow.”

If you don’t have sherry vinegar when a recipe calls for it, you can substitute red wine vinegar.

One of the charms of a quality sherry vinegar it that you can drink it from a shot glass or liqueur glass, as a digestif after dinner (if you find it too strong, add a splash of sparkling water).

 
Buying Sherry Vinegar

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain. The wines are D.O.P. protected.

Authentic sherry vinegar will be made from local sherry and labeled Vinagre de Jerez.

As with authentic balsamic vinegar, prices are in a wide range, depending on aging, which creates complexity, and brand reputation.

 
 
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF VINEGAR
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*Dijon Vinaigrette or Sherry Vinaigrette Recipe: Whisk together 1 cup quality olive oil, 1/3 sherry vinegar or other fine vinegar; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste.

Denomination of Origin, which assures customers that they are buying an authentic product from a designated region, made with traditional artisan techniques.

This recipe for S’mores Popcorn comes from Valerie’s Home Cooking, a new cookbook by actress Valerie Bertinelli (photo #2).

Valerie advises: “All I can do here is issue a warning: Get ready for an amazing, tasty, and addictive treat—and only eat these if you’re with someone who won’t mind your licking your fingers.

“I was actually trying to come up with a peanut butter and jelly popcorn, an idea I have not yet been able to perfect…I finally tossed my experiment out and someone said, ‘Well, how about s’mores [popcorn]?’

“The sweet and salty combo on the popcorn blew my mind. It’s much better if you let it cool for an hour. Also, mix it well—don’t let all the chocolate settle on the bottom. And yes, this does save in an airtight container, but good luck with that.”

The recipe serves 16. Active prep time is 25 minutes, total with setting is 1 hour, 45 minutes.

While waiting for the chocolate to set, take a look at:

 
 
RECIPE: S’MORES POPCORN

Ingredients

 
Plus

 
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*We used Guittard chocolate chips and Trader Joe’s graham crackers, both far superior to “the usual.” You can substitute a quality chocolate bar, chopped up, for the chocolate chips.
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Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 250°F. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

2. TOSS together the popcorn, marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate chips in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. COMBINE the granulated sugar, butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring until the butter melts and the ingredients are completely combined. Continue to boil, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted in the mixture registers 245°F (firm ball stage), about 4 minutes.

4. REMOVE the sugar mixture from the heat, and stir in the salt and baking soda. Gradually pour the sugar mixture over the popcorn mixture, stirring gently with a heatproof spatula until the popcorn is evenly coated. Spread evenly onto the prepared baking sheets.

5. BAKE until the sugar mixture is melted and evenly incorporated, about 20 minutes, stirring gently after 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place in a cool, dry place until the chocolate is firm, about 1 hour.
 
 
MORE S’MORES RECIPES

Here are some s’mores recipes with twists that we’ve published, just a smattering of the thousands of s’mores recipes out there.

Of course, the classic graham cracker sandwich with toasted marshmallows and a piece of chocolate is perfect as is.

Buy the book on Amazon (photo courtesy Oxmoor House).

[3] There are so many different ways to enjoy s’mores. A natural extension is s’mores waffles (photo courtesy Posie Harwood | King Arthur Flour).

[4] Ready for a bite of this s’mores ice cream cake? Here’s the recipe (photo courtesy Kraft Foods).

[5] No-Bake S’mores Pie. Here’s the recipe (photo © Brown Eyed Baker).

 
 
Popcorn recipe and images copyright © 2017 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of TimeInc. New York, NY. All rights reserved.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[2] Black rice (photo courtesy InHarvest).

[3] Cooked black rice takes on a purple hue (photo Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE).

[4] Rice Pudding B with rum and passionfruit (photo courtesy Epicurious).

August 9th is National Rice Pudding Day. How about something a bit different this year: Thai rice pudding, made with black rice and coconut milk instead of cow’s milk (photo #1). It’s a scrumptious dessert, dairy free as well as gluten free.

Black rice becomes deep purple when cooked, with a nutty taste. You may even detect chocolate notes. You can use it in savory dishes, too: as a side dish, in a grain bowl, in a rice salad, and wherever you use rice. One of our local Japanese restaurants even uses it in sushi.
 
 
WHAT IS BLACK RICE?

All cultivated rice originated from a single crop in China, around 10,000 years ago. That first crop mutated or was bred into hundreds of different cultivars, including long grain, short grain, sticky (glutinous), and colored. Different cultivars became preferable in different countries, such as jasmine rice in Thailand.

Then, there’s color. Brown and white rice are mace from the same cultivar*; but rice evolved into black, pink, red and other hues.

Black rice (photo #2), which becomes purplish black when cooked (photo #3), is a rarity. It can be regular or sticky; there is also black jasmine rice.

The black color is due to a large amount of anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant that gives a purple or blue hue to açaí berries, blueberries, Concord grapes and eggplants.

A smaller amount of anthocyanin gives a paler purple color to blood oranges, purple cauliflower and purple corn.

According to a 2015 study, black rice evolved from a type of Japanese rice. A specific gene mutated, triggering the plant to produce large amounts of anthocyanin. Farmers then crossbred black rice mutants to produce more types.

Why Is Black Rice More Expensive?

Black rice has a very low yield, often just 10% of other rice varieties. For centuries only royalty or other very wealthy people could afford it. It was called forbidden rice or emperor’s rice.

Check out the different types of rice.
 
 
RECIPE: THAI RICE PUDDING

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SOAK the rice overnight. First wash the rice grains under cool water for a minute. Then soak the rice in a bowl of water overnight. It will expand as it absorbs the liquid. When ready to cook it…

2. DRAIN the rice and place it in a heat-proof bowl, allowing enough room for the grains to expand when cooked. Add just enough boiling water to cover the rice.

3. FILL the steaming pot with about 3 inches of water. Place the bowl on the steamer but make sure the bowl is not sitting in the water. Steam the rice over a medium heat for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile…

4. HEAT the coconut milk over medium heat. Add the sugar and salt and stir well until the sugar is dissolved. Keep warm. When the rice is ready…

5. REMOVE it from the steamer and add a 1/2 cup of the coconut milk mixture. Mix thoroughly to coat the rice and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

6. SERVE: Drizzle the rice with the rest of the coconut sauce and garnish as desired.

Rice pudding is a porridge. Like oatmeal, it is a cereal grain that is cooked in water or other liquid (e.g. milk), variously seasoned (salt, sweetener, spices) or enhanced, e.g., with eggs. It may or may not have additions, such as raisins or other dried fruit.

Rice pudding can be sweet or savory, as in congee, China’s favorite breakfast, which is mixed with any number of items including shrimp, garlic and scallions. (Here’s how to make congee).

It’s not surprising that the first rice puddings—rice porridges—came from Asia. The idea may have come back with Marco Polo or other travelers.

Rice Pudding Comes To Europe

Marco Polo returned to Venice in 1295, and the first documented recipe for rice pudding is in an English cookbook from 1390†.

At the beginning, it was a dish of kings and queens. Rice was an expensive import.

The first forms of rice pudding were savory pottages, a term for a thick soup but more like what we would call a risotto. It was served as a side dish. Here’s a recipe.

 
By the beginning of the 18th century, larger imports of rice made it more affordable, and rice pudding became accessible to everyone. There are numerous recipes in cookbooks for [sweet] rice pudding.

Rice pudding also became globalized, with a broad variety of recipes from the Middle East and North Africa to all parts of Europe and the New World to the Pacific Rim. Here are different national specialties.

Modern Times

By the 20th century, rice pudding had become so inexpensive that it became a staple in institutional meals, at schools and hospitals. Somewhere along the line, cinnamon and raisins became standard.

Today, creativity is the name of the game. Home cooks and chefs use different flavorings, fruits, spirits, garnishes and formats to create rice pudding that’s an event.

We like to substitute the raisins for dried cherries soaked in rum, but that’s just a beginning. We have a few recipes below.

Also see the history of rice.

 
MORE RICE PUDDING RECIPES

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*The difference between brown and white rice is due to removing the outer brown bran layer; it’s the same rice.

†The Forme of Cury, published in 1390, id the earliest surviving collection of recipes in England. It includes a recipe for a rice pottage, and one for ryse of flesh. The former is the predecessor of modern rice pudding, cooking the rice with water. The latter is savory and made with broth, almond milk and saffron.

August 8th is National Zucchini Day, one of the most versatile foods. Zucchini can be:

 
Varieties of heirloom zucchini can be speckled, striped, pale green, or round like a ball.

There’s even a yellow (golden) variety of zucchini, which is easy to confuse with yellow squash. Golden zucchini isn’t grown commercially, because of the confusion with yellow squash.

If you’re confused by the color, the easiest way to tell the difference between zucchini and summer squash is by the the shape. Yellow squash usually has a tapered neck and a fatter bottom, while zucchini looks like a cylinder (or a cucumber)—no tapered ends.

Some yellow squash can have a top that’s reminiscent of their cousin, the crookneck squash (check out the different types of squash).

Purchase smaller rather than larger summer squash. The larger ones are more mature, with larger seeds and more watery flesh. We like to mix both green and yellow for an appealing color combination.

 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZUCCHINI & YELLOW SQUASH

Both zucchini and yellow squash are summer squash, thin-skinned varieties that are only harvested during the summer season.

They are different varieties within the same genus and species, Cucurbita pepo.

Yellow squash is considered to be sweeter. Cook some of each, and eat some raw, and see what differences you find.

 
ZUCCHINI RECIPES

Zucchini can be served baked, boiled, broiled, fried, grilled, raw, roasted, sautéed, steamed or stir-fried.

 
Don’t peel summer squash: The skin is tender and nutritious.

BREAKFAST

 
APPETIZERS

 
MAINS

 
SIDES

 
DESSERTS

 
 
ZUCCHINI HISTORY

A botanical fruit*, zucchini is treated as a vegetable, used as a savory dish or accompaniment (with the exception of zucchini bread and muffins).

All squash originated in Central and South America, and was eaten for thousands of years before Europeans discovered it in the 16th century. Cultivation has been dated to 5500 B.C.E., and it was integral in the diets of people living in Central America and South America.

Christopher Columbus originally brought seeds back with him, to the Mediterranean region and Africa. However, the long, green zucchini that has become the modern standard were developed at the end of the 19th century near Milan, Italy (from American zucchini).

Zucca is the Italian word for pumpkin. The word zucchini comes from the Italian zucchino, meaning a small squash. That’s why zucchini is sometimes referred to as “Italian squash.”

Zucchini, Cucurbita pepo, is a member of the cucumber and melon family, Cucurbitaceae. The word squash comes from the Narraganset language of the Native Americans of Rhode Island, who grew askutasquash, “a green thing eaten raw.” The Pilgrims had difficulty pronouncing the whole word, and shortened it to squash. It was an important food crop for both peoples.

A word about squash blossoms: A long orange blossom grows on the end of each emerging zucchini. It is considered a delicacy, and can be stuffed and fried or pan-fried plain. Alas, this treat was not widely known in our youth, when we grew zucchini at home; and Mom simply tossed them out.
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*All squash are botanical fruits. They grow from a flower, and they carry their seeds in side of the fruit. Zucchini is the swollen ovary of the zucchini flower. Here’s the difference between fruits and vegetables.

[2] Zucchini soup. Here’s the recipe (photo courtesy Puglia Shop Online)

[3] Pineapple zucchini bread. Here’s the recipe from Betty Crocker.

[4] Zucchini and eggplant lasagna. Here’s the recipe from Pasta Fits.

[5] Tiger zucchini, one of the heirloom varieties (photo courtesy Burpee).

[6] Eight ball summer squash are round (photo courtesy Burpee).