February 15th, 2025
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We are at that wonderful time of year when the effort put into the late spring/early summer garden is starting to pay off. With my harvest basket in hand, I find all kinds of treasures—zucchini, beans, tomatoes, and fresh herbs—more than enough to inspire meals for the week ahead. See the recipe links below for ideas. Plus school’s back, which means lunchbox fillers and afternoon snacks are required, so I combine summer vegetables and cheeses for some protein-packed muffins.
At this time of year, my garden becomes a wild ramble of summer produce, flowers and plants left to go to seed (adding height and colour). In all reality, it is not a basket but an apron or the skirts of my dress holding my garden findings. I often ‘pop’ into the garden to quickly pick some herbs for dinner to find the beans and zucchini have exploded. Next, I am kneeling under the hazelnut tree gathering nuts, and picking a handful of blackberries on the way back to the kitchen. Dresses and aprons with deep pockets are certainly useful attire.
I hope your summer garden is producing well, or if you are reading this from the Northern Hemisphere here is a dose of summer to look forward to on the flip-side.
Enjoy, Nicola
More Late Summer Recipes on Homegrown Kitchen:
- Slow-Roasted Pasta Sauce – Any summer produce can go into this sauce with a ratio of at least half tomato to other vegetables. It is a sauce I prepare all through the summer months and freeze into portioned containers for a quick pasta meal anytime.
- Zucchini & Mozzarella Bake – Eggplant Parmigiana is the inspiration for this dish using zucchini slices instead. It takes a bit of effort to make, but it is worth it. This is the dish that my usually zucchini-shy children applauded.
- Vegetable Pancakes with Sesame Dipping Sauce – These simple vegetable-based pancakes differ from fritters as they contain no egg, instead bound with flour. They are loaded with vegetables that once cooked caramelize beautifully.
- Stuffed Kamokamo (or Marrow) with Lentils & Preserved Lemon – Lentils add protein to this vegetable-packed meal complemented with bold flavours from preserved lemon and feta. For a meat option, lamb or beef mince can also be used.
Double Cheese & Summer Veg Muffins
Ingredients
- 250 g (1 cup) cottage cheese
- ½ cup (50g) finely grated parmesan cheese, divided
- 3 free-range eggs
- ¼ cup (60ml) milk
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (150g) plain flour (can use gluten-free flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika, plus extra for sprinkling
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ cups (about 200g) summer vegetables - I used sweetcorn kernels, chopped zucchini and sliced sundried tomatoes
- handful fresh basil, chopped (can use other herbs such as parsley, chives and mint)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C (fan 170C). Line a medium-sized muffin tray with 10 paper muffin cups.
- Scoop the cottage cheese into a bowl and add half of the grated parmesan - set aside the remaining for the topping. Add the eggs, milk, and salt, and whisk to combine.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, paprika and cayenne. Add the vegetables and herbs and toss to coat with the flour. Pour over the wet mixture and fold together until just combined.
- Evenly spoon the batter into the muffin cups - this is a runny batter. Scatter over the remaining grated parmesan and a pinch of paprika onto each muffin.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.
- The muffins can be served warm with butter, or at room temperature. Making a great addition to back-to-school lunchboxes. Store in a container in the fridge and consume within 3 days.
Notes
