Mariooch's Kitchen

I truly hope you all had a relaxing summer! It was a hot one here along the East Coast, but we did manage to get to the beach and enjoy the ocean from time-to-time. My daughter Sydney vacationed in Southern Europe stopping in five different countries on her teen tour: Italy, France, Spain, Monaco, and Switzerland. I thought I’d share some photos of her summer adventure! Here favorite place to visit was Swizterland because the scenic beauty. 

Her second favorite spot was in Cinque Terre, Italy (Italian Riviera) where she roamed the cobble stone streets eating gelato and paddle boarded in the sea. The best food was in Spain. This is a picture of a famous market in Barcelona where they have nuts, and spices in abundance and available to purchase.

As summer comes to an end, you (or your neighbors!) probably have so many veggies in your garden perhaps too many to eat. If you have zucchinis, you are in luck because this recipe was created to use up that leftover zucchini from your garden, and to incorporate some corn another end of the summer veggie. This bread is savory with just the right hint of sweetness.

It is a Mexican-Middle Eastern fusion recipe. It has tons of spices along with fresh chopped cilantro which is popular in Middle Eastern and Mexican cuisine.  It is very delicious, springy and moist. Serve this bread with a spicy soup like my Corn and Chickpea Soup or enjoy with a hot cup of coffee for breakfast.  Either way, this bread is decadent and will vanish quickly so make two.  Here is the link to my Savory Zucchini Bread.

I hope you enjoy it!

When I was a little girl, my dad and I would go to the local farmer’s market at the beach and buy black mission figs. They were gone by the time we drove back to the beach house. This became one of our summer traditions, and it was always a special treat for me. My dad would tell the stories about when he was a peddler growing up. He actually started selling fruit when he was five years old. He had so many wonderful stories. To this day, I am very careful picking out my fruit and I am always able to pick the ripiest cantalope! But when I see figs, I am reminded of that special time with my dad. There is something extra delicious and decadent about the black mission figs, very sweet and juicy. This pizza was created with the black mission figs in mind. It is the right combination of savory and sweet and it’s packed with nutrients!  Give my Fig and Feta Pizza a try!  I promise it will become a family favorite!

Sometimes getting creative in the kitchen is simply inspired by avoiding waste. In the case of this NY Style Cheesecake I used the cottage cheese I had on hand, the fresh thyme and lemons combined, of course, with the traditional ingredients in a NY Style cheesecake:  cream cheese and sour cream to create a decadent cheesecake albeit lighter than you might expect.  It has a denseness and richness to it without being overly heavy. And although it’s true eggs are typical in a NY Style cheesecake, ok, most cheesecakes, this one has none. Yup! So it’s truly lighter, especially because you use light cream cheese, and light sour cream which cut down on the calories, but NOT the flavor.

Lemon & Thyme NY Style Cheesecake  is a must try! One bite and you’ll be hooked, I promise! This is over-the-top creamy and delicious goodness. Impress your guests with this yummy recipe, and let me know how it turned out!