... I write about you in my blog. Derek Smith. o_O
In other news, I made stuffed zucchini today with veggies fresh from the garden. A woman I work with at the co-op brought in these mega-huge zukes-- I mean, these puppies were FAT. We're talking like, 3-4" in diameter fat. PERFECT for stuffing... and that's exactly what I'm gonna share with you today!
So if your zukes are really big (like 10" or more in length, and the aforementioned thickness), you probably only need 2 of them for enough to feed a family (or if you like to cook enough for yourself to have lunch for a week, as I do). Cut off the stem and the bit at the very bottom; then slice the zucchini in half lengthwise. Using an ice cream scoop (or a melonballer, or some other scoopy thing that you happen to have), scoop out the seedy part in the middle, making the space to be stuffed. I like to think of them as zucchini boats... 'cause they kinda look like boats at that point.
I used to use grass-fed ground beef or natural ground turkey for this, but I'm kind of not on a meat kick anymore so this recipe will not include such things. But if you are the meaty type, know that you have the option.
the Filling:
2 cups cooked brown rice (if you were using meat you would cut this down to 1 cup and add a cooked, crumbled, drained beef/turkey/chicken/etc.-- or you could fake it with some tofu crumbles!)
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 egg
1 cup cooked chopped spinach
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 or 2 minced (or pressed) garlic cloves
olive oil
salt and pepper
a pinch each of cayenne and nutmeg, sprinkle of basil and oregano
bread crumbs+grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup total)
Preheat oven to 400.
Mix everything together in a large bowl except the bread crumbs+cheese. Fill your zucchini boats with the mix, making sure to distribute it evenly. If there's extra, just mound it on top! They're called "stuffed" for a reason. :-D Once they're all stuffed as they can get, sprinkle a generous amount of the bread crumbs-cheese mixture over the filling, arrange them in a 9x13" baking dish, and pop them in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, turning halfway. When they're done, the tops will be nicely browned... remove them from the oven and let them sit for 5 minutes before serving. For sides, a nice basic salad would be good; just throw together some chopped Romaine lettuce, chick peas, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with dressing of your choice and you're good to go!
Keep enjoying summer, kids.
Ciao!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Forget everything you thought you knew about veggie burgers.
Alrighty kids, I have the rare opportunity to write to you all direct from my apartment; God has blessed me with internet access today! That said, I just finished tasting the product of a few days of planning, and let me tell ya... it's delish. I've been wanting to make my own veggie burgers for a long time, and whenever I tried, various stuff happened. I won't get into too much detail... they just weren't quite right, let's put it that way. ^_^
I did some research, and found a nice recipe on allrecipes.com which seemed like it had promise... I added a couple of little tweaks, and they came out AWESOME. I will say this, however: if you don't like spicy, go way easy on the chipotle. I love spicy, so I put in lots. I also love the smoky flavor of chipotle pepper, and it really complements the natural flavor of black beans. If it's just too much, you can leave it out... but it's sooooo good, I'm beggin' ya, give it a shot!
Awesome Black Bean Burgers
2 heaping cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained (or dried, reconstituted)
1 cup roughly chopped bell pepper (I used a combo of yellow and red for the sweetness)
2 roughly chopped cloves garlic
handful fresh parsley leaves
1 large egg
healthy dash of hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot is good)
1/2 tsp chipotle powder (again, start with just a sprinkle if you're not the spicy type)
a dash of ground cumin
2/3 cup breadcrumbs (they don't have to be seasoned, but it's okay if they are)
1 tbsp agave nectar (or about 1/2 tbsp honey)
salt to taste
In a med-large bowl, smoosh the black beans with a fork or spatula (I personally prefer the spatula) until they make a paste. Sprinkle with a little salt.
In a food processor or blender, pulse the bell peppers, parsley and garlic together along with a pinch of salt until finely chopped. Add to the beans and stir together well.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg then add the chipotle and hot sauce and beat some more. Pour into the beans and stir it up good. Add the bread crumbs a little bit at a time, making sure they're thoroughly incorporated. Lastly, add the agave/honey... at this point the mix should be quite thick; so thick, in fact, that you may want to just chuck the spatula and work the agave through with your hands (if it's not that thick, add some more bread crumbs). It's fun to squish, almost like soft cookie dough. And who doesn't love that?! ^_^
Once the mixture is all uniformly mix-y, shape it into little patties. Or big ones, it's really up to you. If you're feeding several kids, you might want to opt for patties just about the size of the palms of their hands (maybe a little bit bigger; use your judgment)... if the grownups are dining, go as big as you want! (Within reason.)
In a stainless steel or cast iron skillet, heat about a tablespoon of canola or olive oil on medium heat. Fry the patties until nice and brown on each side (maybe 4 minutes per side, give-or-take), then let them cool and drain for 5 minutes on a paper towel or a paper bag. Serve on whole grain burger buns or wrap 'em up in yummy whole wheat tortillas (like Cedar's Mountain Bread, for instance) with sour cream, salsa, cheddar cheese, sliced olives, Romaine lettuce... anything you want, except ketchup. PLEASE, do not desecrate these sacred patties with ketchup! You will break my heart. :'( <-- see, that's what my face will look like if you put ketchup on these patties. And you don't want that, do you?
Anyhoosie, hope you all try this lovely recipe soon... these are also great grilled, but make sure you chill (ie., freeze) them before doing so; at room temp they may fall apart.
Stay cool, kids. Ciao!
I did some research, and found a nice recipe on allrecipes.com which seemed like it had promise... I added a couple of little tweaks, and they came out AWESOME. I will say this, however: if you don't like spicy, go way easy on the chipotle. I love spicy, so I put in lots. I also love the smoky flavor of chipotle pepper, and it really complements the natural flavor of black beans. If it's just too much, you can leave it out... but it's sooooo good, I'm beggin' ya, give it a shot!
Awesome Black Bean Burgers
2 heaping cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained (or dried, reconstituted)
1 cup roughly chopped bell pepper (I used a combo of yellow and red for the sweetness)
2 roughly chopped cloves garlic
handful fresh parsley leaves
1 large egg
healthy dash of hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot is good)
1/2 tsp chipotle powder (again, start with just a sprinkle if you're not the spicy type)
a dash of ground cumin
2/3 cup breadcrumbs (they don't have to be seasoned, but it's okay if they are)
1 tbsp agave nectar (or about 1/2 tbsp honey)
salt to taste
In a med-large bowl, smoosh the black beans with a fork or spatula (I personally prefer the spatula) until they make a paste. Sprinkle with a little salt.
In a food processor or blender, pulse the bell peppers, parsley and garlic together along with a pinch of salt until finely chopped. Add to the beans and stir together well.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg then add the chipotle and hot sauce and beat some more. Pour into the beans and stir it up good. Add the bread crumbs a little bit at a time, making sure they're thoroughly incorporated. Lastly, add the agave/honey... at this point the mix should be quite thick; so thick, in fact, that you may want to just chuck the spatula and work the agave through with your hands (if it's not that thick, add some more bread crumbs). It's fun to squish, almost like soft cookie dough. And who doesn't love that?! ^_^
Once the mixture is all uniformly mix-y, shape it into little patties. Or big ones, it's really up to you. If you're feeding several kids, you might want to opt for patties just about the size of the palms of their hands (maybe a little bit bigger; use your judgment)... if the grownups are dining, go as big as you want! (Within reason.)
In a stainless steel or cast iron skillet, heat about a tablespoon of canola or olive oil on medium heat. Fry the patties until nice and brown on each side (maybe 4 minutes per side, give-or-take), then let them cool and drain for 5 minutes on a paper towel or a paper bag. Serve on whole grain burger buns or wrap 'em up in yummy whole wheat tortillas (like Cedar's Mountain Bread, for instance) with sour cream, salsa, cheddar cheese, sliced olives, Romaine lettuce... anything you want, except ketchup. PLEASE, do not desecrate these sacred patties with ketchup! You will break my heart. :'( <-- see, that's what my face will look like if you put ketchup on these patties. And you don't want that, do you?
Anyhoosie, hope you all try this lovely recipe soon... these are also great grilled, but make sure you chill (ie., freeze) them before doing so; at room temp they may fall apart.
Stay cool, kids. Ciao!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
For those hot, hot summer days...
Some cool salads and snacks to keep you hydrated and energized.
Tabouli is a Mediterranean (namely Lebanese) salad, traditionally made with very little bulghur wheat and lots and lots of fresh herbs and tomatoes. If, however, the idea of an herb salad is a little weird to you, try this; you can also make it with couscous or quinoa. It's very refreshing and flavorful, and I love it on a day like today (high of 97!! Yipe!). What I especially like about this recipe is that it requires almost no heat to make it, besides boiling the water... no slaving over a hot stove! Yay!
2 cups bulghur (cracked wheat)
2 cups boiling water
1 medium-large cucumber, chopped (1/2 inch cubes)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh chopped mint leaves (minimum!)
2 cups fresh chopped parsley (also minimum!)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion or shallot, minced
1/2-2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Combine the hot water and bulghur in a medium bowl; cover and let sit for about 30 minutes until the water is absorbed. Prepare the vegetables, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper; toss together in another large bowl. When the bulghur is ready, fold it into the mix (make sure that there is no excess water left; if there is, drain it) and incorporate thoroughly. Check the seasoning, then chill for at least a half hour. (this recipe is adapted from http://www.greatpartyrecipes.com/tabouli-recipe.html)
Fruit salad is another fabulous way to cool down; however, it need not be supersweet, soaked in syrup like canned fruit salads-- bleh. This is a nice, simple salad that you can make in less than 15 minutes and instead of getting a megadose of sugar, you get all the yummyness and nutrition of these naturally sweet fruits.
2 lbs fresh strawberries, cut into bite-size pieces
1 pineapple (you can cheat and go with the cored one at the store, it's easier), chopped
2 grapefruits, peeled and cut into sections*
2 fresh peaches, cut into bite size chunks
1 ripe d'Anjou pear, cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup (or 2) fresh berries-- blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or a combination
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
a few leaves fresh mint, bruised
*or you can do what I do with grapefruits; I cut them in half, then scoop out the sections with a spoon... it's so much easier!
Combine all the fruits and the juice in a large bowl, then lightly sprinkle with the sugar, add mint leaves and toss together well. Yep, that's it... how easy was that?? Now enjoy!
One last thing... sometimes it's tough to get kids (even some grown-ups) to drink enough water. I mean, if it was easy, would we need Kool-Aid, or its adult counterpart, Crystal Light? Come on! The stuff is gross (in my humble opinion) but it does the job. A slightly more healthy way to make water more interesting is this: fill a half-gallon pitcher of water, grab a handful of fresh or frozen berries/other fruits and a little honey. Stir them all together, and viola!! Alternatively, add one of those squeezy-lemons or limes (I like Sicilia, but whatever) to said water along with some honey or natural sugar and some squished strawberries, and you've got yummy homemade strawberry lemonade!
Alrighty kids, it's starting to get warm out. It's time for me to call it a day. Stay cool, eat well and have fun!
Ciao!
Tabouli is a Mediterranean (namely Lebanese) salad, traditionally made with very little bulghur wheat and lots and lots of fresh herbs and tomatoes. If, however, the idea of an herb salad is a little weird to you, try this; you can also make it with couscous or quinoa. It's very refreshing and flavorful, and I love it on a day like today (high of 97!! Yipe!). What I especially like about this recipe is that it requires almost no heat to make it, besides boiling the water... no slaving over a hot stove! Yay!
2 cups bulghur (cracked wheat)
2 cups boiling water
1 medium-large cucumber, chopped (1/2 inch cubes)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh chopped mint leaves (minimum!)
2 cups fresh chopped parsley (also minimum!)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small onion or shallot, minced
1/2-2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Combine the hot water and bulghur in a medium bowl; cover and let sit for about 30 minutes until the water is absorbed. Prepare the vegetables, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper; toss together in another large bowl. When the bulghur is ready, fold it into the mix (make sure that there is no excess water left; if there is, drain it) and incorporate thoroughly. Check the seasoning, then chill for at least a half hour. (this recipe is adapted from http://www.greatpartyrecipes.com/tabouli-recipe.html)
Fruit salad is another fabulous way to cool down; however, it need not be supersweet, soaked in syrup like canned fruit salads-- bleh. This is a nice, simple salad that you can make in less than 15 minutes and instead of getting a megadose of sugar, you get all the yummyness and nutrition of these naturally sweet fruits.
2 lbs fresh strawberries, cut into bite-size pieces
1 pineapple (you can cheat and go with the cored one at the store, it's easier), chopped
2 grapefruits, peeled and cut into sections*
2 fresh peaches, cut into bite size chunks
1 ripe d'Anjou pear, cut into bite-size chunks
1 cup (or 2) fresh berries-- blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or a combination
2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
a few leaves fresh mint, bruised
*or you can do what I do with grapefruits; I cut them in half, then scoop out the sections with a spoon... it's so much easier!
Combine all the fruits and the juice in a large bowl, then lightly sprinkle with the sugar, add mint leaves and toss together well. Yep, that's it... how easy was that?? Now enjoy!
One last thing... sometimes it's tough to get kids (even some grown-ups) to drink enough water. I mean, if it was easy, would we need Kool-Aid, or its adult counterpart, Crystal Light? Come on! The stuff is gross (in my humble opinion) but it does the job. A slightly more healthy way to make water more interesting is this: fill a half-gallon pitcher of water, grab a handful of fresh or frozen berries/other fruits and a little honey. Stir them all together, and viola!! Alternatively, add one of those squeezy-lemons or limes (I like Sicilia, but whatever) to said water along with some honey or natural sugar and some squished strawberries, and you've got yummy homemade strawberry lemonade!
Alrighty kids, it's starting to get warm out. It's time for me to call it a day. Stay cool, eat well and have fun!
Ciao!
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