(you know, while we're hanging out here at the end of the alphabet)
The local YMCA is doing a Hunger Challenge, which I wish I'd heard about sooner. A friend of mine is doing it and keeping track of her experiences. Perhaps I'll ask her if I can re-post.
Tangentially, this is one of my only sadnesses with FaceBook's taking over Blogs. FB is so lock-down-able, that it can be hard to link to cool things going on there.
Anyway.
The gist of it seems to be that you eat off of the same budget as someone living on food stamps - $28 per person per week, according to their calculations - in order to get a feeling for the challenges, etc of that.
I love this idea. I love anything that makes me think more about what I'm eating. Not necessarily in a Life Changing sort of way, because I'm realistic. But at the very least one would go back to one's normal eating habits with a renewed sense of appreciation. Or relief.
So, even though I've missed the official challenge, I may try this on my own later, just for the heck.
For the record, I would also be up for a Gluttony Challenge. You know, like, eat a Microsoft employee's paycheck worth of food in a single week? It'd be very Brewster's Millions, but I think I'm up for it. You know, in case anyone wanted to sponsor me.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Z is for Zucchini Chicken Parmigiana
My first time trying this was a FAIL due mainly to 2 things:
1) Following the bad advice of an online recipe that suggested pan frying was not necessary. I blame my laziness for letting me succumb to this ridiculous notion.
2) Not having cheese in the house when I started making it. Grrrr! Couldn't interrupt cooking to run out for cheese so what I made was more Zucchini and Chicken Breaded and Baked in Red Sauce and rather dry.
I'm giving it another go this evening with cheese and frying pan firmly involved. I'll let you know.
1) Following the bad advice of an online recipe that suggested pan frying was not necessary. I blame my laziness for letting me succumb to this ridiculous notion.
2) Not having cheese in the house when I started making it. Grrrr! Couldn't interrupt cooking to run out for cheese so what I made was more Zucchini and Chicken Breaded and Baked in Red Sauce and rather dry.
I'm giving it another go this evening with cheese and frying pan firmly involved. I'll let you know.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Z is for Spinach Zucchini Balls
This falls firmly into the category of Foods That Hide the Zucchini. (That sounds way naughtier than I intended, . . . but note that I do not delete it.)
My friend decided to hold a poker party in honor of her birthday. She asked me to bring some zucchini to grill and also a snack.
Enter the Spinach Balls, a time honored family recipe. First shared with us when my favorite aunt married in, it's my go-to when busting out a savory snack for large group sharing.
Spinach Balls + over abundant zucchini = sneaky deliciousness.
What I Did:
1.5 cups baby spinach, chopped (frozen spinach is also totally ok)
1.5 cups of zucchini, grated
1/2 tsp each of:
garlic salt, white pepper, celery salt, chicken bouillon powder, basil
1 stick of butter
3 shallots
1 clove of garlic
2 cups of Stove Top mix
2 large eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
0) Preheat oven to 350
1) Add spinach, zucchini and spices to a pot.
2) Add enough water to cover veggies.
3) Bring to a boil and then let cook as you proceed with the other steps, stirring occasionally.
4) Chop shallots and garlic and saute in the butter until they are transparent.
5) Turn off veggies and onion/butter pans and allow them to cool.
6) Combine stuffing mix, eggs and cheese in a bowl.
7) Strain water from veggies. Mix veggies into stuffing mix.
8) Mix butter/onion/garlic mixture into stuffing mix.
9) Shape the mix into large marble-sized balls and place on a baking sheet.
10) Bake for 15 minutes.
How Did It Go:
Awesomely. The balls were gone before anything else, several people at the party asked me for the recipe, and no one seemed aware that there was zucchini involved. Win, win and win. Thanks to Aunt Mary, as always, for this no-fail recipe of tastiness.
What Would I Do Differently:
Nothing to make it better, but I think it's fair to point out that this is a very flexible recipe. More/different onions, different cheese, different spices; I've done all these at various times and it's always worked out (and, as suggested, the zucchini is not an original part of this recipe), so feel free to play and substitute. The only thing you can't stint on is the butter. At least, I don't think you can. I've never tried it. If you do, let me know how it goes.
My friend decided to hold a poker party in honor of her birthday. She asked me to bring some zucchini to grill and also a snack.
Enter the Spinach Balls, a time honored family recipe. First shared with us when my favorite aunt married in, it's my go-to when busting out a savory snack for large group sharing.
Spinach Balls + over abundant zucchini = sneaky deliciousness.
What I Did:
1.5 cups baby spinach, chopped (frozen spinach is also totally ok)
1.5 cups of zucchini, grated
1/2 tsp each of:
garlic salt, white pepper, celery salt, chicken bouillon powder, basil
1 stick of butter
3 shallots
1 clove of garlic
2 cups of Stove Top mix
2 large eggs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
0) Preheat oven to 350
1) Add spinach, zucchini and spices to a pot.
2) Add enough water to cover veggies.
3) Bring to a boil and then let cook as you proceed with the other steps, stirring occasionally.
4) Chop shallots and garlic and saute in the butter until they are transparent.
5) Turn off veggies and onion/butter pans and allow them to cool.
6) Combine stuffing mix, eggs and cheese in a bowl.
7) Strain water from veggies. Mix veggies into stuffing mix.
8) Mix butter/onion/garlic mixture into stuffing mix.
9) Shape the mix into large marble-sized balls and place on a baking sheet.
10) Bake for 15 minutes.
How Did It Go:
Awesomely. The balls were gone before anything else, several people at the party asked me for the recipe, and no one seemed aware that there was zucchini involved. Win, win and win. Thanks to Aunt Mary, as always, for this no-fail recipe of tastiness.
What Would I Do Differently:
Nothing to make it better, but I think it's fair to point out that this is a very flexible recipe. More/different onions, different cheese, different spices; I've done all these at various times and it's always worked out (and, as suggested, the zucchini is not an original part of this recipe), so feel free to play and substitute. The only thing you can't stint on is the butter. At least, I don't think you can. I've never tried it. If you do, let me know how it goes.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Z is for Zucchini Marinade for Grilling
Since posting yesterday's picture to my FaceBook profile, I've received two requests for zucchini sharing and three recipes. I heart you internet!
***
For me, the easiest way to deal with zucchini is on the grill. It's low fuss and in summer I tend to be grilling a meat for dinner anyway. Grilling zucchini plain totally works, but sometimes I want a little something more to it, which is when I throw together this marinade. Bonus: it works for every other vegetable I've throw at it so far (asparagus, broccoli, green beans) plus also makes a darn good salad dressing.
What I Do:
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
dried tarragon
white pepper (feel free to substitute black)
salt
(sorry there aren't real amounts here, but I tend to eyeball based on what I'm using it for)
- preheat your grill*
- mix approx equal parts of the oil and vinegar
- add salt and pepper in equal amounts and roughly twice as much of the tarragon. mix.
- halve the zucchini length-wise and add to the mix
- shake or stir to coat as needed, and let sit for 15 minutes
Grilling time varies. I find a medium sized zucchini (2x9 inches) times out pretty well with pork chops (1 inch or so thick), but you know your grill better than I do. Speaking of which:
*Yes, I use a propane grill. If it makes you feel better, I'm ready to admit the superiority of charcoal. Gas is just more practical on a night-to-night basis.
***
For me, the easiest way to deal with zucchini is on the grill. It's low fuss and in summer I tend to be grilling a meat for dinner anyway. Grilling zucchini plain totally works, but sometimes I want a little something more to it, which is when I throw together this marinade. Bonus: it works for every other vegetable I've throw at it so far (asparagus, broccoli, green beans) plus also makes a darn good salad dressing.
What I Do:
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
dried tarragon
white pepper (feel free to substitute black)
salt
(sorry there aren't real amounts here, but I tend to eyeball based on what I'm using it for)
- preheat your grill*
- mix approx equal parts of the oil and vinegar
- add salt and pepper in equal amounts and roughly twice as much of the tarragon. mix.
- halve the zucchini length-wise and add to the mix
- shake or stir to coat as needed, and let sit for 15 minutes
Grilling time varies. I find a medium sized zucchini (2x9 inches) times out pretty well with pork chops (1 inch or so thick), but you know your grill better than I do. Speaking of which:
*Yes, I use a propane grill. If it makes you feel better, I'm ready to admit the superiority of charcoal. Gas is just more practical on a night-to-night basis.
Z is for Oh my god, so much Zucchini
And this isn't counting the bigger one I grilled for dinner. Or the two more already lurking out there in the garden.
Doomed. I am doomed.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
D is for Detour
Ok, . . . guys? It's the end of August and I'm drowning in zucchini. In the interest of actually blogging here again, I hope you'll be tolerant of my skipping ahead a bit and letting you know how I'm dealing with the squash overload. Because I'm looking at pickling and, frankly, I'm a little scared.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
D is for Delayed Duck
Remember that frozen duck? The one from five months ago? That one?
Yeah. What can I say? It's been a busy busy spring/early summer.
So let's jump in the wayback machine, and travel back to a more innocent time: Late March, when the duck finally thawed.
I did the google thang per usual, and read recipes from Food Network, Epicurious and Cooks dot com, besides consulting my perennial favorite for large poultry roasting, The Joy of Cooking.
The big concerns in duck roasting seem to be
a) getting rid of the fat, because there is apparently a lot of it, and
b) avoiding "off-flavors" (I'm assuming they mean "gaminess" here...?)
Some people also seem to really, really long for an extra crispy duck skin. However, since this was my first duck, I wasn't going to push myself too hard.
What I Did:
one duck, fresh or thawed
salt
pepper
shallot
0.5) Preheat oven to 450 degrees
1) Rinse duck and pat dry
2) Place duck, breast up, on a rack in a shallow baking pan
3) Score the duck:
- make a series of shallow, diagonal cuts along one side of the bird torso
- "shallow" in this case means you should cut through the skin, but not the fat
- cut along the duck on the other diagonal, creating a diamond pattern.
- repeat on the other side of the torso
4) Rub the duck inside and out with salt and pepper (you could go with herbs here as well, I imagine)
5) Put a shallot inside the duck cavity (the recipes inform me that citrus fruits, root veggies, etc, would work just as well for this)
6) Place pan and duck in the oven
7) Reduce the temperature immediately to 350
8) Cook 20 minutes per pound of bird
9) Remove from oven
10) Allow to rest for ten-ish minutes, discard shallot from cavity, carve and serve
How Did it Go?
Great! The duck was juicy but not greasy, the flavor was mild, and life was good. It is fair to note here that Mr. Husband found the taste a bit odder than I did, so duck is not likely to become a household staple.
What Would I Do Differently?
Blog about it in a more timely manner. :-p Sorry about that, y'all.
Yeah. What can I say? It's been a busy busy spring/early summer.
So let's jump in the wayback machine, and travel back to a more innocent time: Late March, when the duck finally thawed.
I did the google thang per usual, and read recipes from Food Network, Epicurious and Cooks dot com, besides consulting my perennial favorite for large poultry roasting, The Joy of Cooking.
The big concerns in duck roasting seem to be
a) getting rid of the fat, because there is apparently a lot of it, and
b) avoiding "off-flavors" (I'm assuming they mean "gaminess" here...?)
Some people also seem to really, really long for an extra crispy duck skin. However, since this was my first duck, I wasn't going to push myself too hard.
What I Did:
one duck, fresh or thawed
salt
pepper
shallot
0.5) Preheat oven to 450 degrees
1) Rinse duck and pat dry
2) Place duck, breast up, on a rack in a shallow baking pan
3) Score the duck:
- make a series of shallow, diagonal cuts along one side of the bird torso
- "shallow" in this case means you should cut through the skin, but not the fat
- cut along the duck on the other diagonal, creating a diamond pattern.
- repeat on the other side of the torso
4) Rub the duck inside and out with salt and pepper (you could go with herbs here as well, I imagine)
5) Put a shallot inside the duck cavity (the recipes inform me that citrus fruits, root veggies, etc, would work just as well for this)
6) Place pan and duck in the oven
7) Reduce the temperature immediately to 350
8) Cook 20 minutes per pound of bird
9) Remove from oven
10) Allow to rest for ten-ish minutes, discard shallot from cavity, carve and serve
How Did it Go?
Great! The duck was juicy but not greasy, the flavor was mild, and life was good. It is fair to note here that Mr. Husband found the taste a bit odder than I did, so duck is not likely to become a household staple.
What Would I Do Differently?
Blog about it in a more timely manner. :-p Sorry about that, y'all.
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