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Posts tagged ‘zucchini’

Zucchini fettucine and sick of the seesaw

I am not tired of summer squash but I am so tired of watching the same numbers on the bathroom scales: 201, 202, 204, 203, 201, over and over and over for a couple weeks now. I’ve thought about writing my next major goal — 199 — on my palm with a Sharpie like the Biggest Loser contestants, but then everyone will know what I weigh. Wait……

As my friend Jody J. once said to me in the newsroom, “Do you think people don’t know you’re overweight?” Yes, and –  magical fat-person thinking at its best — if I don’t say anything, they won’t. Same principle as never looking lower than my face in the mirror.

He Who Has Never Struggled with his Weight (only argued with it briefly a time or two) says I should get on those scales only once a week. Reshaping psyche and self, I feel like the YouTube kitty scrambling up the slippery slide. If I give up one of my tentative “holds” (read: control), I’ll be back at the bottom more quickly than that determined kitty.

Of course, to tell the truth (ick!) I seem to be in a pretty adversarial relationship with the uphill slope: trying to see what I can get away with, etc., instead of acknowledging with my whole being that this is what’s good and healthy and productive for me. Instead of being excited that it’s “working,” being bummed that change (ick again!) takes time and patience and work. Sigh.

I would not change (smooth segue, eh?) the continuing summer squash stream from garden to kitchen. Today’s recipe for zucchini fettucine is from Weight Watchers (July-August magazine) via the lovely and talented Eleanor P. of Potomac, MD.

Zucchini “fettucine”

1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

4 green small to medium zucchini, ends trimmed

4 golden zucchini or yellow squash, trimmed

1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, washed, patted dry and minced

1 medium to large vine-ripe tomato, seeded and diced

6 tablespoons crumbled low-fat goat or feta cheese

Make dressing by whisking together vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Stir in shallot slices. With your vegetable peeler, peel squash lengthwise into ribbons, stopping at seeded centers (discard these). Combine squash strips and parsley with dressing and toss. Let stand until flavors blend, a few minutes, and divide among 4 serving bowls. Top evenly with tomato and cheese. 176 calories, 9 grams total fat per serving.

 

 

Category:

healthy cooking, Local food, Seasonal food, Summer salads, vegetables, Weight loss

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God and details

Oops: My friend Eleanor P. noticed that God and I left the milk out of the actual soup recipe below! Add 1 cup skim milk. Thank you Eleanor!

 

My friend Michon and I ate in the garden at the Village Tavern in Winston-Salem last Thursday night. Big green umbrellas, little white lights, black-clad servers and the best bruschetta I’ve ever put in my mouth (never had it with a dollop of garlic-laced pesto accompanying the diced tomato, capers and Parmesan).

Michon’s lost about 35 pounds in less than a year and is tired of people telling her she doesn’t need to lose any more. She gave up diet sodas and red meat almost entirely, waits a bit before eating a good breakfast every morning (she used to eat anything as soon as she got out of bed and stayed hungry for the rest of the day) and discards half the bread from every sandwich. That’s it. No grueling exercise routine although she does say she notices that she just moves more now, all day, every day.

She’s more than 15 years younger than I so her metabolism helps. A woman my age (66 in a month) has the metabolism of a hibernating turtle, if that. Also, even though I was exercising, I’d got into a sedentary way of life. (And I was horrified to see when I started using livestrong.com that my exercise was considered “light.”)

Illustrating the principles of inertia, that means: Once out of motion, stay that way. I sat a LOT, asked He Who Was Up to get me things, to go up and down the stairs for me (this is why he’s only gained 6 pounds since quitting tobacco in November). Once I was down, I was down for the count. Once I dropped something, I hoped for someone else to bend over and get it. (Now I’m saying to myself, “You’ve just got rid of 31 pounds. You can do that!”)

The usual aches and pains contribute to this mindset. Like the commercial for one of those drugs that may cause your eyeballs to fall out says, If you’re moving, you’re more likely to keep moving. But you’re less likely to move if you hurt. And, of course, if you move, you’re less likely to hurt and get moving again. It’s an endless wheel: Keep moving, no matter, or eventually, you’ll stop.

So this morning, I’m going to do 15 minutes of yoga stretches and then go ride my horse for 45 minutes or an hour, depending on the heat already at 8 a.m. That’s not a vigorous exercise (for me, it is for her) but I’m going to count it as one of my 5 weekly 30-minute moderate sessions. Tomorrow morning I’ll ride my bike before I go to work (vigorous) and tonight and tomorrow night I’ll take 1 ibuprofen to be able to sleep.

And I’m going to make us bowls of Jane Brody’s Mexican Zucchini Soup with oodles of zuchini, corn, onion, green chilies, skim milk, a bit of Jack cheese and garnishes of fresh parsley and nutmeg (hah, you thought you were safe from more zucchini, didn’t you?). God is in the details here, in the nutmeg and robust, flat-leaved parsley peeping out from under a volunteer sunflower in our herb garden.

Mexican zucchini soup

1 small onion, chopped (1/3 cup)

1-1/2 teaspoons (1/2 tablespoon) olive oil

2 cups poultry or vegetable broth, low-sodium if possible

2 cups unpeeled, diced zucchini

1-1/2 cups corn kernels

2 tablespoons finely chopped green chilies or jalapeno peppers (fresh or canned)

1/2 teaspoon salt, if desired

Generous grinding of black pepper

2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

Minced fresh parsley and ground nutmeg to garnish

In large saucepan, saute onion in olive oil until it’s tender or carmelized, your choice. Stir in broth, zucchini, corn, chilies, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat, cover pan and cook until zucchini is tender, maybe 5 minutes.

Stir in milk and heat soup until it’s hot but not boiling. Remove soup from heat and stir in cheese. Garnish with parsley and nutmeg. 4 main or 6 first-course servings.

Category:

Exercise, healthy cooking, Seasonal food, Weight loss

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Just when you thought it was safe

…to leave off admiring the goldfinch swinging on a black-eyed Susan seed head the size of an olive pit and go back in the kitchen, another heap of summer squashes appears.  And you’re ready with another unexpectedly wonderful recipe (something more than the chile to which you added chunks of zucchini before simmering).

This Mexican Chicken Casserole with Charred Tomato Salsa is from the January/February 2011 issue of Cooking Light magazine. You’ll use lots of dishes during the preparation, and it takes a bit of time. The recipe says 25 minutes of prep time, but I took longer. However, it was a Saturday morning when I had time, and it makes 8 servings — that’s 4 meals for us two, me and the Farmer in the Dell.

The taste is full and light at the same time. I like dishes with zip in hot weather, and this one has just enough with the jalapeno, chili powder and feta cheese. Also, it has only 331 calories and 12.3 g of fat (6.1 saturated) per serving. It tastes like much more.

Mexican chicken casserole with charred tomato salsa

For the salsa: 8 plum tomatoes, halved and seeded

3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

1 seeded jalapeno papper, quartered

Cooking spray

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I used parlsey — to me, cilantro tastes as gym socks smell)

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (must be fresh)

Freshly ground pepper to taste

For the casserole:

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup fresh, frozen or canned and rinsed corn kernels

1 cup diced zucchini

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

3 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 10-ounce can green chile enchilada sauce (I used green salsa because it was all I could find)

1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles

12 6-inch corn tortillas

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterety Jack cheese

1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Heat broiler. Combine plum tomatoes, garlic cloves, small onion and jalapeno  on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil until charred, stirring frequently. Remove from oven; cool slightly. Place mixture in food processor; add cilantro, lime juice and pepper. Process until smooth.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare casserole, heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, corn, zucchini and bell pepper; saute 5 or 6 minutes or until tender. Add chicken, minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, enchilada sauce and green chiles; cook  until heated through. Remove from heat.

Spread 1/2 cup salsa over bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange six tortillas over salsa. Spoon 2 cups chicken mixture evenly over tortillas. Top with 3/4 cup salsa. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of each cheese. Add another layer each of tortillas, chicken mixture, salsa and cheeses. Bake at 350 or until bubbly. (Or you can refrigerate for up to a day and bake later. In which case, turn off that oven you just pre-heated!)

Category:

good food, healthy cooking, Seasonal food

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Zucchini, the sequel

And they keep on coming, thank goodness. These are the best of the dark green little jokers we’ve ever grown. And that is a swell thing because we have lots of vegetable-impaired friends and because I can make zucchini souffle.

This is a wonderful, goof-proof recipe from the Fourth Creek Meeting House Encore cookbook our church published in 2003 on its 250th anniversary.  The recipe’s provenance (I’ve always wanted to use that word!) is in some dispute. According to one member, it’s her mother’s and no one else’s. It’s in our cookbook twice under two different names,  but that’s OK because it’s that good.

This souffle will not fall. It has nowhere to go because biscuit mix is propping it up. It’s good hot from the oven, at room temperature or even cold. It’s a wonderful main dish with a green salad or slaw and lots of mint tea, or it’s a perfectly splendid side dish. Any way you eat it, it’s genuinely and surprisingly good. He Who Can Actually Plant Seeds in a Straight Row sniffed in disdain  once but never again after he’d eaten it.

Zucchini souffle

3 cups grated unpeeled zucchini

1 cup baking mix (like Bisquick)

1 small onion, minced

1/2 to 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

Mix together zucchini, baking mix, onion, Parmesan (I use the larger amount) and seasoning salt. In a second bowl mix together eggs and oil. Pour liquid mixture into dry mixture, combine. Grease souffle dish. Pour souffle mixture into dish and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Says it serves 6 to 8 but that’s never happened at our house!

And p.s., 31 pounds gone as of yesterday. I’m having popcorn with Move Over Butter for supper tonight to celebrate. Tomorrow morning I’m getting up at 5 again so I can exercise before I go to work. Read today that 5 moderate 30-minute workouts and 3 strenuous 20-minute workouts weekly are the minimum I should be aiming for. Seems to me I’m going to need another day of the week!

 

 

 

Category:

Exercise, Local food, Seasonal food, Weight loss

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Attack of the killer zucchini

They’re out there — lying in wait, hiding under leaf umbrellas, inching toward the house, growing in the dark. And as soon as we drop our guard, they’ll be in the house — covering the counters and tumbling to the floor. It’s zucchini season, and for the next month every day will be a pitched battle to stay ahead of the crop.

Today we had sort of a stir-fry for lunch with leftover grilled chicken, onion, garlic, lots of zucchini and a little Parmesan. And I made a double batch of The Silver Palate Cookbook (1982) zucchini bread.

Now, before you wrinkle your nose, know that this is a zucchini bread like no other — soft, rich, spicy, studded with walnut pieces. It’s cake, really.

Back in the early 1980s when then-Charlotte Observer book editor Dannye Romine Powell tossed this book across my newroom desk and asked if I were interested, I had no idea how it would shape my ideas of cooking and eating.  Authors Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins (with Michael McLaughlin) believe(d) in fresh — fresh food, fresh taste and fresh combinations. Almost 30 years later I’m still using the tattered shreds of that original paperback.

You make the zucchini bread thusly. And you can double or triple the recipe if you like. You probably will like because any two eaters of only modest skills can demolish a loaf in a day, day and a half, tops!

 

Silver Palate Zucchini Bread

3 tablespoons sweet butter

3 eggs

1-1/4cups vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated (unpeeled) raw zucchini

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9- x 5-inch loaf pan with the butter. Beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until light and thick. Fold zucchini into oil mixture. Stir baking soda and powder into flour and stir dry ingredients into wet mixture. Fold in walnuts. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake on middle rack of the oven for 1-1/4 hours or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans, run knife around all edges and set loaves right-side-up on cooling rack before wrapping for later eating or freezing.

Served with cream cheese embellished with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon, this is one of the top reasons for summer.

I will try and keep my consumption under control (like last night with the unsalted cashews when I ate only 1/4 cup) because this morning I hit the 29- pounds-gone point. That’s darn close to 30. And I rode my scarey bike UP our alpine driveway for the first time. It was a real “Rocky” moment.I woo-hoo’ed.

Heat or no, I’m definitely stronger and that feels good. I may yet get to the point where I agree with friends Catherine M. and Sally N., who both say being skinny feels better than anything tastes.

 

 

 

 

Category:

Exercise, good food, Local food, Weight loss

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