Griddled Polenta Cakes with Roasted Vegetables

I've been meaning to try Polenta for a long time but have just never gotten around to it. Tonight, it became New Veggie #68 and the latest permanent member of my pantry. Although I've never really been a fan of grits (I need to give them another chance soon), I have always liked all other corn products so today I finally got around to making a lazy version, which turned out great! 

Griddled Polenta Cakes with Roasted Vegetables

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients (4 Servings):

1. 1 tube of Food Merchants Traditional Italian Polenta
2. Salt and Pepper, to taste
3. Roasted Vegetables (I used Zucchini and Haricot Verts today) with juices
4. Cooking spray, for skillet
5. Hot Sauce, to taste

Directions:

Slice the tube of Polenta into 12 round cakes, each about 0.5 inch thick. Preheat a skillet, or cast iron pan. Once the pan is hot, spray lightly with cooking spray and place each round cake on the hot skillet. As one side gets seared, turn over to sear the other side. This helps create a sort of skin on each cake and preserves the juices inside, leaving the inside soft and creamy, and the outside a little chewy. I served these tonight with my Oven Roasted Zucchini and Garlicky Haricot Verts. I drizzled whatever juices there were in the vegetable pans on top of the polenta and also drizzled with hot sauce. Umm Umm Good!!

My Assessment: I really liked it. Tony was not a fan - he thought it was pretty tasteless. I liked the fact that it retained its softness inside even though I seared the outsides. I liked the blending of the vegetable juices with the corn meal and how it basically imbibed the flavors of the roasted vegetables. It has definitely found a permanent place in my pantry!

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving of Polenta): Calories 105 (Fat Calories 0)
Total Fat 0 g; Carbohydrates 22.5 g; Dietary Fiber 1.5 g; Sugars 1.5 g; Protein 3.0 g

Squash Fajitas

At our local Mexican restaurant I have ordered the same thing (with only slight modifications) for the last 6 years that I've been in Ohio - Lunch Vegetable Fajitas. I've gone through a period of adding grilled chicken to it. At other times, I've asked for the refried beans to be held, and at others the rice. Almost always, the quantity of vegetables is enough that I ask them to hold the tortillas. During my chicken days, friends and colleagues and even clients, who've been to this restaurant with me, have asked me why I don't just get the 'chicken fajitas' instead of the 'vegetable fajitas with chicken' - the reason was simple - the vegetarian dish came with zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes and mushrooms vs. the chicken fajita, which came only with peppers and onions. Being the veggie fan that I am .. it always made sense to get the dish which had the most veggies for me. 

Squash Fajitas

I tried today to replicate this dish at home and it was quite surprisingly - super easy :)

Prep Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 small Zucchini, sliced
2. 1 small Summer squash, sliced
3. 1 Yellow Onion, sliced
4. 1 tsp Garlic powder
5. 1-2 tsp Cumin powder
6. 1/8 cup Vegetable broth
7. Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Line a large skillet on medium-high heat with vegetable broth and add garlic and cumin powder. Once the broth comes to a boil, add the vegetables and mix in. Cook on medium-high heat for a couple minutes until the onion becomes translucent and the squash are slightly cooked, and is all but gone. Serve hot with warm tortillas. 

FFVK Creamy Zucchini & Basil Soup

This post is Part 2 of my efforts to use the Ginormous Zucchini I inherited from my babysitter. Earlier in the week I used half of it in a Zucchini Curry. I had the bottom half remaining and decided to try this soup someone suggested. FFVK stands for Fat Free Vegan Kitchen which happens to be Susan Voisin's awesome blog.  A friend sent me the link for the Creamy Zucchini & Basil Soup and I tried that tonight!

I loved it!!! It was super easy to make. Instead of the recommended cashews, I used about an eighth of a cup of Almond milk and I added a little more nutritional yeast to make it a little more cheesy :) ! Other modifications had more to do with kitchen appliances. I pressure cooked the zucchini and onions in broth for 5 minutes and I used a stick blender to puree the soup. Thank you FFVK!!! This was amazing!

Zucchini Curry

Zucchini curry over White rice

So my babysitter has been on vacation since Friday. On Thursday evening, as I was picking my son up, she asked if I'd like some home-grown zucchini. Somebody had given her some and with her leaving on vacation, she didn't want it to go bad. I agreed to take it off her hands and lo & behold .. look what she brought out of her kitchen for me!! Yes, that is the current issue of Time magazine. 

After it sat on my kitchen counter for a day, I posted a picture on FB and asked friends to provide ideas on what to do with it. I got zucchini spaghetti, zucchini pizza, zucchini bread, muffins and soups. All of them sounded really good. In my mind though I was dreaming about Lauki (Opo Squash) Curry - comfort food at its best. I grew up eating lauki in India and its hard to find a good looking Opo here in the US, except at oriental and Indian stores. So some of this bounty had to go towards at least an attempt at making Zucchini Curry!! Here's the recipe ... 

Prep Time: 10 min to prep, and 10 min to pressure cook.

Ingredients: 

3-4 cups of diced zucchini
1 can (16oz) of diced tomatoes, or 2 fresh (medium) tomatoes
1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
2 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Red Chilli powder
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Fresh cilantro leaves, to garnish

Directions:

Peel zucchini (if desired). I left the skin on because it was an organic zucchini from someone's garden. Remove seeds from the core if they're large and woody. Softer seeds are of course more edible. 

Cut into large 1-2 inch chunks and place in a  pressure cooker. 

Add tomatoes, and all spices, and 1/3 cup water and steam under pressure for 10 min. 

Let the steam release on its own. Open and use a wooden spoon to mix everything together. Garnish with cilantro and add salt/pepper, as needed. Serve over white rice. Yum!! 

This was seriously good. It tasted a lot like lauki curry. I'd definitely make this again!! I ate a good size portion for dinner and have 3 portions to freeze and still have of that squash left over :)

Zucchini & Kale Casserole

As I drove home this evening, I kept wondering about what I would make for dinner tonight. I had 2 zucchini sitting in the fridge that I absolutely needed to use soon and I also had a large bunch of kale, which was also teetering on the brink. I decided that there had to be recipe out there that would allow me to use both. Sure enough, a quick Google search lead me to a blog called "Epicurean Vegan" where I found this wonderful recipe for a "Zucchini & Kale Breakfast Frittata".  As soon as gave it a quick read through - I knew it was a winner!! 

Since I modified the recipe based on the ingredients I had on hand, I'm presenting the recipe as I made it here. Credit for the original definitely goes to Epicurean Vegan. 

Prep Time: 30-40 min

Ingredients:

1. 4 links of MorningStar Farms® Veggie Breakfast Sausage  
2. 2 medium Zucchini, sliced
3. 12-15 fresh, or dried Oyster mushrooms (New Veggie #14) - I used dried mushrooms.
4. 2-3 cups of Kale (New Veggie #23), stalks removed and leaves torn
5. 1 medium tomato, diced
6. 5-7 Wasa Whole Grain crackers, crumbled
7. 1 packet Veggie Shreds, Cheddar & Pepper Jack blend
8. 1 tbsp minced Garlic
9. 2 tbsp dried Onion flakes 
10. 1 tbsp dried Parsley flakes
11. 1/8 cup Vegetable broth
12. Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a sauce pot, bring 1/4 cup of water to boil and add the frozen links of breakfast sausage and dried mushrooms. Allow the water to simmer for a couple of minutes and then turn off heat, cover and let sit. After a few minutes remove sausage links (should be well thawed); crumble with a fork.  

Line a non-stick skillet with vegetable broth and add garlic, parsley, onion flakes and crumbled sausage and cook for a few minutes. When the broth is almost all evaporated, drain mushrooms and add to the skillet as well. You can save the water used to reconstitute the mushrooms for later, but sometimes it can be gritty, so it may need to be strained if you want to use it in a recipe. Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes. 

Then, add the sliced zucchini and toss everything together. Sprinkle some salt over the squash to make it sweat and begin to cook. Add a splash of water, if necessary, to prevent sticking in the pan. 

Meanwhile, crumble the Wasa crackers by putting them in a ziploc bag and pounding the bag with a rolling  pin. It's a great way of letting out your frustrations from a rough day at work too ;-) !! Once crumbled, line the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with crackers and top with a thin layer of cheese. 

Once the zucchini begins to gain a slightly translucent look (just beginning to cook), add the kale to the skillet and toss everything together. Allow to wilt. Add another splash of water, if necessary, to prevent sticking. This step can be hastened by putting a lid on the skillet. 

Once the kale is wilted, transfer the veggies to the prepared casserole dish, over the layer of crumbled crackers and cheese. 

Top off the veggies with a layer of finely diced tomatoes ... 

And another layer of cheese. I also added a generous sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper. The original recipe called for covering the dish with foil and baking, or baking uncovered for crisper Kale. I decided to bake it uncovered. Set the timer to 15 minutes. The layer of crackers absorbs any moisture from the veggies if they sweat and in just 15 minutes, the casserole is perfectly done!!  

I let it sit for a couple of minutes before I cut into it. 

My Assessment: The original recipe called for Daiya cheddar shreds and Field Roast Sausage. I will definitely make this again, but only after I get those 2 products. I had bought both the sausage and veggie shreds I used today before I went 100% plant based and unfortunately neither of these met my current dietary habits. The casserole though was absolutely awesome. I could have eaten the whole pan but restrained myself to 1 serving. 

Roasted Tomatillo Zucchini

Roasted Tomatillo Zucchini

So after another week off from finding interesting new veggies, I've got 2 this weekend. Vegetable #6 for New Year Resolution #2 - Tomatillos. While I've had roasted tomatillo salsa before at mexican restaurants, especially when I was living down in Texas, I'd never used it for cooking. Tomatillos (or tomate verde) are a staple in Mexican cooking, often used while still unripe (green). In fact, a quick Google search revealed more recipes for roasted tomatillo salsa than anything else. I wanted to use these more as a vegetable, rather than a condiment. I had some fresh Zucchini sitting in the fridge, so decided to modify one of my older recipes (Roasted Zucchini), to incorporate roasted tomatillos. 

Prep Time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 2 medium Zucchini Squash. I prefer to pick the smallest and thinnest ones I can find in the store. Each one was washed, dried and cut into 8 wedges, lengthwise. Or larger chunks if you prefer. 
2. 1 or 2 medium tomatillos, husk removed, and halved
3. 1-2 tbsp McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
4. Toasted bread

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. In an oven safe dish, place a single layer of parchment paper to prevent the veggies from sticking. Place the tomatillos, cut sides up, on the dish and pre-roast tomatillos by themselves for about 2-7 minutes. You can also use the broiler on HI for 3-4 minutes to hasten the roasting process. Remove the dish from the oven, move the tomatillo halves to the center of the dish and place a single later of zucchini wedges or chunks around it. Sprinkle liberally with seasoning. Bake for another 10-12 minutes until the zucchini begins to soften and starts to brown at the edges. As before, you can use the broiler on HI for 6-8 minutes to quicken the roasting process. Make sure you toss once, halfway during the roasting period. Also at that time, I remove the parchment paper as the salt makes the veggies sweat and there are enough juices in the dish to prevent the veggies from sticking. Once done, toss really well and make sure you get all the flavorful juices out as well to sop up with bread. While the recipe itself has no added fat. I was craving buttered toast today, so I ate my serving with crisply toasted sour dough bread, with Earth Balance Buttery Spread. 

Overall Reaction: This was a great modification of my standard roasted zucchini recipe. Zucchini is such an adaptable vegetable. It tastes great with the just lemon-pepper and this variation was along the same lines. The roasted tomatillo added just the right bit of tanginess and also added to the juices in the pan. The charring on the outside of the tomatillo added a lot of flavor which also enhanced the Zucchini flavor. I liked it!!   

Acorn Squash w Tofu & Brown Rice Stuffing

Acorn Squash was Vegetable #2 for New Year Resolution #2 just a few days ago. My previous recipe was quite traditional and very predictable: Maple roasted Acorn Squash. While I enjoyed that sweet and spicy preparation a lot, I wanted to try a savory version today.  I found a recipe at Tasty and Meatless that I liked the concept of (tofu and brown rice stuffed) but I didn't have all the ingredients and I'm not a huge fan of parsley (this recipe called for a 1/4 cup of it!). So I modified it to my taste with far less parsley and no-added fats.

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Spinach & Almond Side Salad. 

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients: 

1. 1 medium Acorn Squash (when buying make sure its hard to touch and the skin is free of blemishes)
2. 1/3 cup Brown Basmati rice (boiled)
3. 1 fresh small Zucchini, grated
4. 1 small red onion, diced
5. 1/3 cup vegetable broth
6. 1-2 tbsp McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning
7. 1 pack (12 oz) Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (firm)
8. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F.  Rinse the squash really well and cut into 2 halves (vertically). Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and place upside down on parchment paper in an oven safe dish. Roast uncovered for 30 min until a testing needle pierces the skin without effort. In the meantime, boil brown rice in ample amounts of tap water, drain and set aside. In a deep pan on medium heat, add the vegetable broth and add diced onions. Add salt and half the steak seasoning. Mix well, bring to a boil. Cook down onions and then add zucchini. Mix well. Heat for a couple more minutes until almost dry. Turn off heat and transfer the onions and zucchini to a large mixing bowl. Add boiled brown rice and crumbled tofu and toss well. Taste test the mix and if necessary, add more steak seasoning. Once the squash is done, turn over and transfer to a fresh oven safe dish. Spoon the mix into the hollow squash and heap onto the top as well - pressing/pat it all down into a nice rounded top. Return the stuffed squash to the oven (350F) for about 10 minutes. I then turned on the broiler for another 5 minutes to give me the golden brown crispy top.

I served mine with a spinach and almond side salad. I really enjoyed the nutty flavor of the brown rice, the fresh zucchini and the caramelized acorn squash. Overall, if I may say so myself, this one got an A+.

Super Quick & Easy Roasted Zucchini

Zuccini is perhaps my all time favorite vegetable. Okay, I'm lying! Okra, prepared by Mom, is #1. But Zuccini is a very close second. Here's a quick and easy roasted zucchini recipe, that's out of this world. We had this tonight, but it disappeared so quickly, I hardly had time to take a picture! The one below is courtesy of another blogger "from whence the sweet bird sang". Mine looked a lot like this. I'll remember to take a picture the next time :)

Prep Time: 15-20 min

Ingredients:
1) 2-4 Zucchini squash, the smallest and thinnest ones you can find in the store; washed, dried and cut into 8 wedges each, lengthwise. I like the smaller ones as the seeds are super small, and it makes the meaty part that much tastier.
2) 1-2 tbsp McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning - which in my opinion tastes so much better on veggies.

Directions:
Spray cooking spray lightly on cookie sheet. Heat oven to 400F, or use the broiler on High (works better for me). Place zucchini wedges, skin side down, on cookie sheet and sprinkle liberally with seasoning. Broil on high for 10 min (maybe less), tossing once, about halfway through. I like mine with a little bit of a crunch, so I remove the cookie sheet from the oven as the edges start to brown up.  Yumm!

Nik's Reaction: "oooh french fries" ... little does he know ;)

Zucchini, Turkey and Cheese Muffins

So, I've been wanting to try some kind of Zucchini muffins for a while. I finally found a recipe that I could make work for Nik. If the boys and Tony liked it - it would be a hit!! So here goes ..

Ingredients:

1) 1 cup medium ground corn meal

2) 1 cup all purpose flour

3) 1 cup grated zucchini (1 medium sized!)

4) 1 cup grated cheese (italian blend)

5) 6-8 slices of medium deli slices of roast turkey

6) 1/2 cup shortening

7) 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)
8) 2 large eggs
9) 2 tsp baking powder
10) 1/2 tsp baking soda
11) 1 tsp salt
12) 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Didn't make the cut with my clan :(

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. I just mixed everything in my KitchenAid stand mixer. Then add all the wet ingredients and mix everything together until well blended. Spoon the mixture into a well greased 12 cup muffin pan. Bake at 375F for 20-25 min. Makes 12 muffins.

So, Nik ate half a muffin and drank all his juice before quickly declaring that he was "All done!". Tony made a face after 1 bite. Alex had about two bites and Bryce refused to even look at them!

Hrmpfff!! So this one was a definite miss with my clan!!