If you don’t have a garden or you haven’t visited the farmers market recently you may not realize that we are currently in peak zucchini season. Those who grow it at home are probably already sick of it, wondering what to do with those pounds and pounds of zucchini. Since my pathetic patio “garden” is barely supplying me with the herbs I need and deserve, I’m still so ready for zucchini.

These zucchini toasts take summers bounty beyond the usual sauteed, grilled or baked. Shredded zucchini, combined with cheese and broiled make for an interesting and healthy twist on the typical grilled cheese. Any cheese that melts will work – it’s a great way to use up those cheese “ends” in your fridge. Gruyere or provolone would be especially tasty.

Zucchini Toasts - 2 servings

• 1 large zucchini, shredded
• 2 oz cheese of choice (I used goat cheese)
• 2 slices bread (I used Rye)

After you shred the zucchini, sprinkle a bit of salt on it and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

Turn on broiler to high.

Squeeze all of the excess water out of the zucchini and set aside.

Stir cheese into zucchini mixture and divide between slices of bread.

Broil for about 4-5 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

I can’t think of another fruit that pairs as well with feta as watermelon does. Ultra sweet and ultra salty combined in a healthy little treat. Does it get any better than that?

The credit for this however does not belong to me – we had something similar at my cousins wedding in Boston. I knew that at some point this summer I would need to make use of the quintessential summer fruit – so long as I had some feta cream to go along with it.

Watermelon Cubes & Feta Cream

Process the cream cheese and feta cheese until smooth. This recipe will make about 2 cups worth of feta cream.

Cut watermelon into cubes.

For easy assembly, place 1 cup of the feta cream into a ziploc bag. Snip the corner (small snip) and squeeze directly onto watermelon cube.

Come to think of it, it would be the perfect addition to those Labor Day Celebrations this weekend!

Enjoy your weekend!

]]> http://anutritionisteats.com/entertaining-watermelon-cubes-feta-cream/feed/ 10 http://anutritionisteats.com/summer-couscous-salad/ http://anutritionisteats.com/summer-couscous-salad/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:00:28 +0000 Emily http://anutritionisteats.com/?p=4459

I’m not quite sure why I don’t cook with couscous more often. I love the shape and nutty flavor, but even more so, I love how quickly it cooks. Can you seriously beat 5 minutes?

This salad was just what I was after – bright, flavorful, packed with veggies and a filling make-ahead lunch. I’m trying to pack in as many summer flavors as I can because I’m already anxiously awaiting fall.  :)

Summer Couscous Salad - 2 large servings

• 2 servings couscous
• 1-2 peppers (I used 1 green, 1/2 red)
• 2 cucumbers
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup artichoke hearts
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives
• 1/3 cup feta cheese crumbles
• Dressing: 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper

Prepare couscous as directed. Let cool.

Chop all veggies to desired size. I did small pieces – easier to eat!

Toss all ingredients together and eat out of Tupperware!

I love quiche, I really do but you see I rarely make real quiche. You know, the kind with a real pie crust. (And by real pie crust by no means do I mean home made. I mean real crust from the store ) I almost always make my quiches crustless, which while it is the healthy choice, isn’t always the right choice.

Friends, let me tell you know that while the crust may add a few more calories, grams of fat and carbs, what it adds in terms of decadence…let’s just say I’m enamored.

Goat Cheese, Leek & Spinach Quiche

• 1 medium-sized leek, thinly sliced
• 2 cups spinach, thinly sliced
• 4 oz goat cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1-12 oz can 2% evaporated milk
• 1 pre-made pie shell (I used Wholly Wholesome Organic)

Pre-heat oven to 350°.

Heat small pan over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Add leeks to pan and sauté until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook an additional minute. Set aside.

Crumble goat cheese on bottom of pie crust. Top with leeks and spinach mixture.

Whisk together eggs, evaporated milk and salt & pepper. Pour egg mixture over cheese and veggies.

Bake for about 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and eggs are cooked through. *If the top is getting too brown, top with tin foil.

Congratulations Tricia! You’ve won the Ball Canning Discovery Kit! Send me your address and I’ll get it sent out to you.

I’ve been wanting to try out a guac bar since I saw it in Eating Well last year and I knew just the event to make it for, the annual Fiesta Party. Lucky for me, my friend Anna (who happens to be a guacamole goddess) let me bring the guacamole this year!

Maybe it was the idea of adding bacon to guacamole that really sold me or mabye it is the idea of a “toppings bar” – I just love that everyone can create their own personal guacamole according to their tastes. While I’ve never been to a Rick Bayless restaurant, I know he knows his stuff and this guacamole proves just that.

The guacamole is a basic one – roasted garlic, lime and cilantro. The toppings are all up to you!

Toppings:

• crisp bacon bits
• queso fresco crumbles
• pickled jalapenos
• diced tomatoes

Congratulations to Kristin, You’ve won the Terra Chips giveaway! Email me your mailing address and I’ll get the prize sent out for you.

The taster loves it when I make pasta and often watches over me when I’m adding the pasta to the salted, bubbling water. “One more handful,” he’ll request and I must, although shamelessly, admit that I usually add one more handful for him.

The only redeeming factor we have is that we add every vegetable possible to the pasta. The thought process is that if we are eating a bit more pasta than we should, at least it is full of vegetables.

Originally this recipe came from Martha’s Everyday Food and my friends who have raved about it for quite some time now. Even with my best intentions of keeping it to peppers and sausage, my parents sent me home with leeks fresh from their garden, we had a 5 pound bag of red onions to use, and I think you can see where this is going. Before I knew it there were more vegetables than pasta and that thought process (ridiculous or not) of the vegetable to pasta ratio comes right into play.

Pepper & Sausage Pasta - 2-3 servings

Heat large pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Add chicken sausages, cooking until lightly browned. Set aside.

Add olive oil to pan and when hot add leeks and onion, cooking for about 2 minutes. Add in peppers and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat. Stir in spinach, sausage and pasta to pepper mixture and toss until spinach has wilted.

Grate Parmesan over top if desired.

You can say any of these words (truffle, brie, mushrooms) and it is a guaranteed swoon. But when you put them all together? It gets a little tricky to hold back. And it seems any desire to hold back is left by the wayside.

It actually wasn’t my intention. You see I was planning on adding some thyme from my “garden” but that truffle oil and salt always seems to catch my eye at the most perfect moments.

Would it be too much I wondered? Too rich and too ridiculously over-the-top it was not. There was definitely swooning and not just by me.

Warm brie, truffled mushrooms and crispy bread – I’m not sure if I can think of many other combinations quite like it. But then again, I’ve got everything I need right here.

Wild Mushroom & Truffled Brie

• 8 oz wheel of brie
• baguette slices, toasted
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 8 oz mushrooms, roughly chopped (I used an exotic variety of baby bella, oyster and shittakes)
• 1 tsp truffle oil
• 1 small pinch of truffle salt

Pre-heat oven to 375°. Remove wrapper from brie and place back in bottom half of cardboard. Bake on a sheet pan for about 10-15 minutes, until brie is soft.

Heat large pan over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan. When hot add shallot and saute for about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for about 5-7 more minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat and add truffle salt and oil, stirring to incorporate.

Invert warm brie on platter and cover with mushroom mixture. Serve alongside baguette slices.

Just when I start to think that someday I’ll be a good enough cook to be a personal chef in LA, I have a huge recipe failure and I’m swiftly brought back to my Minneapolis (and winter) reality.

(source)

Take the sun-dried tomato & mushroom alfredo I made recently. It wasn’t horrible, but it made me want to add mushroom ravioli to the menu the next week just so I could redeem myself. I thought I was being creative and heath conscious as well as finally getting around to using the Hoosier Mushrooms from Lori and the Buitoni Ravioli I received as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. It was all going perfect in my mind – a nutritionist-ed alfredo sauce made with ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes and dried mushrooms over mushroom ravioli…

But when I tasted the sauce it needed something. So we added some 1/2 & 1/2, a few more spices and it tasted ok. I should have just given up then. Nixing the whole sauce idea all together would have been a good decision. But it was a decision I didn’t make and so mushroom ravioli with sun-dried tomato & mushroom alfredo it was.

When I tried the ravioli plain, I realized that it didn’t need ricotta, sun-dried tomatoes or more mushrooms. It would have been perfect with a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh parmesan cheese.

So I picked up some more Wild Mushroom Agnolotti, this time knowing it needed nothing but a sprinkling of cheese. And it was delicious with just that.

Sigh. I guess part of being a good cook is knowing when to leave good things alone – something I’ll be working on.

Still need some menu ideas for 4th of July celebrations? Look no further! I’ve rounded up some of my favorite recipes along with others from the blog world!

Appetizers:

Guacamole with Basil & Shallots

Roasted Vegetable Cheese Spread

Cheese Filled Endeive Leaves from MommyRD

Main:

Chicken Satay with Coconut Peanut Sauce

Grilled Pizzas from Fake Food Free

Prosciutto Chihuahua Panini from Eating for England

Sides:

Artichoke Ravioli Pasta Salad

Greek Potato Salad

Arugula & Apple Salad

Lynn’s Cabbage Slaw with Mango from The Actors Diet

Drinks:

White Wine Mojito

Pomegranate Champagne - add some blueberries for the 4th!

Desserts:

Strawberry & Mascarpone-filled Cupcakes

Banana & Blueberry Popsicles – perfect for little ones – from Weekly Bite

What’s on your weekend menu? If you have some good recipes,  please share below with a link!  Have a safe & happy 4th!

I’ve decided that salmon burgers are my new freezer staple. I love the idea of having salmon once a week and having burgers in the freezer makes this so attainable. I can take them out as needed, they are ready in minutes and obviously very tasty.

They can be dressed up or dressed down, depending on the occasion. Greek salsa is on my “dressed up” side and is the perfect topping for the perfect burger. Try my orzo salad to round out the meal!

Greek Salsa - for 2 salmon burgers

• 1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped into small pieces
• 1 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp feta cheese crumbles
• drizzle of olive oil
• pepper

Combine all ingredients in small bowl and toss together. Set aside and split mixture between burgers.