Friday, July 27, 2012

Zucchini!

It's about that time of year when gardens are overflowing with zucchini.  There are so many ways to enjoy this green vegetable, including the way I'm sharing with you today.  I actually made these last summer and lucky for you I found it in my drafts folder!



Corn & Zucchini Cakes
adapted from Bran Appetit & Chosing Raw

1/4c ground flaxseed
6T water
1c fresh corn kernals (from 2 ears)
1/2 sm zucchini, diced (~1/2c)
scant 3/4t salt
1/4t fresh ground pepper
1/2t dried cumin
1/8t dried coriander
1/4c nutritional yeast
6T cornmeal
4-6T milk (I used almond)

In a small bowl, mix together flaxseed and water, set aside for ~5min while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

In a medium bowl, add all ingredients except milk) and mix well.  Add enough milk to bring the mixture to a batter consistency.

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Using a 1/4-cup measure, scoop dough onto skillet and cook 3-5min, until it starts to brown.  Flip and cook another 2-4min, and then set aside.

I served these over some mixed greens and topped them with chopped avocado and tomatoes!



Have more zucchini to use up?  Here are some more of my favorites:

Savory Zucchini Bread
Zucchini Kale Lasagna
Cardamom Coffee Zucchini Bread
Sauteed Squash on Avocado Pesto Pasta


Zucchini Kale Lasagna (left), Avocado Pesto Pasta w/Sauteed Squash (right)



What's your favorite way to enjoy zucchini?

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Smoked Salmon Pizza

A week to go before my move, and this recipe was inspired by the pumpkernickel pizza dough that was hiding in my freezer!  This time I went with a more traditional pairing incorporating some delicious smoked Alaskan salmon.  Two things less to move and a delicious dinner :)



Smoked Salmon Pumpernickel Pizza
Recipe by Shannon

A few notes:  I was out of capers, but if you've got some hanging out in the fridge, I'd chop up 1T or so and add it to the mix!
     The pizza dough freezes beautifully (wrapped tightly in saran and stored in a ziploc bag).  A day or two before making the pizza, I defrosted the dough in the fridge and then brought it to RT for an hour before baking.
     While I grilled this pizza, you could also bake this in a hot (450deg) oven!  I love my pizza stone for a nice crispy crust- preheat with the oven, then remove and add the dough and toppings.  Bake until cheese is bubbly, ~8-12min.

pumpernickel pizza dough (I used ~1/3 recipe)
4oz Nufatchel, RT
1/2c 2% greek yogurt
1-2t fresh chopped dill (I used fresh frozen)
2T diced red onion
4T diced cucumber
salt and freshly ground pepper
6.5oz smoked salmon (I used canned Alaskan Smoked Sockeye, but feel free to use what you find in the grocer's deli case)

Preheat grill on high heat.

To prepare the cream cheese spread, combine nufatchel, yogurt, dill, red onion and cucumber to a small bowl.  Season with a dash of salt and some pepper, then mix well and taste.  Adjust seasonings and set aside.

To prepare your dough, flour the surface.  Start stretching the dough with your hands and then continue with a rolling pin until it's ~1/4" thick (I like it on the thin, crispy side).  Spray one side of the dough with cooking spray (or use a paper towel with some oil) and add, oiled side down, to the grill.  Grill for ~4min, until cooked (you'll see nice grill marks, and perhaps some bubbles in the dough).  Flip dough over and grill for another 3-5min, until crust is crispy.  Remove the dough from the grill with tongs and transfer to a large plate or cutting board.  Spread cream cheese mixture evenly on the dough, then top with flaked smoked salmon and serve.



I've still got a few cans left, so I'd love to know your favorite way to enjoy smoked salmon??

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Greater Nashua Tri

Location: Nashua, NH
Distance: Sprint (.3mi s, 16mi b, 3.1mi r)
Participants: 382

While friends may discount their ability to complete a triathlon, I always try to bait them and say they don't have to do it all- there are relays, after all ;)  The way I see it, once they get a taste, you never know what might happen!



Maybe it was the wine and cocktails, or just good company, but I convinced some friends to do a relay a few months back.  Luckily I didn't have too many, so I remembered the next week to research some races that would fit with our schedules.  Between the six of us at the table, we decided on women versus men.  #Game On.

Our furry cheerleader!!

I did my best to quell any fears and convince everyone that they would do just fine in the race.  Before we knew it, race day was upon us and after a week of rain and cooler temps we had a gorgeous, sunny day.  The lake had cooled off a bit from their readings the week before, but not so much that our swimmers were uncomfortable sans wetsuit.  The sun did however make for a hot run as it got later on in the morning, as the first couple miles were not in the shade.

See, we were relaxed!!


Quite a different experience from competing in the entire race, all I had to setup was my bike stuff and make sure we all got bodymarked, knew how the transitions (aka timing chip handoff) should go and figure out the layout of the transition area.  It was strange watching the first wave go off and cheering on our swimmers, knowing that I wasn't going to be jumping in the water soon.  Another first was the chance to watch wetsuit strippers in action, they are pretty amazing!

heading out for the bike

The bike course is a lollipop which you do twice, I'd say it was pretty flat, with some gentle rollers.  Given the fact that I was only biking that day, I tried my best to push the pace as much as I could.  There was one turn that was poorly marked for some of the race.  Luckily there was someone there when I passed, but our other biker wasn't so fortunate and added an extra mile or two :/  I finished the bike in 49:54 (19.2mph), handed off the chip to our runner, and my day was done.

Well, sort of-- we backtracked from the finish and met our runner for the last half mile or so and finished strong as we got back to Camp Sargent :)

Post-race

Final Thoughts:  Our first tri was a success!  Especially when everyone said they'd be up for another relay (although I haven't gotten them to commit), and one or two of the men said they could see themselves doing the whole thing :)  I was pleased with my bike, especially given the craziness of this summer and inconsistency of my training up to this point.  Races always have a way of rekindling my love for triathlon, and this was no exception, especially because I got to share it with friends.

Congrats guys, you all did awesome!!  And thanks to Ed for being our photographer for the day!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Veggie Reuben Pizza

My mom's favorite sandwich is the reuben.  While I do like some components, sauerkraut and swiss cheese turned me off of these sandwiches at an early age and I never gave them a chance.  With some pumpernickel dough in the freezer, I started brainstorming and came across this recipe for a veggie reuben sandwich.  It intrigued me enough to morph it into a grilled pizza, and boy am I glad I did!! This pizza was absolutely fantastic and full of flavor.  My only wish is that the gruyere was coarsely grated, and perhaps there was a little bit more of it :)



Grilled Veggie Reuben Pizza
inspired by and adapted from Brussels Sprouts for Breakfast (seen on food52)
Serves 2-4

Since there were a few components to this dish, I prepared the cabbage, mushrooms and sauce ahead of time and stored it in the fridge.  The pizza dough was also made a few months ago and kept wonderfully in the freezer (wrapped tightly in saran and placed in a ziploc bag).  I defrosted the pizza dough in the fridge, and on pizza-making day, took the dough and toppings out of the fridge 1-2hrs before making the pizza so that everything was room temperature.

While I grilled this pizza, you could also bake this in a hot (450deg) oven!  I love my pizza stone for a nice crispy crust- preheat with the oven, then remove and add the dough and toppings.  Bake until cheese is bubbly, ~8-12min.

pumpernickel pizza dough  (I used ~1/3 of the recipe)
1/2-1c coarsely grated cave-aged gruyere

For the sauce:
2T olive oil mayo
2T 2% plain greek yogurt
1/4c grainy dijon mustard
1/4c diced pickled green tomatoes (or relish)

For the pickled red cabbage:
1/4 head red cabbage
~1T extra virgin olive oil
1/4c apple cider vinegar
2T horseradish

For the sauteed mushrooms:
1lb sliced button mushrooms
~1T extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced

To prepare the sauce, add ingredients to a small bowl and mix well.  Set aside.

For the mushrooms, heat oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms, and cover for 1 min.  Remove the cover, stir add garlic, salt and freshly ground black pepper and continue liquid has cooked off and the mushrooms have begun to brown.  Remove mushrooms from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan over heat oil over medium.  Add cabbage, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for a ~5min, until it starts to soften a bit.  Then add the vinegar and horseradish and cook another 5-10min, until the cabbage has broken down.  Remove from the heat and set cabbage aside.

Preheat the grill on high.

To prepare your dough, flour the surface.  Start stretching the dough with your hands and then continue with a rolling pin until it's ~1/4" thick (I like it on the thin, crispy side).  Spray one side of the dough with cooking spray (or use a paper towel with some oil) and add, oiled side down, to the grill.  Grill for ~4min, until cooked (you'll see nice grill marks, and perhaps some bubbles in the dough).  Flip dough over, then top evenly with sauce, followed by the cabbage, mushrooms and finally gruyere.  Cover the grill and turn down heat to medium-high.  Cook a few minutes, until the cheese is melted.  Carefully transfer cooked pizza to a cutting board (be sure to use heat-safe spatulas!) and serve.




Are you a fan of reuben sandwiches, or perhaps maybe you'd rather try this version?
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