zucchini fritters

Las Vegas Labor Day Weekend.

Our last summer hurrah.

Thoughts:

1. House music. I still don’t really get it.
2. Michael Phelps at Surrender. Why hello, Most Decorated Olympian of all time.
3. Clubs. Too many sweaty people rubbing all up on you. Squeezing past a thousand house-crazed drunk people to get to the bathroom… Hm.
4. People in clubs. If you’re from LA, get ready to run into at least five people you know. Or meet all sorts of crazy people who want to stay in touch once you all get back to LA.
5. High heels. Ladies, why. Why do we wear them?! Blister band-aids are your best friend.
6. Ice bath for the feet at 4 a.m. Painful but your feet will thank you tomorrow.
7. Everyone’s comment of the night, “Going home already? How old are you???”
8. Old. I’m old and I just want to lie in bed with my Netflix and my puppy. Maybe a few beers if I’m feeling extra frisky.

Suffice to say, I’m Vegased out for the next year or more. No more Vegas for me.

And back to eating somewhat healthy. Drunken sunrise Earl of Sandwich tuna melt does not a meal make.

These fritters reminded me of Russia and our last meal at simplethings in Moscow. That was only a few months ago and already it feels like it’s been ages… Oh, dear Russia, how I do miss you.

Which reminds me… I need to book a trip somewhere ASAP.

Isn’t work so much less painful when you have something to look forward to? Maybe that’s why I’ve been antsy as of late… I have no trips planned!

Will change this very, very soon. Christmas vacay is coming up.

WHERE TO NEXT?!

Zucchini Fritters
Adapted a bit from smittenkitchen

Yield: About 10 2 1/2 inch fritters

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini
1 teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt, plus extra to taste
2 scallions, split lengthwise and sliced thin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

To serve (optional)
1 cup sour cream or plain, full-fat yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinches of salt
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic

(I decided to be lazy and just topped mine with a garlic parsley sauce I bought at the farmer’s market)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Have a baking sheet ready.

Trim ends off zucchini and grate them either on the large holes of a box grater or, if you have one, using the shredding blade of a food processor. The latter is my favorite as I’m convinced it creates the coarsest and most rope-like strands and frankly, I like my fritters to look like mops.

In a large bowl, toss zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt and set aside for 10 minutes. Wring out the zucchini in one of the following ways: pressing it against the holes of a colander with a wooden spoon to extract the water, squeezing out small handfuls at a time, or wrapping it up in a clean dishtowel or piece of cheese cloth and wringing away. You’ll be shocked (I was!) by the amount of liquid you’ll lose, but this is a good thing as it will save the fritters from sogginess.

Return deflated mass of zucchini shreds to bowl. Taste and if you think it could benefit from more salt (most rinses down the drain), add a little bit more; we found 1/4 teaspoon more just right. Stir in scallions, egg and some freshly ground black pepper. In a tiny dish, stir together panko crumbs and baking powder, then stir the mixture into the zucchini batter.

In a large heavy skillet — cast iron is dreamy here — heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop small bunches of the zucchini mixture onto the skillet only a few at a time so they don’t become crowded and lightly nudge them flatter with the back of your spatula. Cook the fritters over moderately high heat until the edges underneath are golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you find this happening too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Flip the fritters and fry them on the other side until browned underneath again, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Drain briefly on paper towels then transfer to baking sheet and then into the warm oven until needed. Repeat process, keeping the pan well-oiled, with remaining batter. I like to make sure that the fritters have at least 10 minutes in the oven to finish setting and getting extra crisp.

For the topping, if using, stir together the sour cream, lemon juice, zest, salt and garlic and adjust the flavors to your taste. Dollop on each fritter before serving.

a spring salad duo

Starting my vacation off right.

I love California. Like it was timing itself perfectly just for me, after being gloomy all week, here’s a little weather forecast for you:

No complaints here.

I haven’t been able to focus on anything these past few weeks. Probably because my brain’s hard-wired to think mid-May is summer vacation for the past 20 years. I’ve just been sitting there. Staring at the computer. Nothing filtering in. Brain on but not really “on.”

Namsayin?

Feels like summer. Could be packing for Cancun, having a lazy brunch at Joan’s on Third, hiking in Malibu, or just driving down PCH.

I’ll settle for the lazy brunch for now.

I love the salad counter at Joan’s on Third. You can get a duo or trio of their salad selection. I was craving it the other day when I passed by it on my way home from work so I stopped by Trader Joe’s and picked up a few things to make my own little salads at home.

I’d say the key is using a fruity, good quality olive oil. I always use Italian extra virgin olive oil.

Aren’t these so cute?!

I think when vegetables are cute, they’re more fun to eat. Which means I’ll eat more of them. Which is totally  a good thing considering all the crap I’ve been eating these past few days.

Mini heirloom tomatoes from TJ’s and only $2.99 a box!

I considered roasting these guys but then decided raw was probably the best way to go so I don’t waste the extra tomato-ness of them. Dressed them up real simple with olive oil and some Italian seasoning.

I have a newfound obsession for quinoa. These little guys are full of enzymes, vitamins, and all this other junk that’s good for you. Nutty and delicious! Right now, I’d say my favorite quinoa salad is the Winter Creamy Spinach Quinoa Salad from Mendocino Farms. I made mine with more Spring inspirations in mind… kind of went crazy on the red onions… I’d probably not use so many or dice them smaller for next time.

Throw it all on a plate with some good crusty bread and hello, lunch.

My Quinoa Salad
4 servings

1.5 cups quinoa, dry
3 cups arugula, roughly chopped and loosely packed
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (if you can find the ones packed in olive oil, those are even better)
Half a red onion, diced (saute them slightly if you don’t like raw onion)
1 cup chopped pecan pieces
1 lime
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Olive oil
Goat Cheese (optional)

Here’s a great tutorial for cooking perfectly fluffy quinoa:

http://www.eatingrules.com/2011/10/how-to-make-fluffy-quinoa/

Rinse quinoa in cold water. Drain through a fine mesh strainer; allow to drain and dry for 20 minutes to remove water.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast quinoa and pecan pieces in separate pans for 5 minutes until a nutty scent emerges from your oven. Be careful not to burn them! They’re small so they could start burning quickly if you forget about them.

So, rule of thumb is about 1.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of quinoa to avoid mushiness (mushy is a no-no), so I used 2 1/4 cups of water. Bring the water in a pot to a rapid boil. Add quinoa and cover lid leaving a slight vent for steam to escape.

Reduce heat to medium-low and maintain the simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the water is gone and the germ has started to curl out of the grains.

Remove from heat, remove lid, and allow to cool for 5 – 10 minutes and then fluff it up with a fork.

Allow quinoa to cool (at least until it’s not steaming) before making your salad because you don’t want your arugula to start wilting.
In a large bowl, toss cooked quinoa, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, toasted pecans, and goat cheese together. Season to taste with salt and pepper and coat lightly with olive oil.

Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad
Adapted from allrecipes

4 cups cherry tomatoes or mini heirloom tomatoes :)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon agave nectar

In a small bowl or cup measure, mix together oil, apple cider vinegar, herbs, salt, and agave nectar
.
Pour dressing over cherry tomatoes in a serving dish, and gently stir to coat. Chill for at least 2 hours. Gently stir from bottom to top, coating all tomatoes, before serving.

I couldn’t wait 2 hours to eat mine so I ate it right away! Stuck the leftover in the fridge and it definitely tasted better later. So… try to be patient.

Meatless Mondays – Week 2

I never have time for breakfast. Typical.

I’m usually pouring coffee frantically into a tumbler and tossing a little plastic container of yogurt into my bag while I brush my teeth. On my luckier days, I can give myself indigestion scarfing down a piece of toast while running down stairs in my building.

Today in my moment of zen (what do you do when you have five extra minutes in the morning?), I noticed two huge tomatoes in my fridge. When I say huge, I mean one is the size of my two fists put together.

So. Tomatoes and breakfast. First of all, it has to be something I can eat in the car without crumbing everywhere. Second of all, no cooking involved means cutting down on time that you would spend toasting bread, heating oil, cracking eggs, etc. Third, HEALTHY HEALTHY HEALTHY! I allow myself an everything onion bagel covered in full fat cream cheese once a week, but I’m trying to start the day off right with some vegetables, some good protein. Maybe one day I’ll actually eat my organic oat cereal with milk and not by the fistful out of a plastic bag.

But back to today’s breakfast. Tomato Smoothie! I decided to experiment so I know breakfast is good before I try it out tomorrow morning.

Delicious and healthy and has a ton of good for you antioxidants. If you’re a lady, tomatoes are great for your bones and will help you fend off osteoporosis. If you’re a dude, especially important to incorporate more tomatoes into your diet because it helps lower bad cholesterol and will boost heart health. Just in general, tomatoes are a super food that help fight cancer!! So. Go eat some damn tomatoes. (It’s proven that cooked tomatoes are even better for you as long as you don’t load up the marinara with processed sugars and preservatives, so if you don’t like raw tomatoes, go eat some tomato sauce or tomato basil soup or bruschetta.)

Tomato Smoothie 
1 large serving (or 2 if you don’t want 16 oz of tomato smoothie)

2 large tomatoes (3-4 regular sized tomatoes)
1/2 cup ice
1 container vanilla yogurt
I like to throw in a splash of blackberry vinegar or some other sweet and tart berry juice

Just throw everything into a blender and LIQUEFY.

Yum. :)

Meatless Mondays

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Recently, I’ve been thinking about how my love of all things cow/beef/chicken/lamb/pork has a negative impact. Picked up a couple books like Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”… Watched “Food, Inc.”… Bought Joel Salatin’s “Folks, This Ain’t Normal.”

The conclusion mostly being: IT’S A MINEFIELD OUT THERE. Everything is over-processed and over-labeled and over-lobbied to the point where you can’t get anything without secretly picking up pesticides, chemicals, and e-coli along the way as well. Oh, and if you do want grass-fed, organic, natural food? Better fork up, because that shit is expensive. Why? Because the government chooses to subsidize McD’s $1 menu instead of a natural, Monsanto-free zucchini in the produce aisle.

I do realize the irony of this “healthy” preachiness as I love greasy tacos which are probably made from greasy cheap meat, I revel in the animal-stylenss of In-N-Out, and no one, NO ONE loves Korean BBQ more than me. But because I love those things and I choose to eat them all the time, it just provides me with more of a reason to want the meat that I’m eating to be raised humanely and not be slaughtered covered in its own feces. If I didn’t enjoy meat and eat it so much, I might not care about how it’s processed and ends up as the glorious Umami burger on my plate.

Like Anthony Bourdain says, ““PETA doesn’t want stressed animals to be cruelly crowded into sheds, ankle-deep in their own crap, because they don’t want any animals to die-ever-and basically think chickens should, in time, gain the right to vote. I don’t want animals stressed or crowded or treated cruelly or inhumanely because that makes them  less delicious.” And we don’t want less delicious.

Just learned from my roommate about Meatless Mondays. It’s a social movement where people pick one day of the week to not eat meat to improve overall health and decrease the negative impact one has on the environment from the pollution created by processing meat.

“Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.”

I have to ease into this no-meat thing though, so I haven’t gone the hard-core dairy-free, egg-free route yet, but maybe after I get used to not having so much animal flesh on a daily basis, I can eke in the no-cheese, no egg thing in there, too. Baby steps.

So.. Here are three recipes for a partial Meatless Monday from breakfast to lunch.. to … lunch again, I guess. I like eating grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, but that’s just me. All of these recipes were inspired by my mom’s gift of a freshly-baked loaf of wheat bran bread.

Breakfast: French Toast with Blueberry Compote

Blueberry Compote:
2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook 1 1/2 cups blueberries, sugar, and water until the berries burst, about 8 minutes, while stirring constantly. Pour in remaining cup of blueberries and cook for ten more minutes until mixture coats the spoon. Serve warm. Keep refrigerated up to 3-4 days. Leftover blueberry compote is really good on top of some Greek yogurt for breakfast, too. :)

Toast:
2 slices of day-old multi-grain bread (mine was about 3/4 inch thick)
2 eggs
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
splash vanilla extract

Whisk eggs, milk, spices, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl until fully incorporated. Pour into a pie pan. Place bread into pie pan one slice at a time, leave about 2 minutes on each side until the egg mixture is completely soaked up by the bread.

Heat a medium sized skillet over medium-low heat and coat bottom lightly with canola or vegetable oil. Place bread in the pan and cook about 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Serve with powdered sugar and blueberry compote!

If you’re too lazy to make the blueberry compote, I love pouring agave nectar on top of my pancakes/waffles/french toast.

Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwich

I don’t really understand the hate that egg salad gets… I mean, yeah, if we’re talking old-school deli style where the salad is dripping mayo and seeping through the Wonder Bread, but it’s eggy and full of crunch veggies, what’s not to love?

This is just an idea for Meatless Monday. I don’t have the actual recipe for the egg salad, but here’s a good, healthy one:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001575.html

Dinner/Second Lunch(?): Caramelized onion, Havarti, Avocado Grilled Cheese

This is probably the heaviest, least healthy recipe of the three…

My roommate decided to caramelize onions and buy Havarti cheese…. YUMMMMM.

Caramelized Onions:

3 yellow onions
Balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
olive oil

Slice the roots off of the onions and slice lengthwise to desired thickness.
Coat the bottom of a wide, heavy saute pan with olive oil and heat on medium-high until oil is fluid and moving. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. If the onions start browning (aka burning) too quickly, reduce the heat to medium or medium low.
After fifteen minutes, sprinkle with some sugar to help the caramelization process. Feel free to add salt and pepper to taste.
Keep a careful watch to let the onions brown and add more oil if necessary if they seem like they’re going to burn. Stir as the onions brown but not too often or they won’t get that nice, caramelized color to them. Cook for 30 more minutes, scraping the pan down and add a little balsamic vinegar to give it more flavor until the onions are richly browned.

Grilled Cheese:
2 servings

1 tablespoon butter
4 slices bread
4 slices Havarti cheese
Caramelized onions
1 avocado

Slice avocado lengthwise and set aside.

Heat medium saute pan over medium-low heat. Spread butter onto one side of each slice of bread (I only used a little butter for each side to try to ease up on fattiness or you can even just toast the bread or stick it through a panini press with no butter to make it healthier) and place butter-side down in pan. Place one slice of cheese on each slice of bread. Place hearty serving of onions on one slice of bread and top with the other slice of bread and cheese. Grill until lightly browned and flip and cook until the cheese is melted.

Remove from heat, stuff with sliced avocados, and then stuff into your face! Mmmmmmm.

Happy Meatless Monday!

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