Going Healthy with Zucchini

I'm going vegetarian lately...well I still have to have that fish and chicken but I can definitely say that I've heightened my intake of veggies. After I dropped a little weight and my skirts aren't so tight, that gave me a boost in my attitude! So, I just feel this burst of energy and joy that I want to stay on track really bad.

Two of my best friends are vegetarian and every time I'm researching recipes or even rewriting some of my old ones, I think of them. My mom was a big veggie lover too. I wasn't when I was little. I began to really crave them after I grew up. And of course when I started cooking for just myself, I experimented a lot more with different spices and sauces to spruce them up. Topping pizzas with veggies in one of my go to ways of having pizza, which I can't live without, but still get my healthy dose of vegetables too. Tonite when I was thinking of what to post, I was reading my Greenwise catalog from Publix and it's really weird sometimes where you get inspiration from, but I was looking at their recipe for grilled halibut with zucchini and peppers and my eyes weren't glued to the fish, I was thinking about the zucchini! So, I decided to do some reading on them and then onto a couple of recipes that I'm sure you'll want to try.

I do love to do research because I learn so much, it makes me almost jealous that the technology we have today wasn't around when I was in school cause I think I would have learned my subjects so much easier. I'm a very visual person and so learning off textbooks just doesn't work for me, but that's another story...anyways I was studying about zucchini and I wanted to share some of what I was reading:

"Zucchini, when used for food, is usually picked when under 20 cm (8 in.) in length, when the seeds are still soft and immature. Mature zucchini can be as much as three feet long, but the larger ones are often fibrous and with the flowers attached are a sign of a truly fresh and immature fruit.

Unlike cucumber, zucchini is usually served cooked. It can be prepared using a variety of cooking techniques, including steamed, boiled, grilled, stuffed and baked, barbecued, fried, or incorporated in other recipes such as soufflés. It also can be baked into a bread similar to banana bread or incorporated into a cake mix. Its flowers can be eaten stuffed and are a delicacy when deep fried, as tempura.

Zucchini has a delicate flavor and requires little more than quick cooking with butter or olive oil, with or without fresh herbs. The skin is left in place. Quick cooking of barely wet zucchini in oil or butter allows the fruit to partially boil and steam, with the juices concentrated in the final moments of frying when the water has gone, prior to serving. Zucchini can also be eaten raw, sliced or shredded in a cold salad, as well as lightly cooked in hot salads, as in Thai or Vietnamese recipes. Mature (larger sized) zucchini, while not often eaten by themselves, are well suited for cooking in breads. Zucchini typically should be stored no longer than three days. They are prone to chilling damage which shows as sunken pits in the surface of the fruit, especially when brought up to room temperature after cool storage." - excerpt from Wikipedia.org.

And of course I couldn't leave you with just one recipe, you have two today! Aren't I nice? hee heee! I hope you try either or both of these cause they're delicious!

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Bacon and Cheese

Grilled Zucchini Bacon and Cheese Rolls

from The Budding Gourmet

Ingredients:

1 very large or 3 small zucchini 

8-10 bacon rashes

olive oil 

kosher salt, to taste 

freshly ground black pepper 

3-1/2 oz herbed goat cheese

Preheat grill to high heat.

Slice a strip lengthwise from the zucchini to expose the inside of the vegetable. Discard or reserve for another use. Cut the 2 ends from the zucchini to make straight edges. Cut the zucchini lengthwise into 1/2-inch strips. 

Brush both sides of the zucchini pieces liberally with olive oil. Season well with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lay the zucchini pieces on the grill at a 45-degree angle (for more attractive grill marks). Cook until the zucchini is very tender, but not mushy, about 3 minutes per side, moving the pieces during cooking to ensure even browning.

Remove zucchini from the grill. Set a wire cooling rack on top of a bowl to give the cooling rack extra clearance from the counter. Drape the zucchini pieces on the rack to cool. This method will stop the zucchini from steaming will cooling.

In a pan, cook the bacon rashes for a few minutes. Place goat cheese in a medium bowl and stir it. Add a strip of bacon over the zucchini, spread a layer of the goat cheese mixture onto one side of each zucchini piece. Gently roll each piece of zucchini. Serve. Makes 8 to 10 rolls.

Zucchini Cranberry Bread

Zucchini Cranberry Bread

adapted from Pillsbury

Ingredients:

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. shredded unpeeled zucchini (1 small)

1/3 c. skim milk

1 tbsp. oil

1 egg or 2 egg whites

1 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

1/2 c. sweetened dried cranberries

1 tbsp. sugar, if desired

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, zucchini, milk, oil and egg and mix well.

Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, and dried cranberries. Mix just until combined. Pour into sprayed pan; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake at 400°F. for 12 to 19 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Cut into slices. Serve warm.