Baked Zucchini Sticks with Sweet Onion Dip

You know when you have spare zucchini and don't know how else to use it? Yeah, that rarely happens to me. For some reason, even all through college, I always managed to have zucchini at my apartment. It was easy to cook and throw into stir frys with a protein and I had dinner. Lately, I've been reading about all kinds of uses for zucchini in breads, muffins, etc. I will get there soon. First, let's just enjoy it by itself.

Baked Zucchini Sticks with Sweet Onion Dip

Ingredients:

Dip
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium sweet onion, about 1/2 pound, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Zucchini sticks
3 medium zucchini, unpeeled, cut into 3"-long stick
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
scant 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Pizza Seasoning or mixed Italian herbs
olive oil spray
1/2 cup egg substitute; or 2 large eggs; or 3 egg whites, lightly beaten


Preparation:
1) To make the dip: Melt the butter in a medium frying pan over moderate heat, and add the sliced onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, then caramelize. This should take between 10 and 15 minutes. The lower the heat, the longer it takes, but the less likely you are to burn the onions.

2) Once the onions are a medium brown, remove from the heat and add the vinegar.

3) Place the onions and vinegar into a small food processor. Add the honey and mustard, and process or blend until smooth.

4) Add the mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.

5) To make the zucchini sticks: Place the zucchini sticks in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with the tablespoon of salt. Let the zucchini drain for 1 hour or longer; rinse and pat dry.

6) Combine the Panko, Parmesan, and pizza seasoning; set aside.

7) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment, and spray the parchment with olive oil.

8) Dredge sticks a few at a time in the egg, then roll in the crumb mixture. Place the sticks on the prepared baking sheet.

9) Bake sticks for 12 minutes, turn over, and bake for an additional 8 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

10) Serve immediately, with sweet onion dip.

Yield: about 3 dozen zucchini sticks, and 1 1/2 cups dip.

Veggie Pizza with Tofu Ricotta

 You already know I'm a fan of pizza. All kinds of pizza. I've constantly been on the hunt for a better crust recipe and I think I've finally been able to settle on one. The best part? It only requires 30 minutes to rise rather than the HOURS that many other homemade crust recipes called for. I'm all about that now.

You'll see that this pizza was actually a combination of three recipes: pizza crust, veggie pizza and tofu ricotta. The best part? Three different sources. Let's get to the pizza!

First the dough. I scoured Allrecipes and finally decided on Pizza Dough III.

Pizza Dough III
from All Recipes

Ingredients:
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 cups bread flour (I used all purpose)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white sugar

Preparation:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Tine's Notes: What I love about making your own crust is that you can flavor it yourself. I added 1 tsp of basil leaves and 1 1/2 tsp of oregano. Those are the flecks in my dough

So I wanted pizza and had no tomatoes or sauce in sight. And I wasn't going to the grocery store. I googled alternatives to pizza sauce and found this Tofu Basil Ricotta recipe. I adapted it for what I had on hand and I have to say, I am totally doing this from now on.

Tofu Ricotta

adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:

1/2 package firm tofu, drained and pressed

1 tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic salt

black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Crumble tofu in a small bowl until consistency is of ricotta cheese. Add lemon juice, oil and salt. Add black pepper to taste. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Tine's Notes: The original recipe called for basil leaves, garlic and nutritional yeast. I already had seasoned my dough so I decided not to add anything else. I didn't have nutritional yeast available either. I used the entire serving to top my pizza dough. Turns out, I should have pressed my tofu a little more as it was just a tad runny.

I have made vegetable pizza before, but with some different vegetables. And finally the actually toppings for my veggie pizza: celery, bell pepper, red bell pepper, onion, broccoli, mushrooms and spinach. I also did a sprinkling of Italian cheese blend. I added the spinach about 8 minutes before I took the pizza out of the oven. You want them to be just wilted.

What I love the most is that homemade pizzas are never drowning in oil thus my stomach does not get upset at me. And I definitely don't feel guilty for indulging in this veggie goodness.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Now before you go dismissing this because it contains a vegetable... don't. It's perfectly sweet and savory. Lots of vitamin A, good for your eyes. Sorry, that's such a parental thing to say. And also how my parents got us to eat pretty much everything. Damn reasoning. As with all risottos, get your arm muscles ready, kids.

Butternut Squash Risotto
from Allrecipes


Ingredients:
2 cups cubed butternut squash
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/3 cup dry white wine
5 cups hot chicken stock
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Place squash cubes into a steamer basket in a saucepan. Add water, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to steam until the squash is tender (10 to 15 minutes), then drain, and mash in a bowl with a fork.

2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir for 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking and stirring until the rice is glossy from the butter, and the onion begins to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes more.

3. Pour in the white wine; cook, stirring constantly, until it has evaporated. Stir in the mashed squash and 1/3 of the hot chicken stock; reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the rice, 5 to 7 minutes. Add half of the remaining chicken stock, and continue stirring until it has been absorbed. Finally, pour in the remaining stock, and continue stirring until the risotto is creamy. Finish by stirring in the Parmesan cheese, and seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.

Yields: 4 servings

Tine's Notes: I probably added a touch more white wine than called for but the alcohol cooks off and it's more for flavor. Don't forget to keep checking your rice to make sure it's fully done, no one likes crunchy risotto!

Ode to Health

The last couple of weeks, I have done a number on my body. Eating out multiple times a week so now when I'm cooking at home, I feel the need to make it up.


Pan-Seared Salmon
From Southern Living

Ingredients:
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 (6-ounce) salmon steaks
Garnish: orange rinds, optional

Preparation:
1. Combine brown sugar and soy sauce in a shallow dish or large zip-top freezer bag, and add salmon.
Cover or seal, and chill 2 hours. Remove salmon from marinade, discarding marinade.

2. Cook salmon in a lightly greased skillet over medium-high heat 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes with a fork. Garnish, if desired.

paired with....

Broccoli with Garlic Butter and Cashews
from Southern Living

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs fresh broccoli
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup salted roasted cashews

Preparation:
1. Remove and discard broccoli leaves and touch ends of stalks; cut broccoli into spears. Arrange broccoli in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 5 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Arrange broccoli on a serving platter. Set aside, and keep warm.

2. Place butter in a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Microwave on high 15 seconds or until butter melts. Stir in brown sugar and next 4 ingredients. Microwave at high 45 seconds or until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in cashews. Pour garlic sauce over broccoli, and serve immediately.

Tine's Notes: Followed each recipe to a T. Have yourself a dinner that doesn't feel like grazing on fluff or too indulgent. There seemed to be a theme of brown sugar and soy sauce that day.

School Lunch menu: Friday = Pizza Day

Remember those days when you would get a printout of the lunch menu for the entire month in elementary school? Every Friday was designated Pizza Day. I have to admit, I actually wasn't so grossed out with school cafeteria food until middle school when almost every meal was drowning in oil *shudders*

Just because I check an older age box now doesn't mean I can't enjoy pizza every once in a while. I just have to watch what's in it... hello pretty pizza.

Ricotta Cheese Pizza
Recipe from Allrecipes



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 (8 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli
1 (3 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

Preparation:
1. Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken in the butter until no longer pink and the juices run clear, 7 to 10 minutes; remove from heat and set aside.

3. Combine the ricotta cheese, 1 tablespoon butter, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave for 1 minute; stir to combine. Spread the mixture over the pizza crust. Scatter the mozzarella cheese evenly over the pizza. Arrange the cooked chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms evenly on top of the pizza.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

Tine's Notes: I used homemade pizza crust for this using the bread maker. It irks me to buy that kind of stuff sometimes because of how inconvenient it is to store it unless you plan to use it right away. Really who stocks up on pizza crust? You? Oh sorry then. I always have flour. Also, I used fresh mushrooms and frozen broccoli. I guess we're even then.