zucchini » Living Lou

Quinoa Bowl

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen developing recipes. There are meticulous notes involved, multiple drafts and different coloured pens – the whole nine yards. But there is something magical about being in the kitchen and just throwing whatever you have together. While most of my time in the kitchen is spent working on recipes, I try to carve out a few times a month where I just go in there with nothing in mind and just throw whatever together. There are definitely some pretty big failures, but also some great successful dishes.

That’s how this Quinoa Bowl came together. It was 11:30 at night and I needed something to bring to work for lunch the next day. I wasn’t looking to create a “blog worthy” dish, or follow a recipe, I was literally just throwing ingredients together. I had leftover zucchini, broccoli and kale in my fridge that needed to be used up. With the addition of a little Italian sausage, I had a meal ready to go in 15 minutes. Plus, I love when things are monochrome, so the idea of this dish having all green vegetables pleases my nerdy, uniform side. This Quinoa Bowl is the kind of thing that works well for a quick dinner, but I love to make a batch at the beginning of the week and bring it for lunch.

Quinoa Bowl (serves 2-4)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 1/4 cups water
1 link hot Italian sausage, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 zucchini, sliced in semi-circles
1 cup chopped broccoli florets
1 cup chopped kale
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a small pot, bring water to a boil. Add quinoa and cover. Reduce heat and cook for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook sausage over medium-high heat, about five minutes or until fully cooked. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, cooking for a minute or until fragrant.

Next, add zucchini and broccoli. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until beginning to soften.

Add kale. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until kale has wilted.

Finely, season with lemon juice and salt and pepper.

Toss vegetables with sausage and cooked quinoa.

This Quinoa Bowl will quickly become a lunch staple.

- Lou

Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini is everywhere right now, but after looking at hundreds of recipes online on other blogs, I realized that I’m really lacking in zucchini recipes on here. Gasp! But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. I’ve got a couple of zucchini recipes up my sleeve for those of you with bountiful zucchini growing in your garden or for those of you like me, who just really like zucchini. Zucchini Fritters are a pretty typical way to enjoy zucchini, I wanted to make mine a little different and I added fresh basil which compliments the zucchini wonderfully.

There aren’t many foods, other than the holy trifecta of bacon, eggs and toast, and we can’t forget pizza that you can eat for dinner and breakfast, but you can add these Zucchini Fritters to that list. I feel like these would even make a good packed lunch because they taste amazing when they’re cold. I like to eat mine with a little ketchup mixed with sriracha – it’s so good.

Zucchini Fritters (makes 6)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 small onion, shredded
2 zucchini, shredded
1 tbsp minced fresh chives
1 tbsp minced fresh basil
1 egg
2 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 + 1/4 tsp salt
Oil for frying

Directions

In a colander lined with paper towels, place zucchini with 1 tsp of salt. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, using more paper towel if necessary, squeeze out as much liquid from the zucchini as possible.

Combine zucchini with remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

Cover the pan with oil, heat over medium-high heat. Using an ice cream scoop, drop one scoop per fritter into the hot oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side. If you find that the fritters are cooking too quickly, turn the heat down to medium and continue frying.

If you’re looking for more ways to use up your zucchini, try my Stuffed Mushrooms.

- Lou

Stuffed Mushrooms

For some reason I seem to be the odd one out when it comes to stuffed mushrooms. Everyone loves stuffed mushrooms, have you ever served them at a dinner party? Hands down, the first things to go. Always. Me on the other hand, I just can’t seem to get into stuffed mushrooms. Don’t get me wrong, I love mushrooms, roasted or in a quinoa pilaf or even in an omelet, mushrooms are rather hearty, and succulent.

Way back in the early days of Living Lou, I posted a recipe for stuffed mushrooms. While both of these recipes have the same base of shrimp, they yield pretty different results. The first recipe is a lot richer than this lighter version I’m sharing today, so I’ll leave it to you readers, which do you prefer?

Stuffed Mushrooms (makes 10 large stuffed button mushrooms)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

10 large button mushrooms, all stems removed, 5 discarded
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup grated zucchini
1 cup frozen pre cooked shrimp, thawed and roughly chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup light cream cheese
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
pepper to taste
paprika for garnish (optional)

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Wash and grate zucchini, allowing zucchini to drain for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, wash and remove stems from mushrooms, set aside caps and 5 stems. Roughly chop the stems.

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add zucchini and mushrooms, cook for 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and add shrimp, bread crumbs, cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Stirring until the cheeses melt.

Using a teaspoon, scoop the mixture into each mushroom cap, filling just passed the top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, black pepper and paprika (if using). Repeat for remaining caps.

Place the mushroom caps on a lightly grease baking sheet, and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.

So, are you among the people who call stuffed mushrooms one of their favourites? Or are you like me, and not a fan, but continue to make them often for the ones you love?

- Lou