zucchini enchiladas

It is officially zucchini season in Northern California. I know this because zucchini has become a staple in our weekly CSA box. Zucchini is perhaps the best known of the various types of summer squash (part of the Cucurbitaceae family - relatives of melons and cucumbers), with its tender, creamy white flesh.

I'm impressed by the versatility of this vegetable. Over the course of the past couple of weeks, I've roasted it (roasted vegetable rice & beans), sauteed it with onions, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and lots of garlic to mix with whole wheat pasta, and most recently, stuffed it along with black beans and pepper jack cheese into enchiladas. While all have been good, this latest combo is my favorite so far. Here's what I did:

Zucchini Enchiladas

Serves 4

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 zucchini (about 2 cups), chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

1 tsp. cumin

15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained

6 oz. pepper jack cheese, grated

2 c. enchilada sauce

12 6" tortillas

1 avocado, sliced, to garnish

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped, to garnish

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until it begins to soften. Add zucchini, cumin, and lime juice. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until zucchini begins to soften. Mix in black beans.

Spread 1/2 c. sauce in the bottom of a 13x9" baking dish. Spoon zucchini mixture down the center of a tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll and place, seam side down, in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Top enchiladas with remaining sauce and cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes longer. Serve topped with avocado slices and cilantro.

One year ago: peanut spinach & tofu

roasted vegetable rice & beans

I've been eating too much sugar lately. I've fallen into one of those patterns where cookies are a must-have after dinner. I've said yes to every cupcake that has crossed my path at work (which has been nearly daily as of late!). I'm a strong believer in indulging in moderation. But my indulgences have been more than moderate lately.

Enter vegetables.

This dish came together in my mind as I was driving home from work. We had zucchini from the weekly CSA box that needed to be consumed. I paired it with some other veggies, brown rice, black beans and a spicy cilantro-lime dressing for a flavor-packed, healthy dinner. A few days of eating like this, and my sugar cravings will be a thing of the past. Here's what I did:

Roasted Vegetable Rice & Beans

Serves 2

2 c. brown rice

3 small zucchini, sliced then quartered

3 spring onions, peeled and quartered

a small bunch of carrots, chopped into 1/2" pieces

2 Tbsp. olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

the juice of 1 lime, divided

1 pint cherry tomatoes

15 oz. black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 c. cilantro, roughly chopped

Cook rice according to directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put zucchini, onions, and carrots into a glass baking dish. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, spices, and half of the lime juice. Add mixture to vegetables. Toss well to coat. Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove pan from oven. Add tomatoes. Return to oven for 15 minutes, until tomatoes begin to soften.

Mix rice, beans, and roasted veggies with cilantro and remaining lime juice. Enjoy!

One year ago: white bean hummus crostini

veggie fajitas

Summer has been busy lately! My recent travels and activities are definitely resulting in a reduction in posts. I'm expecting that will continue for awhile, but will continue to cook and write about it as time permits. 

I made this dish a couple of weeks ago and it's been sitting in my "to post" pile since. It commemorated my first time using queso fresco ("fresh cheese"), a white cheese that originated in Spain and after spreading to Mexico, became common in Mexican cuisine. I found it to be similar to feta in taste, but a little softer and less crumbly in texture. Along with cilantro, it was the perfect topic to the veggie fajitas made with fresh zucchini and peppers from the CSA box. Here's what I did:

Veggie Fajitas

Serves 2

1 small red onion, sliced into thin strips

1 zucchini, sliced and then slices halved

2 red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, cored and sliced

2 Tbsp. of your favorite salsa

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped

queso fresco

4 whole wheat tortillas

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook and stir occasionally while chopping the other vegetables, adding them to the pan as they are chopped. Cook and stir until vegetables are crisp tender. Add cilantro, salsa, and black beans. Continue to cook until mixture is heated through. 

Heat tortillas if desired. Fill each with 1/4 of the bean/veggie mixture. Roll into burritos. Top with cilantro and queso fresco.

I served the veggie fajitas together with avocado salad. Delish!

veggie veggie enchiladas

I made these enchiladas last week. Seeing the picture makes me wish that I had a serving right now! (It must be time to make dinner...) They are so tasty, you won't even notice that they are vegan. That's right - an enchilada without cheese. Or sour cream. I honestly didn't miss the dairy one bit. Here's what I did:

Veggie Veggie Enchiladas

Serves 4

olive oil

1 red onion

1 red bell pepper

1 medium yellow squash

1 medium zucchini

1 Tbsp. lime juice

2 tsp. cumin

15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

20 oz. of your favorite homemade or prepared enchilada sauce

10-12 small corn tortillas

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

1/2 avocado, sliced

Dice onion, squash, zucchini, and pepper into smallish pieces. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook and stir until translucent. Add the pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the squash and zucchini. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender. Add beans, lime juice, and cumin. Stir until well mixed. Turn off heat.

Spread a couple of spoonfuls of sauce in the bottom of a glass baking pan. One at a time, fill each corn tortilla with the veggie/bean mixture, wrap into an enchilada, and place into pan. When pan is full, cover with sauce. 

Cover with foil and bake in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes longer for crispy edges. Top individual portions with chopped cilantro and avocado slices.

roasted vegetable polenta

Yes, I'm still posting about dinner from last weekend. A little story for you: I *almost* had a very embarrassing moment. I had originally been planning to make butternut squash mac & cheese as the entree. All of the ingredients were on my shopping list and I was on my way out the door to the grocery store when JR came home from a run and I paused to tell him my plans for the evening's meal. "Didn't we have that last time Dave & Ashley were over?" was his response. Oh no! A quick text to and from Ashley confirmed that yes, that was the case. And while I'm certain they wouldn't have pointed out the repeat entree and would have said nice things in the same manner they did the first time they ate it at our house, serving the same thing twice (when there are so many options out there!) was simply not an option! On to plan B...

I've had polenta before. And roasted vegetables. But this was the first time I had combined the two, and the results were good. Healthy, tasty, and filling without being heavy. This entree is loosely based on a recipe in Vegetarian Food for Friends. I mixed it up by adding some different things to polenta and determining my own mix of roasted vegetables.

This was a good choice for entertaining - I did most of the prep work ahead of time (made the polenta, cut the vegetables), then roasted the veggies while we were eating apps and salads. Here's how it goes:

Roasted Vegetable Polenta

Serves 6

Polenta:

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 c. vegetable stock

1 c. polenta

2 handfuls of spinach, thinly sliced

about 10 leaves of fresh basil, thinly sliced

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and olive oil and allow the garlic to begin to cook. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Pour in polenta in a steady stream while stirring constantly. Add spinach and basil. Cook, continuing to stir, for the amount of time indicated on the polenta package (different brands can differ in cooking time - the type I used suggested cooking for 30 minutes). You'll need to stir pretty constantly throughout this time. The polenta will get increasingly creamy as you cook it. When you've reached the suggested time, pour the polenta into a 14x9 inch baking pan and allow to set (about 2 hours).

Roasted Vegetables:

2 Japanese eggplants, sliced and then halved

1 zucchini, sliced into rounds

1 red pepper, seeded and sliced into strips

1 yellow pepper, seeded and sliced into strips

2 small red onions, quartered

5 sprigs fresh thyme

5 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

olive oil

sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix vegetables (except for tomatoes) together in a large bowl with about 3 Tbsp. olive oil, spices, and sea salt. Spread veggies evenly in a large baking dish and roast in oven 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Remove baking dish from oven. Stir vegetables. Add tomatoes and return to oven for about 20 minutes, until veggies are roasted. Note: you'll want to do the next step to add to the oven during the last 10 or so minutes of roasting time.

To assemble:

6 oz. mozzarella, sliced

balsamic vinegar

Invert the pan with the polenta in it onto a cutting board. Cut polenta into 6 squares. Put squares in a single layer on a baking sheet. Top each with a slice of mozzarella. Add pan to oven with roasting vegetables for about 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and polenta is heated through.

Remove the polenta and veggies from the oven. Put a slice of mozarella'd polenta on each plate and top with roasted vegetables. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar to each serving.

Enjoy!

apple zucchini crostini

I didn't think that I was a big fan of zucchini, but ever since a few showed up in the CSA box week before last, I haven't been able to stop eating them.

 

I even bought some from the grocery store (gasp! our small garden and CSA box haven't been enough to keep us in fresh vegetables through the week, but our farmer's market started last weekend, so that should be the last produce from the grocery store until at least fall).

This recipe is from 101 cookbooks, one of my favorite cooking blogs. I stuck to the recipe, so rather than repost it here, I'll direct you straight to the source. I think Dave summed it up well: these little toasts look so simple, making the unique blend of flavors of your first bite surprising in a really good way (Dave - I'm paraphrasing - correct me if I didn't get that quite right!).