Zucchini Boats

I am always on the look out for easy vegetarian side dishes to go with pastas, pizzas and burgers. Zucchini boats turned out to be just the thing. they are simple to make, healthy, and can be altered and personalized in a million ways.

So here is the recipe:

You'll need:
- 3 medium sized Zucchini
- 1 large onion
- 3-4 cloves of garlic (More if you like things garlicky)
- Italian seasoning
- Panko bread crumbs
- Red chilli flakes
- grated cheese (I used an italian blend of 2 italian cheese. I magine it will be tasty with just about any cheese)
- Butter and or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt

- Preheat the oven to 340
- Wash and slice zucchini's into halves lengthwise. Scoop out the insides to make boats. I allow about 1/2 cm of thickness on the boats... just depends on how much pulp the zucchini's have. Reserve the pulp. Brush the boats inside and out with EVOO and keep aside.
- Chop the pulp (if in large chunks) into small pieces.
- Chop 1 large onion and 3-5 cloves of garlic
- Heat butter (or EVOO) in a pan, add the garlic, then the onion - saute until onions are cooked. Add the zucchini pulp. Saute until the pulp is cooked. At this point, things will be fairly wet. Add about a cup of Panko bread crumbs and mix well to get a crumbly slightly dry mixture. (You may have to play with the amount of bread crumbs needed) Now add salt, italian seasoning and red chilli flakes to taste.
- We can get very creative with this stuffing - add quinoa, add bell peppers, olives, mushrooms, etc.
- Now fill the boats with this filling, top with cheese (I used the italian blend... that had 3 italian cheeses). Bake for 30-40 mins.
- Broil for 1-2 mins to get the cheese to brown.

If you like your vegetables with a bite to them, bake only for 30 mins. I like my vegetables well cooked, so I bake for 40 mins. Also, the zucchini's tend to soften a bit after they cool - so bake them to slightly less that what you want them to be.

Thats it. If you try it out, please leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. It tastes much better the next day!

Stone baked Pizza- (partly) whole wheat and (mostly) from scratch!

Note: Highlights of the recipe in 'RED' for easy re-read/reference!
I got the pizza dough recipe from @tKe and the recipe has been a regular feature in our house. There are all kinds of pizzas and all kinds of preferences. This pizza has a crispy yet soft medium crust and does not have any tomato sauce (just our family's preference). When you take a slice in your hand, it does not droop or bend. In spite of this level of crispiness, the crust is soft to the bite and not chewy. Its also fairly higher on the health quotient for a pizza due to whole wheat flour and oil, cheese, sauces and toppings being in your control. So if you think you like this kind of pizza read on. I hate asking you to buy equipment for a recipe but some inexpensive equipment makes all the difference in the crust.

• A pizza stone (I bought mine from Bed bath and beyond). A pizza stone ensures an oil-free non stick surface and even heating of the crust without burning it. It also helps the crust be crispy and soft at the same time. This is a deal clincher. 
• A surface to roll the pizza and a rolling stone. I have a marble tile and a marble rolling pin.
• A Pizza peel for handling the baked and unbaked pizza. (Optional but useful)
• A pizza cutter.

Ingredients:

Basic pizza dough:

Makes about three 12'' pizzas

Warm water (as needed - about 3 cups)

nonfat dry milk 1/4 cup or warm milk - 1 cup

salt - 1/2 tsp

bread flour/maida/all purpose flour - 2 cups

atta/whole wheat pastry flour - 2 cups
sugar - 1 tbsp

active dry yeast - 2 tsp

olive oil - 2 tbsp

dry flour/cornmeal - to dust

dry herbs (basil, oregano) - optional and to taste

Add yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk/warm milk in a large bowl. Add a cup of warm water and stir to mix well. 

Allow to sit for two minutes. 

Add olive oil and stir again. 

Add flour, water and any herbs/seasonings you may like in the crust. (We like dried basil and oregano)

Knead with warm water until the dough comes together and is soft but not sticky to the touch.

Close the bowl and leave in the oven with the light on for about half an hour or until the dough almost doubles in volume.

Pizza dough is ready

Place your pizza stone in the oven and set the 'Bake' function to the highest temperature possible (in a range of 450 to 550 F depending on level of crispness needed)

During preheat get the crust and toppings ready.

For the crust,

Lightly, roll and flatten 1/3 of the dough and dust it with dry flour.

Roll out the pizza while applying as little pressure as needed. (I cannot twirl, stretch or pat or do any of the fancy hand movements to make the pizza crust)

Dust the crust very liberally on one side with cornmeal or flour (this is important for easy transfer to the pizza stone in the oven) and place on the pizza peel with dusted side at the bottom.

For the toppings,

Apply sauce. (We like the classic basil pesto). Other ideas include white sauce, broccoli cream sauce, garlic with olive oil, or plain ole' tomato sauce. Go easy on the sauces to avoid a soggy pizza. A sauceless pizza is actually pretty tasty too with the right toppings and seasonings.

Then goes the veggie toppings. Our favorite combinations (not too many - we are creatures of habit it seems)

Pineapple chunks + red onion slices + green peppers (serrano or Thai). - Good candidate for sauceless pizza

Tomato + red onion slices + dried herbs. (excellent with pesto)

I usually add fresh basil leaves from my kitchen pot but in reality fresh basil is wasted on a pizza as it is usually overcooked and charred. Pesto is a better option for basil flavor.

Then comes the cheeses - mozzarella with a sprinkling of feta.

Brush the edges with olive oil if you really want to give it your best.

Slide onto pizza stone (DH's area of expertise) and bake for 10-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown. 

Set oven to Broil on high and broil just for a few minutes until the cheese bubbles. (Broil setting heats from above)

Time for broil!

Remove from oven using pizza peel.

Serve with grated parmigiana, crushed red peppers and/or garlic salt/ dried garlic.

Notes:

Never place the hot stone on a cold surface or a cold pizza stone into a hot oven.

I do not wash my stone with soap. I do not wash my stone, period. Leaving it in the oven at high temperatures keeps it clean after a wipe down.

Pizza dough can be stored in the fridge for a few days. Getting it to room temperature before baking is a good idea.

Adding yogurt/paneer/cheese whey (instead of warm water) while kneading makes for an unbelievably soft crust. Make sure whey is at room temperature or warm and not too cold.
@tKe swears increasing the proportion of whole wheat flour to more than half ruins the pizza! I always do a 50-50 whole-to-white mix.

Corn Bread Casserole

Ingredients:

Whole Kernel Corn(drained of juice)-1 can
Creamed corn(undrained)-1 can
Butter(soft or melted)-1 stick
Egg-1
Shredded Cheese-1 cup
Sour cream-1 cup
Jiffy corn bread mix-1 bix

Procedure:

1,Mix all ingredients in a large bowl
2.Place mixture in a greased dish and cook for 60 minutes at 350 degree Fahrenheit.
3.Serve with any kind of chili.

Roasted sweet potato

I absolutely love this recipe. I serve these roasted sweet potatoes as a side with burgers, vegetable stew, pasta or just as a snack on a cold day. Sweet potatoes with a glass of milk makes a great filling breakfast too.

Sweet potatoes are very healthy. They are high in fiber, protein, vitamins A, C and B6, iron and calcium. This recipes uses very little oil and is really easy. So here we go.

For two good sized portions, you'll need:
2 sweet potatoes.
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp red chilli flakes (more if you like it spicy)
Salt to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F. Peel and dice sweet potatoes. In a baking tray or cake tin, mix sweet potatoes, oregano, chilli flakes and salt. Spray with olive oil. Alternately, add 1 tbsp olive oil and toss until well distributed. Bake for twenty minutes to half an hour until cooked. Keep flipping them even 10 minutes or so to cook uniformly. Once done, change oven setting to broil. Flip even 1 minute to get a nice char on all sides of the cubes. The broiling part is optional. I broil for about 2-3 minutes total.

That's it. You could drizzle some lime juice just before serving. I like it without the lime juice. This keeps well in the fridge and tastes good hot or cold.

Enjoy!

butternut squash fries

A very good substitute for Kerela style jackfruit chips.

Peel and cut butternut squash into thick french fry style pieces. Spray(coat) with (olive) oil, salt and chilli powder. Roast in the oven at 450 F for 15-20 minutes on a greased roasting plate.
If not using a roasting plate ( with slits on its surface) you may have to turn the fries once in the oven.

Remove from oven when done and enjoy.
Recipe works with winter squashes. (i have tried acorn squash as well and prefer the butternut variety)