Category: Sides

it was a homerun

…at least according to Andrew.  That’s what he says when I make something new (which is pretty much any time I cook) and he likes it.

DINNER!  Photo courtesy of Andrew.

I made a version of Maggiano’s famous fried zucchini appetizer.  It comes with lemon aioli and Susy and I could have eaten it 24/7 without stopping.  Seriously.

I found the recipe online at TaraCooks.com.  I chose it because it called for club soda in the batter instead of an egg.  I was out of eggs and I didn’t want to buy a whole dozen before my five-day trip to Phoenix.  Besides, I’d rather get my eggs from the farmer’s market or the co-op, and neither of those happen until tomorrow, which did me no good tonight.  So, club soda it was.  And it was 99 cents.  And it doesn’t go bad.  Sweet.

My cut-up zucchini was pitiful.  The skin was super thick and my knife is dull as all get out (with no way to sharpen it here!), so I wasn’t thrilled with the slices.  I got a few long ones, but they were all too thick, and then a bunch of smaller scraps.  Interestingly enough, the scraps turned out to be the best of the finished product.

BTW, I HATE glass cutting boards.  I hate the noise my knife makes each time I use it, and I swear it has contributed to how dull it’s gotten.  But, it’s what’s here.

I made the aioli, but not exactly as the recipe said.  I subbed plain lowfat yogurt for the sour cream (it’s what I had in the fridge) and dill seed for the dill weed.  I’m pretty limited here.  It was yummy; more yogurt-y than creamy.

Our salad fixings were on their last legs in the fridge, so I threw a basic green salad together for both of us with Garlic Expressions dressing.  Andrew loves it!  I love sprouts.  I especially love sprouts with ranch dressing or on veggie sandwiches with avocado.

I also included some of my canned goodies: Barefoot Contessa’s Roasted Apple and Pear Sauce, from her newest cookbook, How Easy is That?  I love this stuff.  It’s like dessert.  I canned a bunch for Christmas gifts this past year and it was my go-to dish to bring to events since it made so much and was so easy.  I love that it’s applesauce with a more intense flavor, which comes from the pears and orange zest.

To drink?  Buffalo Bill’s Brewery Orange Blossom Cream Ale.  You can get this all over (in fact, the first time I saw it was in a friend’s fridge back in Ohio), but I’m on a ‘local’ kick and only want to buy New York microbrews right now.  This is an awesome beer for those of us who like Blue Moon and won’t touch a Bud.

For the sake of calories, Andrew and I have been splitting a beer instead of having our own.  Obviously, there are lots of benefits to this; our purchases go further and we ingest fewer calories and alcohol.  Since I’ve lost weight, I’ve definitely noticed that anything I drink affects me a lot more than before.  Who knew ten-plus pounds could do that?  Drinking just portions of beers, or wine, is something I saw on KERF.  She’s always having just a little bit of something.

I fried up the zucchini and then kept it warm in the toaster oven.

The finished product:

It was no Maggiano’s, but it was a great way to use a zucchini that was languishing in the fridge.  Andrew, while he passed on the aioli, chowed the zucchini. Seriously.  Thank goodness, because I probably would have it he hadn’t!  What you see above, plus one long piece, is all I had–talk about some self-control!

So yeah, dinner was a hit.  HAHA, get it, hit?  (homerun…)  🙂

who knew veggies could be so filling?

Here’s my light lunch today:

As I said in this morning’s post, I over-did it last night on our date (ahem, the GIANT milkshake), so I wanted to make sure I had lots of fruits and veggies today to counter balance my calorie-laden date.

I had to use the half red pepper sitting in the fridge, as well as a couple celery stalks and the hummus, as they were all getting a bit old.  I’m loving Patricia Wells’ hummus from her Salad as a Meal cookbook.  I’ve made it twice already.  It has more tahini and less olive oil, so it’s lower in calories.  It doesn’t have cumin, but instead has more lemon juice and cilantro, so it’s more fresh than smoky tasting.

Here’s the recipe:

Patricia Wells’ Chickpea and Sesame Dip (from Salad as a Meal)

Makes 2 cups; 52 calories for 2 tbsp

1 can chickpeas (she calls for cooking from scratch; her recipe is in the book)

2 garlic cloves

4 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp tahini

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1/8 tsp paprika

Drain and rinse the beans (since you’re using a can) and throw them, along with the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, salt, 1 tbsp oil and cilantro in a blender or food processor.  Add more water as needed to thin it out, up to 1/4 cup.  Garnish with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and paprika when serving.

The broccoli was a local find from Wegmans and I couldn’t pass it up yesterday.  I find I don’t like hummus on broccoli–I think it’s just too dry or something–so I included a serving (2 tbsp) of my Wegmans Yogurt Ranch Dressing as well.

I added some dried fruit and chocolate to round out the meal.

The photos are pretty horrendous…I was super hungry!

I LOVE Sunsweet’s Cherry Essence Dried Prunes.  Prunes get such a bad rap, but they are so good!  I also grabbed a couple pieces of Trader Joe’s Dried Mango.  WOW.  If you have a TJ’s near you, get them!  If the prunes are good, these are like dessert.  Seriously.  They are almost too sweet.  The only thing you have to watch out for with dried fruit is the calorie count.  It’s easy to snack away and not realize how many you’ve had.  A serving size is usually 4-6 pieces (prunes, dates) or less for bigger, sweeter items, like apricots or mango.  Just remember that dried fruit is exactly that–smaller, dehydrated WHOLE fruit (usually).  You wouldn’t sit and eat 5 or 6 apricots or plums in one sitting, would you?

I also broke up a chocolate bar (on smaller plate) and noted the serving size.  I chose half of a serving, or 1/4 of the bar.

However, I didn’t even eat it because I got too full!  I guess there was quite a bit on my plate.  I’m thinking I’ll have the chocolate this afternoon with a cup of decaf coffee or tea.  Or maybe not if I’m still full!