Zucchini and Feta Penne

 Zucchini is just one of those things I always have in my vegetable drawer. I pick one up at the store for less than a dollar, and the thing lasts me several meals. I like adding it to food because it is a substantial vegetable (unlike the leafy veggies) and can hold its own in soup, stir fry, and pasta dishes.

I had a container of crumbled feta cheese in the fridge, and before i end up eating the whole thing straight out of the container (cheese is a HUGE weakness for me), i decided to incorporate it into a quick dish for lunch.

Ingredients (for one serving):
-2 oz (1/8 of box) of whole grain penne
-1/2 cup chopped zucchini
-2 tbsp feta cheese
-1/4 cup chopped onions
-1/4 cup chopped green peppers
salt and pepper
onion powder
garlic powder

1.  Boil some whole grain penne.  Salt the water!

2.  Get yo self some chopped zucchini. You can chop them all up like this as soon as you bring home the zucchini from the store, and just use some throughout the week.

3. Scoop up some feta cheese and set aside. Mmm. It's okay to eat a cube or two.

 

 

4. Chop up some onions and green peppers.  I usually chop them all in one sitting and put them in small containers (you know, the kind you get from olive bars and take out food) and save them for later use.

5.  Stir fry the zucchini, onions, and green peppers in a decent-sized pan that has high walls.  These tend to zip straight out of the pan otherwise.

6.  Once the pasta is done cooking, take a slotted spoon and transfer the hot penne into the stir fry pan.  It's okay if some of the starchy cooking water goes in there, it's actually a very happy thing to happen.

7.  Now go ahead and season it with the S&P, garlic and onion powders.  Remove from heat and serve in a bowl.

8.  Now, top it with that feta cheese.  The hot pasta and zucchini will make the feta kinda get wobbly and melty.  Oh my.

 

It is so fantastically filling and savory!  And only 265 calories!  Yes, an 1/8 of a cup of feta, which is all you really need, is just 40 calories. 

The mealy zucchini on that hearty whole grain pasta, topped with mouthwatering feta cheese...it's enough to knock your little socks off.

And because it never hurts to have a little zesty citrus with pasta, here i go with a quick squeeze of fresh lemon.

For me, I am such a pasta lover that i could never cut it out of my diet, no matter how "bad" it is for you.  That's why i come up with these healthy alternatives that make it totally okay for you to eat it.

 

Bon appetit, friends!  And leave me some comments and suggestions!

Sunday Story: Seafood Paradise

One of the most memorable seafood eating experiences was from the first week I was in Hong Kong, and my friends took me to Sai Kung, a small fishing town in New Territories.  We took this horrible double decker bus, whose driver drove like a crazed lunatic (a la Cruella), swerving back and forth along the twisted path to this remote town.

After a quick hurling session in the public bathroom, i was ready for the good seafood meal they had promised.  It was already dark, and every single open air restaurant was ready for business.

The great thing?  The meal was still alive...

 

 

So you go and pick out the creatures you'd like to eat, and the guy will fish them out for you (har har).

And then you tell the nice lady who comes to your table what kind of sauce you'd like them in and how you'd like them done.  And in a short time, you get to chow down!

Razor clams...

Lobster...

Scallops with garlic noodles...

If you get over the "it was just alive 10 minutes ago" thing (which didn't alarm me in the least, as i have seen much, much worse), it is the most delicious, savory, and fresh thing you will ever taste.  I was seriously close to tears...the flavors were so fantastic.  It tasted like...ocean.  That is the best description for it.  It was like ocean in your mouth. And you know how when you eat fresh scallops, like the REALLY fresh scallops, and the thing has that little bounce to it, even after it's cooked?  Oh my, so heavenly.

It was the most heavenly thing...I would brave an infinite number of horrible bus rides to have that food again. 

Bacon n' Egg Scramble

Imagine a Bacon and Egg Scramble with fresh tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, and onions. Imagine such a breakfast that is hearty enough to get you through the morning workout and meetings and classes, but for only 250 calories.

"Clunk!" goes your jaw as it drops on your desk.

Get a hold of yourself, friend. Here is one of my favorite power breakfasts that resembles those big breakfast scrambles at the diner, but for a fraction of the calories.

The trick is to use turkey bacon. Ahhhh turkey bacon. My bf, who is quite the picky eater, loves turkey bacon and was the one to get me to try it a few years ago. And it has really grown on me! And it's only 35 calories a slice.


They are never going to taste as amazing as the real thing, but it comes darn close. It is a small price to pay for that heavenly, guilt-free feeling you get as you're enjoying some crispy slices of smoky t-bacon in the morning.

Okay, shall we start?

Ingredients:
-2 pieces of turkey bacon
-1 egg and 1 egg yolk
-2 tbsp skim milk
-a handful of chopped green peppers
-a handful of chopped onions
-a handful of chopped zucchini
-a dash of salt
-a dash (or 2 or 3 or 4) of black pepper
-1/2 tsp chicken powder
-a dash of oregano
-a dash of paprika

1. First, take your chopped veggies and saute them lightly in a pan. Set aside.

2. Crisp your turkey bacon. Cook them like real bacon, except you won't get any fat rendering out of it, so don't go crazy on the heat. They may burn.

See the pretty, crispy bacon all sliced up?


Put them in the same bowl as the veggies.


3. Crack an egg and an egg white into the bowl with the veggies and bacon. Pour in the milk.



4. Now, add all the seasonings: salt, pepper, chicken powder, oregano, paprika. Whisk away!



5. Bring CLEAN pan to medium heat. Spray well. Pour your egg mixture into the pan, then slowly draw in the edges, like so.


After a while, you should have a nice gathering of yums in the center. It's okay if it's not all clean and pretty looking. It's a scramble, not an omelet.


Once there is no more runny egg, plate it and dig in! I prefer to eat most things with whole wheat pita. So we'll put that in the picture too.


And there you have it. Again, the key is NOT to be afraid of turkey bacon. Just because it looks a little funny in the package doesn't mean it's gross. Once it's crisped up in a pan, you'll forget it didn't once oink.


Enjoy! Leave comments :)

German Dumplings: Spätzle

Almost every culinary culture has some sort of dumpling. Koreans have our mandoo and soojaebi, the Chinese have, well, about six million different kinds of dumplings (=i love you), the Italians have their gnocchi, and Germans have their....spätzle??

I seriously didn't know what this was until this morning, as i was eating my Lemon Blueberry Muffin with coffee, and flipping through channels. By flipping through channels, i mean i was watching the Food Network. And one of the chefs was making some sort of dumpling with a funny name beginning with [ʃp]. With that consonant cluster, I was immediately sold. I had only caught the end of the show, so i didn't get to see how it was made or what it was, even. I turned to Wikipedia, and i found this.

Apparently, spätzle is a noodle/dumpling eaten around Germany, Austria, etc. You make the runny dough, then you drip it through over hot boiling water. Once it drops in there, you boil it for a few minutes, then fish it out and serve. Cool! I had to try it.


Ingredients (2 servings)
-2 eggs
-1/4 to 1/3 water
-1 cup flour
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp onion powder
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp chicken powder
-a few shakes of pepper
-a few shakes of any italian herbs (i used dried oregano)

1. First, i mixed the eggs and water. You don't need a picture of that. Moving on.

2. Then in a separate bowl, i mixed all the dry ingredients.


3. I slowly whisked in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.


4. A loose dough begins to form. Mm, smells good already.


It should be the consistency of cake batter. If it's not runny enough, add more water. Too runny, add more flour.


5. Then, i brought a pot of water to boil, and then the creativity had to flow. I don't have a steamer insert for my pot, and my colander's got weird shaped holes. I needed something with large enough holes for the dough to fall through. Then i found my grater. My trusty purple $1 grater.


I turned the thing upside-down, then poured the dough right on top...


pressed it through with a rubber spatula...


and dripped the dough into the pot.


Excellent. Worked perfectly.

6. After a few minutes of boiling, i fished out the spätzle with a slotted spoon (which "can't hold much soup").


This is what it looks like in the pot after 3-4 minutes.


Then I served the hot and steamy spätzle on a serving plate.


Topped it with some grilled chicken.


The dish is 280 calories a serving without the chicken, and you can easily add some grilled chicken and have a 350 calorie meal.


I loved the texture of the little funny-shaped dumplings, which just take that form as they hit the hot, boiling water. I'm absolutely in love with it! Try some tonight!

Edit: a German buddy of mine found this video of spätzle (or spaetzle) being made the traditional way.  super neat to watch!

A Memo from Me to You :)

I just wanted to personally thank you all for coming to check out my blog regularly. I've heard from high school friends, college friends, grad school friends, friends of friends, and families members of friends (the word friend has lost all meaning now, whoaaa) how much they like the blog, and it makes me feel this incredible fuzzy warm feeling in my tummy.

One step I took a few days ago was to purchase my own domain name, so this blog can be found on www.sunnysideuprecipes.com. Bookmark it and share the link with friends! The more readers I get, the happier!

I have always loved blogging, and for it to be so useful to other people and get as much love as it has...well, it truly tickles me pink, purple, and various shades of red. I welcome any comments, recipes or posts you'd like to see on the site, or recipes you'd like to share.

For now, keep on reading! Bookmark the link and share with your friends and family! And cook...it's so much healthier for you, saves you tons of money, and helps bring people closer together.

Love,

Sunny

www.sunnysideuprecipes.com