How to Stuff a Zucchini and Bob's Red Mill

I normally would consider myself a vegetable and fruit connoisseur being able to identify most-- until one late June evening when I paid a visit to my garden. It is my usual superstition habit to cross my fingers when walking out to my garden hoping for some good news! This particular night I noticed some blossoms on a volunteer squash plant that was sharing space with my cucumbers. So I decided to carefully lift those darn prickly leaves- and to my surprise this is what I discovered.

Yep! It's a round zucchini. I have seen the cue ball variety but never one that looks like a watermelon! Have you?

I wasn't really sure what to do with this so I sent one over to my mom for a little experiment. She shred it and used some for bread. It worked perfectly! So when it was my turn I decided that I'd play on the versatility of this vegetable and try stuffing it. Since this one has a strong outside shell it's perfect to hold a delicious filling. A filling like a grain from Bob's Red Mill!!

When I was at BlogHer Food in May I had the pleasure of meeting some of the folks from Bob's Red Mill and was introduced to their Grande Whole Grain Cereal. They were kind enough to give me a bag to take home and try. So for this dish I decided to keep it simple and follow the recipe on the back of the bag. Grande Whole Grain Risotto! What a perfect addition to the squash.

Note: I chose not to add the peas nor mushrooms.- Afraid there would be too much moisture to use in the zucchini. Instead I used green peppers and some fresh goat cheese.

How to Stuff a Zucchini (Round or oblong)

Directions
1. You need to pick a strong zucc! One that doesn't have any brown spots. I have found that the greener the zucchini (darker green works best), the more sturdy it will be on the inside for the filling.

2. I used the very unique round zucchini so finding a location to open the cavity was not hard but if you are using the regular long shape form then find the flattest location and use it as the bottom. Then carefully slice off a piece the length of the zucchini- just enough to make an opening.

3. Use a sturdy spoon, or ice cream scoop like I did and scoop out the seeds. Don't take the spoon too close to the rim. You want to leave some of the flesh to eat with your stuffing.

4. Rub a dab of olive oil on the squash to prevent from burning.

5. Carefully add the stuffing inside the squash, pushing it down to the bottom of the carved center. If using an oblong, or regular sized squash then spread it out to each end instead.

6. Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake 30 minutes or until inside flesh is soft.

Speaking of Bob's Red Mill-- there are only 2 more days left in Spar for the Spurtle competition!! DEADLINE is July 30th! So get cooking!

Some notes regarding the competition-
- Recipe must include Bob’s Red Mill’s Steel Cut Oats, and it can be sweet or savory.   
- Recipe must be demonstrated in a video
- Actual recipe submission must be a video submission     
Contest rules click here.

Kitchen Remodel FINAL Reveal

What you have all been waiting for-- and what I've been dreaming for... the kitchen remodel reveal!!
No words are really needed. Just glance around and see what you think! We are beyond thrilled with the results and owe it all to Gretchen with Kitchen Interiors LLC- and her design and cabinet crew.

Now the girls have a place to eat breakfast!

Drawers to keep my pots and pans.

This faucet is the coolest- the nozzle pulls down.

Decided to frame in the window with tile.

We can finally see our sink and counter tops!

I am in love with this sink!

Our beverage corner.

And a tall pantry!

I'll keep adding more pictures in upcoming posts as we continue to decorate. I'm on the search for a some cute cafe curtains for the kitchen window and we are going to add a window cushion for more seating. It is so nice to be finished with dust and clutter- but worth every bit!

One Bowl Baking: Blueberry Breakfast Cake



In my new kitchen, with my new sink, lighted by my new pendant light (you can tell I am happy) dishes are washed with a smile on my--must be honest here--husband's face, since he does the dishes the majority of the time. Anyway, I just might have found a way to make dishwashing a little more tolerable, and a way you can gain back a few minutes to linger a little longer at the breakfast table, by cutting back on the amount of dishes you use when baking. Hence, the one bowl recipe! Who wants to have a whole sink full of dishes to wash right after breakfast? Problem solved!




Blueberry Breakfast Cake- using only ONE bowl!

5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt (nonfat works fine- I use lowfat)
1 tsp almond ext.
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 8 or 9 inch pie pan. In one large bowl, combine butter and sugar and whisk until mixed and smooth looking. Next whisk in eggs, almond extract and yogurt. Add in the soda, salt and flour and gently blend together. Carefully fold in blueberries and spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes clean and top is golden brown. Serve either hot or room temperature! And enjoying washing only one bowl!!

Note: this recipe is very adaptable!! Try omitting the blueberries and using other fruit and in some nuts.

Blueberry Picking with Best Friends! I believe these pictures will tell the story of our trip to Reed Valley Orchard. (See our other visit to Reed Valley)-- Lots of fun was had--- along with a few blueberries.