WIAW: More Zucchini

I have enjoyed cooking in my kitchen this week more than I ever have! Wanna know why? Because, it's finally painted. Everytime I walk into the kitchen I feel proud that it's done and happy that it looks so pretty. It's also caused me to wash the dishes after every meal (I can't stand the dirty dishes in my pretty kitchen anymore). I used to wash dishes once a day.   Anyway, let me show you what I ate this week!   Breakfast: Egg with half an orange, half a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter and Chia seeds. Few tomatoes.

Lunch was interesting the other day because I tried a product I didn't think I ever would. Fake sausage! I was in the "fake meat" section the other day grabbing a package of tofu when I saw these Smart Sausages by Lightlife. I was intrigued and figured I'd give it a try. For my almost six months of no meat, I've stayed away from the fake meat products, I didn't see the point. My goal was not to experiment with fake meat, it was to focus on fresh foods, veggies and fruits. But, for some reason, I couldn't resist.

I took a good look at the nutrition label before buying and was surprised at the amount of protein and potassium, and the lack of fat. There is a bit of sodium, this isn't something I'd eat knowing my sodium intake would be high for the day. I tend to leave salt out of everything, even when a recipe calls for it, so having one item a day with a higher sodium content isn't the end of the world for me. But, keep it in mind.

I made mine in a fry pan with just a drizzle of olive oil. I loved it! It browned up beautifully and actually tasted like I was eating sweet Italian sausage. This would be great to bulk up a pasta dish, but I liked it all by itself. With my giant apple, Brie slices and tomatoes.

If you're wondering why I'm eating so many tomatoes, it's because I have to keep up with my plants.

The other day I also decided to experiment and make some zucchini chips. I saw one recipe that had olive oil, salt and pepper. So I tried that (first picture) minus the salt. I also tried a lemon basil (half of second picture) and then a horseradish (other half of second picture).

My favorite were the lemon basil. They turned out the crispiest. The ones with olive oil had a chewier texture. The horseradish ones were just ok.

The two trays made about 2 cups. It was pretty fun to make, and easy. Since I just put them in the dehydrator and let it do all the real work.

While looking for zucchini ideas I saw that the blossoms were edible. ooohhh.

I immediately went out and picked the ones that were there. I should have waited a day or two till they were bigger, but I was too impatient.

I saw a recipe that stuffed them with ricotta. I can do that. I made a ricotta/basil mixture and stuffed those pretty flowers and baked them. Delicious! Not to mention, pretty.

I had a pretty fun week making new food, especially since a lot of it came directly from my backyard.

Hopefully, in a few weeks my big tomatoes will be ripe and I'll be experimenting with making homemade spaghetti sauce for the freezer.