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.

Kitchen Redo is Done!!!

YAY!! My kitchen is done! Well, mostly done. I still need curtains, a rug and more decor. But, the paint brushes are washed and put away and my kitchen no longer looks like a hardware store blew up in it.

Just to remind you how ugly it was before:

For paint I went with a pretty orange, Carrot Stick by Behr, only I color-matched it at Lowe's. Don't hate me Behr. The paint guy put that smiley face there. See why I prefer our Lowe's?

And here is some of the in-between. Painter's tape and all.

Then, voila! The gorgeous results. The picture on the left shows the view looking from the front door.

A while back, I picked up this Flock of Birds from Target for $20. I saw them and couldn't get them out of my head and bought them. I saw the empty corner above our trash can holder and knew that's where I wanted them. They are quite nice, they come with double-sided foam tape. 

And there ya go! A nice, wistful feeling for that corner. 

And just two more of the mostly finished kitchen. The wall by the table will eventually have something, but not sure about that yet. In between the windows we will hang a winerack and Andrew will be making me a small bar. I think it will really look great in the space. 

I never want to take on a painting project by myself again. If Andrew were here, we would have had this done in two-three days. I am glad it's done and I am so happy with it.

Let me know what you guys think. Any suggestions for the giant bare wall behind the table?

WIAW: Zucchini Week

I hope everyone is having an excellent summer! The days and nights are cooling off a bit here and it feels great. In the morning I have to reach for a blanket!! Love it.

Let's celebrate summer with food, shall we? I've still been cooking like crazy but not being as diligent about taking pictures and sharing.

If you made some good food this week, you should share too with Jenn at Peas and Crayons.

Breakfast: An easy Lemon Chobani with Chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and lemon-zucchini muffin and instant coffee.

Snack: A green smoothie-spinach, almond milk, banana (pretty basic, but yummy).

 This week has been all about zucchini. My single zucchini plant is not only productive, it's sneaky. I can check my plant one morning and have no zucchini and the next morning I have a giant one ready to be picked. Like this one that's as big as Arson.

So, of course I've been trying to find different ways to prepare it. I will definitely have to freeze some too. Dinner was sliced zucchini grilled up and filled with a mixture of Ricotta cheese, pepperjack, parmesan and pizza sauce baked in the oven. It turned out pretty good considering I just threw it together.

What I have been most intrigued by while searching for innovative ways to use zucchini is the myriad of dessert recipes. 

The first one I tried was a Lemon Loaf with Zucchini which turned out pretty good. It made a huge batch of bread and muffins(most of which are in the freezer). The lemon/zucchini combo was nice and refreshing.

The second was Chocolate Zucchini Muffins from Oh She Glows. I didn't use a few things from her recipe, I left out walnuts and chocolate chips. I also made a Chia egg(I was out of flax).

OMG DELICIOUS. Make these now. Perfect combo of chocolate and zucchini. I decided to frost some as well for a little more chocolate : )

I made my first ever homemade frosting, and I gotta say it is amazing. It will be hard to not devour all these in a few days.

I can't wait to try more zucchini recipes! Let me know if you guys have some tried and true favorites, I'd love to hear them!

In other, exciting news. I got a job!!!

I know I don't talk too much about my education/job life on here. But, I'm just so excited! The position is part time at the nature center where I currently volunteer.

It makes me feel good that my hard work is paying off and my career is moving in the right direction.