I loooooooooove Zucchini Flowers.  Maybe it’s because they only come out once a year, making them even more special, or maybe because I love the crisp delicate texture they offer.

Fried Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Feta, Hen of the Woods, and Fresh Basil
Makes 8 Zucchini Flowers

8 Zucchini Flowers
1 clove Garlic
1/4 Cup Feta Cheese
1/4 Cup Hen of the Woods, or whatever mushrooms you want to use
Butter for frying mushrooms
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Greek Yogurt
2 tbsp Fresh Basil
Red Chili Pepper Flakes
2 tbsp Veggie Oil
Parmesan Reggiano
Salt and Pepper

1 Cup Seltzer Water
2/3 Cup Flour

Mix the seltzer water and flour together and set aside.  Remove the stems from the zucchini flowers, carefully peel open the flower and remove the pistils or stamen or whatever the correct biological term is, just take out the inside bits!  Wash the flowers and allow to dry on some kitchen towel.

Mix the feta, minced garlic, greek yogurt, chopped up basil, lemon, red chili pepper flakes, some grated parmesan, and salt and pepper up together.  Fry the mushrooms in some butter until liquid released.  Once cooked, chop up the mushrooms and add to the feta mixture.

Stuff the zucchini flowers with the mixture, about a spoonful for flower.  Twist the petals to keep the mixture in.  Heat up the oil and once hot, fry each flower on both sides until golden.  Eat straight away.

Omelet with Feta, Cherry Tomatoes, Ramps, Chive & Onion Blossoms
Serves 1

2 Eggs
1/8 cup milk
3 Ramp leaves
5-6 Cherry Tomatoes
5-6 Chive blossoms
1-2 Onion Blossoms
Feta Cheese

Whisk the eggs and milk together. Boil some water and blanch the ramp leaves for a minutes. Saute halved cherry tomatoes in some olive oil until a bit soft, remove and saute the washed blossoms a few minutes.

Pour the egg into a hot pan, once solidified add the feta and remaining ingredients. Fold over and serve over a bed of dressed spinach.

I don’t know how posting is going to happen this week.  I’m interning tomorrow, taking the 2am train to NY that gets in at 6 am Weds morning,  heading straight to orientation from 7-4, then hopping on a bus home to get in late Weds night.  Followed by more commuting and interning 9-5s on Thursday and Friday, and waitressing Saturday from 7-2.

But what’s really exhausting me is the sick animal I have got on my hands.  Ella seems to be on her last legs and I am trying to make sure her quality of life isn’t lagging, which means lots of medicine and hour long cleaning sessions comprised of Qtips and warm water, which she hates.

How do I transition this line of thought to a pizza recipe? “So no, I didn’t make my own dough.”  That’ll do.  In fact, I have never made my own dough, but it’s on my to do list for 2010…

The butternut squash puree replaces the marinara sauce in this pizza.  I got my fresh pizza dough from Trader Joe’s (it’s yum).

Pizza with Butternut Squash Puree, Ramps, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Feta and Mozzarella
1 Pizza

6-8 Ramps
1 cup of Cherry Tomatoes
1/2 Butternut squash
3 ounces of feta cheese
3 ounces Mozzarella
1 clove of garlic
Sage
1/4 cup cream Cream
1 tbsp Veggie Broth
3 tbsp White Wine
Red Chili Pepper Flakes

Roast the cherry tomatoes- slow roast them if you have time, otherwise half them, brush with olive oil, salt, pepper nad basil and cook in the oven cut side up at 375 for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425, and place the pizza stone in the oven. Cook the squash- peel it, deseed it, cube it and boil it for about 10 minutes until tender. Place in a food processor and whiz in the white bits of the ramps chopped thin, 1 clove of minced garlic, cream, broth, white wine, chili pepper flakes, and sage, season to taste.

In a pot of boiling water, cook the ramp leaves for a minute, remove and rinse with cold water.

Pull the pizza dough out and place on a pizza stone, smother with the butternut squash puree. Arrange tomatoes over top, followed by the ramp leaves, and then the mozzarella and feta. Cook in the oven about 12 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is melted.

I had grand plans- I envisioned alternating layers or thingly sliced purple and golden beets, dotted with goat cheese and fresh basil over golden puff pastry.

The oven was on and I was about to wrap up my beets, before realizing they were huge! “They’ll never cook, I had better chop them up.” So i chopped them up into little quarters before remembering my intentions of thinly sliced beet rounds… buggar. Oh well, carry on- better get the puff pastry out. There wasn’t any. So it all changed, and I ended up with roasted red and golden beets whacked in a tart crust with an egg-cream filling, feta cheese, and some balsamic capers to top it off.

Golden and Red Beet Tart
Serves 4-6

1 Pastry tart
2 Eggs
1 Cup milk (whole)
4 tbsp Cream
2 tbsp Sherry
1 large red beet root
1 large golden beet root
Fresh basil leaves

Roast the beets until tender. Quarter and throw into the pastry shell. Beat the eggs and add in the milk, cream, and sherry. Pour over the beets. Tear up some fresh basil and throw it in, sprinkle feta and capers on top. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes until set.

My mini cocette lets me cook dishes like stews and soupy dishes for lunch because it makes one serving.  For lunch today I made a quick spicy chickpea stew with feta cheese.

Chickpea Stew with Feta Cheese
Serves 1

1/4 Can Chickpeas
1/4 Can Tomatoes, diced
1 Spring Onion
1/2 Small Onion
1 Clove of Garlic
1/2 Ancho Pepper
1 Tbsp Adobo Sauce
Feta Cheese
1 tsp Dried herbs: rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, basil
Olive Oil
2 tbsp broth

Saute olive oil and onion for 3-5 minutes until the onion is tender, add garlic and herbs and cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile, pour boiling water over ancho peppers. Let the ancho chile peppers soak for about ten minutes, and then chop up and throw in the pan with the garlic and onions. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and some broth. Cook until reduced and throw in the pot. Add feta on top, and cook in the oven for 20 mins at 400. Before serving, sprinkle some chopped spring onion on top.

Hotel Meal # 2, all microwavable! I never understood the concept of stuffing artichokes- it seemed fruitless to me. What’s the point of going through the trouble of such a fiddley process if you are only going to eat the ends of the leaves. After tonight, I understood. The cheese melts, sticking the stuffing to the leaves that you scrape off along with the flesh of each leaf. Then there is the heart, which obviously manages to contain all of the goodies. It is only a little fiddly, but you can do it all in 15 minutes.  I ate it with a sweet potato and some spinach.

Globe Artichokes Steamed with Lemon Butter and Stuffed with Feta, Diced Tomato, Scallion, and Bread Crumbs.
Serves 1

1 Artichoke
1/2 Lemon
1 Spring Onion
Handful of Feta
1/2 Plum Tomato
1/2 Slice of bread
1 Tbsp Butter

Prepare the artichoke- you know, take all the hairy bits out. Place in a microwavable bowl, fill with 1 1/2 of Water, Stick the butter and juice most of the lemon inside of it. Cover and cook for about 13 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice the tomato and chop up the Spring Onion. Toast the bread and crumble. If you have more than just a microwave at your disposal, toast the bread crumbs under a broiler. Remove the artichoke from the microwave and open all the leaves. Mix the tomato, feta, and spring onions together and press between the leaves, with a good portion of it going in the center. Sprinkle with remaining lemon juice and top with bread crumbs. Stick it back in the microwave for another 3-5 minutes.

Last year, Jon and I began a tradition: Burger Fest.  As vegetarians, we like to eat healthy- it’s one of the reasons we are vegetarian, after all.  However, there are times where we feel that people equate vegetarianism with a boring, healthy diet.  Take plane food for instance, yes it’s horrible, but if you ask for the veg option you get this tray of healthy stuff.  At first it’s great, but then you realize that for an app are two pathetic looking carrot sticks, and for desert: a naff whole grain piece of cardboard that is meant to pass for a cookie.  Meanwhile, your fellow passenger who got the chicken entree has some cheese and crackers as an app, and a chocolate brownie with ice cream for dessert.

Burgerfest is a celebration of being vegetarian, but still eating indulgently cheesey, greasy (veg) burgers once in a while.  Last year for example, Jon had fried onions, 2 patties, facon swiss cheese, mushrooms, barbecue sauce etc.  This year Burger fest falls on a Friday- 16th April.  While musing about how Burger fest can’t come soon enough, we thought “What About Hot Dog Fest?”  So we planned out our hotdogs and made a go of it.

It was our first Hot Dog Fest, and probably the last due to one major revelation:  I don’t think I really like Hot Dogs. It just wasn’t the same as Burger Fest.  Our downfall may have been the jumbo hot dogs, or the fact that we used hoagies instead of hot dog buns.  As a result, we ended up so full from the bread and in a soy-coma.  Nonetheless, our toppings were creative and delicious, so here they are..

1. Tater tots, Facon, Monterrey Jack Cheese, Fresh Chives and Spicy Mayo (above)

2. Trinidadian Salsa (Carrots, Fresh Cilantro, Lime, Green Chili, Garlic), Grilled Feta, Black Olives, and Smoked Paprika (above)

3. Chili, Onions, and Mustard (below)

4. The Deconstructed Corn Dog: Hush Puppies, Mustard and Ketchup (below)

This recipe  comes from 101 Cookbooks, one of my favourite sites.  I absolutely love this dish.  Heidi makes it with giant white beans, which are definitely much better, but I was unable to find them.  Be creative with the pesto.  This time, I used a Parsley-Walnut-Sun-dried tomato combination which was very good.  Heidi recommended a cilantro pesto.  Don’t skimp on the bread crumbs, they are the best bit. Serve with a nice, simple salad.

Bean Bake with Parsley-Walnut Pesto
Serves 3-4

2 Cans of beans, I used Cannellini.
2Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Onion, diced
Olive oil
1 Can of Tomatoes
1/2 cup of veggie broth
8-9 Mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp of Adobo Sauce, or however much you like, it depends on desired heat.
Herbs: Rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage (2 tsp of each)
Spices: Paprika, Chili Powder (1 tsp of each)
Feta Cheese- 1 packet
Half a day old loaf
A bunch of fresh Parsley, chopped fine
6-7 Sun-dried tomatoes
Handful of Walnuts
A Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese

Saute onions and olive oil. Add minced garlic and herbs- 1 tsp each (the remaining tsp is for the bread crumbs). Throw in spices and mushrooms. Cook for a minute or two until the mushrooms are softened. Add tomatoes, broth and adobo sauce. Season to taste and allow to simmer until thickened. Once consistency is achieved, throw in some kale if you have any, or spinach.

Tear up bread into chunks on a baking sheet, douse with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs. Throw in the oven and toast until golden brown and crisp. Season with salt and pepper.

In a casserole dish, cover beans with tomato sauce. Top with feta cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake uncovered for about 30 mins, just enough time to make the pesto! In a food processor, or using a mortar and pestle, reduce parsley and walnuts to a nice paste. Add some olive oil and garlic. Season. Add chopped sun dried tomato and some parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the cooked casserole and serve.

In case you hadn’t already noticed, I like squash, a lot.  This recipe is so filling.  If you can find a smaller butternut squash it isn’t such an impossible fete.  1 small squash is definitely enough for two people, IMO (my favourite acronym).

Quinoa Stuffed Butternut Squash

Makes 2 Servings

1 Small Butternut squash
1 Cup of Quinoa
A handful of kale or Spinach
Feta Cheese
1 Clove of garlic
1/2 an Onion
12 oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes
1 Glug of Olive Oil
Adobo Sauce from Chipotle Peppers
1/4 Cup of Veggie Broth
Fresh Parsley, chopped
Herbs: 1 tsp each of Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary
1 tsp Smoked Paprika

Halve the squash, score and rub each side with olive oil.  Place on a baking tray cut side down, and roast at 350 for 30 minutes, until tender.  Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool before carving out flesh.  Leave a 1 cm border.

Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to instructions, and set aside.  Make the spicy tomato sauce.  Saute onion and olive oil, cook for 7 mins or so, add herbs, paprika, and garlic.  Add tomatoes, broth, and adobo sauce.  Season to taste, and simmer until the sauce reduces and is at the consistency you desire.  Throw in parsley and greens, allow to wilt.

Mix the butternut squash flesh with the quinoa and spicy tomato sauce.  Arrange over butternut halves.  Scatter feta over top, and bung it back in the oven for another 10-15 mins until the cheese is gooey and brown.