Quick Summer Meal

Some days, I come home from work absolutely starving! When I get finally get home, there is the urge to just eat PB&Js every night. But then I realized that I'd like to consume a meal that wasn't in the lunch box of every summer camper under the age of 5.

Enter the quick and easy veggie meal.

TA DA!


Isn't it pretty? It's also quick and easy....just the way I like my women!

I'm not sure there's really anything else to say besides EAT THIS NOW!

Zucchini Pancakes with Sauteed Sweet Corn

by Bonnie Graham

Keywords: entree snack vegetarian zucchini corn

6028566

Ingredients (8 - 10 medium-sized pancakes)

• 1 large zucchini, shredded*
• 1 large red onion, divided in half*
• 1/3 c shredded cheddar cheese (can also use Parmesan)*
• 1/2 - 3/4 c whole wheat flour (depends on consistency)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 c seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 eggs
• splash of milk
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 ear of corn, kernels removed from cob*
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Grate half of the red onion and chop the other half.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients with the exception of the chopped onion, corn kernels, and red pepper flakes.

3. Combine pancake mixture well, adding more flour to soak up any additional liquid the zucchini may give off.

4. Heat two pans with olive oil. In one pan, add the red onion with salt and pepper. Saute until onions are soft and starting to brown. Once browned, add corn and red pepper flakes. Season again to taste. Let corn saute.

5. In the second pan, heat up or spray with olive oil. Use a 1/4 cup measure, add pancake batter to the pan, being sure to flatten slightly with the edge of your cup. Do not crowd the pan! Only three to four pancakes at a time.

6. Allow pancakes to cook for a minute or two until bottom is firm. Flip and brown on the other side.

7. Serve pancakes topped with corn or applesauce or (the way Jerry likes it) with everything in your fridge.

Powered by Recipage

*denotes that these items are locally produced

Official Weigh-In

It's official. I weigh the most now then I have in the last three years. And I'm definitely feeling the difference in my body. Hello rubbing thighs. So nice of you to show up in this 90 degree heat!

I know what you're thinking, "What happen to this countdown for Spain, where you were supposed to be losing weight, Bonnie?"

Well, for a while there, it looked like our trip to Spain wasn't going to happen. With Jerry being out of work and us not knowing if we would make the next rent payment, all planning for Spain had come to a halt, including my great plan to lose weight to feel comfortable exposing my tata's on Europe's topless beaches. I think my mom is a little relieved about that one.

Now that Jerry is back to work and it's looking more and more hopeful that our trip to Spain is happening, I need to get back into Tata Exposin' shape! Our recent trip to Virginia definitely took me far off track, where at least 15 meals a day were consumed and exercise was significantly reduced.

That being said, I think I need a little bit of a jump start, which is why I've decided to do another detox. I'm not sure if it'll be for a whole month like my last one, but definitely at least a week or two.

I imagine that a detox won't be too hard since I'm in love with all fresh produce and have been eating salads at almost every meal anyway. Some of the rules of the detox are to definitely cut out all processed and refined sugars and definitely, definitely, definitely the use of portion control. No seconds at meals. No desserts. Nothing!

Plus, a return to the gym with a focus on yoga and HIIT (high intensity interval training) is certainly in-store.

Of course, with any great diet and exercise plan, it will start on Monday. Not today. Because today...I have some eatin' to do! :)

"Fun" Food

Do you have "fun" foods in your kitchen? The foods that you tend to eat first because there's something more appealing about them. It's like eating all of the flavored yogurts before getting to the vanilla one. Choosing the BBQ chips over regular plain. Who wants to eat plain chips?! Using strawberry jam before the boring grape jelly. You know what I'm talking about.

With Jerry home for the last few weeks, our "fun" foods have been disappearing much more quickly then usual. Because of the never-ending (but now over) ConEd lockout, Jerry has been eating at home more. Which is probably great for his health. Not so great for our food supply.

Because I've really been trying to hold myself to that weekly grocery budget of $50, I've stopped myself from running to the grocery store every time we are low on "fun" foods. Which means I've needed to get slightly more creative with some of the basics in our fridge and pantry.

Usually, I pack myself a lunch every day and never leave the house without eating breakfast first. When I realized that we were out of salad fixin's and I had maxed on PB&J, I decided to make myself a frittata with whatever veggies were in my fridge. It turned out to be pretty damn yummy and quite packable for lunch!

For me, I realize that I prefer my frittatas slightly undercooked. If you prefer to have your eggs more stiff, then leave under the broiler for a few minutes longer.

Veggie Frittata for One

by Bonnie Graham

Keywords: breakfast entree eggs corn spinach smoked paprika

6029037

Ingredients (1 7' inch frittata)

• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/3 c fresh or frozen corn kernals
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 1 handful of baby spinach
• 2 tbsp ricotta cheese (or preferred cheese)
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• salt and peper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat broiler to low tempature. Then, heat omelet pan over medium heat. Spray with olive oil.

2. Add chopped onions to pan and saute for a few minutes

3. Meanwhile, beat eggs with tbsp of water until frothy. Add smoked paprika.

4. Add corn and spinach to hot pan. Saute a few minutes longer.

5. Pour eggs into pan. Add salt and pepper.

6. Using a spatula, move the eggs along as you would at the beginning of scramble eggs, but do not scramble them.

7. Let eggs cook for a few minutes until the sides begin to set.

8. Drop pieces of ricotta along the top of the frittata. Place under broiler until desired consistency in reached.

Powered by Recipage

Dirty Veggies, Part 5

So close to budget this week. That damn friggin' quarter!

This week's roundup:
1 zucchini - $1.00
2 white peppers - $.75 (White peppers?! I know!)
1 head red leaf lettuce - $1.50
1 bunch fresh onions - $2.00
6 peaches - $2.50
6 tomatoes - $2.50
Total: $10.25

I had a 19-year client come into my office today and announce that it smelled like potato salad.

"Oh, it's just my fresh onions that I bought today at the local farmer's market. I also have tomatoes and peaches and look! White peppers. Aren't those cool?"

He wasn't impressed.

Road Trippin'

During the summer, Jerry and I seem to find ourselves in the car for extended periods of time quite often. For the longer trips (2 hours or more), I like to pack snacks. The problem with packing snacks is that we're gigantic fat kids who both have a mild case of ADHD.

Sitting for extended periods of time is not something that is easy for either one us. At one time, I could happily sit on my ass for hours, watching bad reality tv marathons (you know the Housewives of New Jersey has sucked you in too!). But not anymore. And being in the car is even worse! What are we suppose to do for 3 to 4 hours at a time? Talk to each other?! Yeah. Sure.

Instead, we eat. We eat well past the point of being full. We eat until we complain about eating....and then we eat some more. We put the bag of snacks "far away" in the backseat. Only for me to climb over to retrieve the forbidden bag less then an hour later.

For one of our road trips to Virginia, I packed:

• 2 sandwiches (one of each of us)
• TJ's reduced guilt popcorn
• TJ's sweet and salty trail mix (so good)
• TJ's carmel corn (can you tell I have a Trader Joe's obsession?)
• Dried snap peas
• Box of black licorice (for Jerry)
• Kashi granola bars
• Reduced sugar dark chocolate (which I didn't realize had the ingredient that makes you crap your pants until I had already eaten half the bar)
• Fruit leathers

We seriously had to cut ourselves off. Especially me! While Jerry just feels gross and bloated, I end up with a 300(!) blood sugar because I can only take so much insulin to cover 8 straight hours of eating!

For a recent road trip, I planned things out much better. Instead of large bags of food, I brought individual bags of snacks and opted for even more healthy treats that 1) weren't be as appealing and 2) wouldn't severely impact my blood sugar. These treats include:

• Fiberful Fruit Leathers
• TJ's snack-sized bag of kettle corn
• Kashi granola bars
• 2 types of seaweed snacks (for Jerry)
• Baby carrots (good for the ol' blood sugar)
• Trail Mix Snack Cookies (need something naughty)
  

Why bring snacks at all, you might ask? Because you really can't call it a road trip without snacks. Seriously. Check wikipedia. It's there. Because of my expert snack packing, Jerry and I were able to control ourselves, thus giving us more room to be disgusting oinkers and gorge ourselves for the rest of the weekend. Awesome.

Trail Mix "Cookies"

by Bonnie Graham

Cook Time: 14 - 16 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast snack vegetarian coconut oil nuts oats

6029096

Ingredients (12 large cookies)

• 1 c oat flour
• 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg)
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 2 packets Truvia (or 4 tsp sugar)
• 1 ½ tbsp ground chia seeds (or 2 tbsp flax meal)
• ¼ c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• ¼ c maple syrup
• 1 – 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ c apple sauce
• 1/3 c almonds, lightly chopped
• ¼ cup sunflower seeds
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• ¼ c dried cranberries or other dried fruit

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a blender, food processor, or magic bullet, grind oats into a flour followed by grinding chia seeds (or flax seeds).

3. Add all dry ingredients to a bowl, with the exception of the coconut, seeds, and nuts, and mix to combine.

4. Add all wet ingredients to the bowl. Mix well to combine.

5. Add coconut, nuts, seeds, cats.....just wanted to see if you were paying attention...to the bowl.

6. Scoop hefty sized scoops of dough and place them on your baking sheet. Bake for 14 - 16 minutes or until lightly browned.

Powered by Recipage

Dirty Veggies, Part 4

You'll be excited to hear that, this week, I almost stayed within budget. Almost. I'm over by just a quarter. You can't fault me on a quarter!

This week's market shopping was a little different then usual. First, I had a recipe in mind, so some selections were based on that. Second, Jerry and I are going to Virginia for a long weekend, which means we won't be home. In an effort to not waste food, I bought things that would either survive the weekend or be taken with us for snackin' on our long drive to VA.

This week's roundup:

2 cucumbers - $.50

1 bunch of golden beets - $1.50

1 bulb of garlic - $1.25

1 bunch of parsley - $1.00

1 bunch of scallions - $1.50

6 tomatoes - $2.50

6 plums - $2.00

Total: $10.25

Not too shabby!

Recipe to come soon.

Can you guess what it might be? Is the suspense killing you?!?!?

Hunger Games

Apparently, when Jerry is unemployed, it turns into the Hunger Games over here! We've been foraging for our meals! I'm just waiting for my bow and arrows to arrive in the mail.

Yes. That is Jerry eating leaves off a plant.

Truth be told, foraging is actually something that we have had an interest in exploring for quite some time. I can't say it's an interest we share 100%, but still. I'll give you two guesses who is the more interested party of the two of us.

And again, eating what looks like dried grass, but is actually garlic seeds.

And again, eating what looks like dried grass, but is actually garlic seeds.

We signed up for a Foraging Tour in Inwood Park this past weekend with "Wildman" Steve Brill. Who referred to himself as "Wildman" Steve Brill every time he introduced himself. He was a character. But I guess you would have to be to eat leaves and twigs in your local park.

Overall, it was a really interesting experience. We definitely walked away knowing a few more things we can eat at our local park (which isn't hard since prior knowledge was...oh...zero) and with bagfuls of "produce" for dinner.

"Wildman" Steve Brill

On our foraging adventure, we collected:

• Burdock Root - a starchy root vegetable
• Lamb's Quarters - a type of leaf similar in flavor to spinach
• Sumac
• Birch Branches
• Field garlic seeds 
• Gout weed (I think)
• A variety of other greens that tasted good but couldn't tell you what they were

What we made:

• Cream of Burdock Root Soup
• Lamb's Quarters Two Ways - Sauteed with Garlic and Salad with Plums and Beets in a Walnut Dressing
• Gout weed Pesto made with Field Garlic Seeds
• Field Garlic Spice Rub for Swai (white fish)
• Birch and Sumac Tea

I would share our recipes for this particular meal, but let's be honest. You're not going out and eating from your front yard.

But Jerry will if you invite us over for dinner. 

Cream of Burdock Root Soup

Goutweed Pesto on Swai, Sauteed Lamb's Quarter, and Lamb's Quarter Salad with Golden Beets and Plums

Lamb's Quarters with Plums and Beets in a Walnut Dressing