Tag: zucchini

vegan frittata

vegan frittata

Is it December yet? 2020 has been a heck of a year. We hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. We know several friends who have caught the coronavirus, so we are taking this pandemic very seriously. We are staying home as much as possible and haven’t even been to the grocery store since March. Instead, we have been using curbside pickup and buying products online. We rarely order takeout and have been cooking up a storm at home, so we’ve stocked our cupboards with bulk items to make a variety of meals at a moment’s notice. We have an entire cabinet with meticulously labeled glass jars filled with quinoa, lentils, oats, pastas, flours, an assortment of grains and rice—and of course, the dark chocolate chips that Adam claims are an essential part of his daily nutritional needs. We also keep plenty of canned goods in the pantry, like black beans, whole italian tomatoes, and coconut milk, so we can enjoy dishes like our colorful Caribbean Black Bean Salad, garlicky Pasta Puttanesca, or the easy Indian Curry with Chickpeas and Cauliflower from our cookbook any night of the week. There are dozens of delicious meals you can whip up by simply keeping a few kitchen staples on hand. This new recipe has been on repeat in our house for the past several months, and it comes together in less than 30 minutes. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner—this vegan frittata is a clear winner.

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zucchini rotini with pecorino and fresh herbs

zucchini rotini with pecorino and fresh herbs

This post was created in partnership with Barilla®. All opinions are our own.

Have you heard the word? There’s a new sauce on the scene—it’s lean, mean, and vibrant green. This year’s 8th annual Barilla Pasta World Championship held last week in Paris brought together 14 chefs from around the world, each representing their country and competing for the title of World Master of Pasta. One of the finalists, Australian chef Nicola Pelligana created his signature dish—Spaghetti with Zucchini and Italian Cheese Foam—that captured our attention.

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zucchini houdini

zucchini houdini

I (Adam) remember the day we brought home the new 1977 Cadillac Seville. With a stylish light tan exterior and a dark brown top, it had more space for the family, the beige leather seats were soft and comfortable, it boasted automatic locks and windows, it was our first car with air conditioning, and best of all it had a fancy 8-track cassette deck. I still clearly remember the music collection that my parents kept in that car: there was a bright blue Barry Manilow Live cassette that I would obsessively sing along with until I lost my voice or until my parents couldn’t take it anymore and asked me to stop. My mom worked in real estate, and this was the new luxury car for showing clients around town, an impressive replacement for the dark blue ’65 Volkswagen bug that she had been driving since her 16th birthday. Despite its classy appearance, the Cadillac ended up having lots of problems over the years. When I was fourteen, it caught fire one night as we were driving home through Topanga Canyon. The engine started to make an awful sound, and when I looked out the window, flames were shooting out from the sides of the car. We immediately pulled over, and ran as far away as we could. There we stood, helpless, on the side of the road in the middle of the dark canyon, waiting for the car to explode.

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fried zucchini sliders

fried zucchini sliders

At Thanksgiving, we gather around the table with close friends and family to acknowledge everything we have to be grateful for. And every year somebody mentions that it should become a daily tradition, but somehow it never happens, just like those impractical New Year’s resolutions that slowly fade in the first few weeks of January. The healthy diet goals and daily trips to the gym you envision for yourself in those cold, hopeful, wintry months have now become treating yourself to that extra slice of cake and sipping on bourbon chocolate milkshakes by the pool. But you know what? That’s okay! We are not meant to set up these impossibly strict constraints for ourselves, holding our souls prisoner and preventing us from enjoying the beautiful and sweet things that life has to offer. Balance is the secret, and to approach everything with moderation is key. Of course, there are certain times when this is more difficult than others—and some people handle it better than others. For those of you that have trouble with moderation, especially when it comes to fun and adorable mini-burgers, we have to warn you that reading this post will only tempt you and make you hungry because these fried zucchini sliders that we are sharing today from Jonathan Melendez’s new book The Slider Effect are incredibly delicious and dangerously addictive. Proceed with extreme caution.

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easy zucchini and brown rice gratin

easy zucchini and brown rice gratin

On Saturday we hiked Fish Canyon Falls, over five miles of breathtaking trails lined with shady oaks, blue agaves, and multi-colored wildflowers carpeting the hillsides glowing with fragrant white sage, located in the Angeles National Forest just thirty minutes from our home. The winding path follows a clear stream, and because of the recent winter rains, it was rushing through the bottom of the canyon, creating a peaceful soundtrack of flowing water nearly the entire time. At the end of the trail, we were greeted by a majestic 3-tiered, 80-foot waterfall that was cascading in full force. It was a beautiful day and we were so happy to discover yet another hidden area of natural beauty so close to the city. After spending the morning hiking through the woods, stumbling upon abandoned cabins, and adventuring in the hills, we came home to find a package waiting for us on our doorstep that we had been anticipating for several months. Our friend Emilie (theclevercarrot.com) just wrote her first cookbook and we were so excited for its arrival, especially after seeing so many other bloggers making beautiful creations from it and posting photos and rave reviews online. Epicurious named The Clever Cookbook as one of “spring’s best cookbooks” and after browsing through this gem and making one dish so far, we clearly understand why. It is filled with inspiring recipes that we can’t wait to try: cauliflower bolognese, chai pancakes with cinnamon butter, banana cloud cake, and the list goes on! Today we are so excited to share this easy zucchini and brown rice gratin from her book that has graced our kitchen twice this week and has already become one of our new favorite dinners.

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