Zucchini "noodles" and meat sauce

A while back, I found a recipe for zucchini "noodles" with pesto.  The other day, we thought, "why wouldn't this work with ALL types of sauce"?!  Well...it does.

The trick is to keep the zucchini barely cooked, just swirling it around in the pan for a few minutes does the job...we made this batch with homemade meat sauce, with ground beef from Griffin Farms, of course.  This makes enough noodles for one meal, and plenty of leftover sauce which we turned into a tomato-based stew the next day.

Ingredients:
-4 or 5 medium size zucchini (this feeds two of us, but probably three normal people)
-1 lb. ground beef (grass-fed!)
-1 medium onion, diced (yellow)
- about 1.5 lbs of tomatoes, roughly 6 or 7 small to medium tomatoes, chopped (you can use canned here, in the winter)
-2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tsp (or more) oregano, fresh basil (lots!), salt and pepper


Meat sauce:

Of course, you can use whatever sauce recipe you like, I just threw this fresh tomato sauce together since we have so many tomatoes in the garden right now.

-Saute the beef with the onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil
- when beef is browned, add chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs, simmer on low for as long as you can, at least 20-30 minutes (my Italian mother always taught me that the key to fresh sauce is time... lots of it.)

While the sauce is simmering, get to work on the zucchini.  This process goes very quickly so have everything else that you are eating for dinner ready by this point!

Zucchini 'noodles':

-Wash the squash and cut off the tops and bottoms.
-With a vegetable peeler, add a bit of pressure and slowly peel strips off of the zucchini, until you reach the seeds (then stop and use the rest of it for something the next day!)

-When all of the zucchini is peeled into strips, heat about 1 tbl of olive oil in a sauté pan, add zucchini and stir with tongs.
-The zucchini will probably need some salt, too, to drain some of the liquid out of it.
-Sauté the zucchini for about 2 minutes, drain any liquid, and top with the sauce.

Voilà!

Quinoa Burger dressed with Tzatziki

This is a guest post from Stacy Abbott (Bryce's Mom) who is an awesome cook and has a beautiful garden.  Hope you all enjoy!







As I looked at my counter full with the bounty of my raised bed and container garden, as well as zucchini and squash from friend's gardens, I pondered what to fix for dinner. I wanted it to be no fuss, quick and delicious.

I hopped on pinterest and searched Quinoa Burger and found a recipe to adapt to the fresh veggie bounty. I did add ingredients (extra veggies) and remove others (cheese and sweetener) from the original recipe with success. Interestingly enough, the author also had modified the original recipe using zucchini instead of carrots, perfect!  She also suggested topping the quinoa burgers with tzatziki, heck yeah, I have those ingredients too. But wait, the step by step tzatziki recipe I found soaks the cukes for 30 minutes and then refrigerates the final product for 2 hours. Eeek, that didn't fit my 30 minute meal plan... I decided to go for it anyway, in a right out of the food-processing-Ninja version! No cuke salt soak, didn't even peel it, no hanging out in the fridge for 2-hours, not this version, and it was amazing.

Stacy's Ninja Tzatziki
5.3 oz (single serve) Greek yogurt
1 small - medium cucumber (seeds scooped out, skin left on)
juice of 1/2 lemon, hand squeezed
1 clove of garlic
Fresh dill (I like dill so I was heavy handed) it would probably measure out to be 1/4 c.




I tossed all of the above ingredients in my Ninja (aka mini food processor) and blam instant fragrant and delicious tzatziki!

In less than 30 minutes we were enjoying a protein packed, gluten free super delicious meal.

Quinoa Burger

2 rounded cups cooked quinoa (see note below for cooking instructions)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed dry (don't skip this step)

3 eggs

3 tablespoons quinoa flour

2 green onions, including white parts

1 handful of cilantro coursely chopped

1 fajita bell pepper chopped (or a medium spicey pepper of your choice )

1 large clove of garlic minced

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon organic greek garden herb spice grinder (Red Monkey, I find it at Kroger)

Coconut oil for frying

To cook quinoa:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups vegetable broth (I added a small crushed clove of garlic as well then removed before adding quinoa) 

In a medium saucepan bring the 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil over high heat.  Add quinoa and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until all water is absorbed and the seeds are tender.  Allow to cool for a few minutes.

After quinoa cools for a few minutes, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. (My patties were easiest to form while in the pan, they won't hold well uncooked.  Cooking the burgers on med-low slowly, helps the to stay in patty from and not fall apart, they will have a little longer to set-up without burning. It will also make them easier to flip).

Heat a frying pan and a couple teaspoons coconut oil over medium-low heat. Mixture will be slightly sticky, so using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop mixture into pan and lightly flatten to 1/2 inch thick.  Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side.   Makes approx. 10 burgers.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I have always liked to make as many home cleaning products as I can, mostly because I love experimenting.  Since I just got a dishwasher installed in my house, I thought it was time to figure out how to make my own detergent for it.  This recipe is extremely easy, cheap, environmentally conscious, and best of all you get that awesome feeling of accomplishment when you can walk by the chemical aisle in Kroger...

*I chose a borax free recipe, since I'm not convinced that borax is completely safe to use on items that come in contact with food.

Too Easy to Be True Detergent

What you'll need:

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/3 cup citric acid (found at any beer supply store: they have it for $1 at Eats in Bburg)
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 10-15 drops citrus essential oil (I used grapefruit)
• white vinegar

- Mix the soda, citric acid, and salt in an air tight container, distributing all ingredients equally
- Add essential oil and mix thoroughly again
- Keep in airtight container, use 1 tbl per load
- Add the vinegar to the rinse agent dispenser of your machine, this will keep all of the streaks off each time you run a load

It is so easy and cost effective, I'll never buy detergent again!  More musings from my stab at urban homesteading to come...

Overflow from Garden = Summer Treats!

It is FINALLY time for a looong overdue post. Bryce and I have been way too busy in the past few weeks (ok, months) and have a long list of ideas that we have been meaning to post, so now it's time to start catching up! Our garden is coming in in full force and, along with our CSA share, we have more lettuce, kale, and cucumbers that we know what to do with. I always seem to find new ways to enjoy them, but I thought it was time to share a surprisingly yummy and refreshing one.

Cucumber Mint Water

I first had this water at a Persian restaurant in San Diego and have been hooked ever since.  It's a great way to use the extra cucumbers from your (or a friend's) garden.  This amazing, very refreshing treat is a great way to stay hydrated and reap all of the great anti-inflammatory benefits of cucumbers.  This is what you'll need:

• Approximately 1 gallon of water
• 1 large cucumber, washed and sliced thinly
• 1 large handful of mint

This one can't really get much simpler.  Put all of the ingredients in a glass jar in the fridge and let steep overnight.  I leave the ingredients in there for a few days and just keep refilling the water every time I drink some water.  The flavor is really light and subtle.  You'll be amazed how much water you drink when it is this refreshing, especially with how hot it has been outside!!

I've taken the liberty of borrowing a picture from the internet, because it is just so pretty and I have yet to take a picture! [http://www.foodrenegade.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/cucumber-mint-water.jpg]