quinoa stuffed zucchini 4 servings

first stuffed before they are covered with bread crumbs

cooked covered with bread crumbs

on my plate ready to eat

ready for my first bite...yummy

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa well rinsed ( you can use brown rice as well, use 1 cup of rice)
4 medium zucchini halved,ends trimmed
2 tablesppons evoo
1 yellow onion minced/chopped whichever you prefer
1 garlic clove....I love garlic I used more,,,and then some more
salt and pepper...I didn't until Iserved and then let everyone salt and pepper themselves ( ok, it is just me eating this way at my house...so I salted very little and peppered a bit more)
1 small can chopped black olives
1/3 chopped oil packed sun-dried tomatoes ( I didn't have oil packed just sundried, they worked just fine)
1/2 cup bread crumbs ( I just sprinkled til I thought it looked good)

In a saucepan bring water to boil, add quinoa, return to boil, reduce heat to low, cover , simmer until tender about 20 minutes.

Scoop out the succhini flesh, leaving shells intact. Chop the flesh ( but if you hack at the flesh, like me, no need to chop!) set the flesh aside. Steam the shells until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.  ( now I am not an expert cook, how do you do this?  I didn't bother with this step and it was just fine) set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add the oinion, garlic ..and zucchini , add salte and pepper to taste ( again, I did not do this!)and cook until the vegetables are tender about 10 minutes.   ( I also added mushrooms this time but have added any other veggies I thought sounded good)

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl ( why bother dirty another thing?  Use the pot or skillet) and combine the quinoa and zucchini mixture ( not the shells like I thought the first time!)  add olived and tomatoes.  and again salt and pepper to taste ( and again, I did not do this because I watch my salt intake)

Stuff the zucchini shells with the quinoa mixture and then sprinkle with the breadcrumbs, arrange in a pan.  add about 1/4 inch of water to the pan, cover tightly with foil and bake until the zucchini are tender but not collasping about 20-30 minutes. Uncover and bake about 10 minutes longer to brown the topping.  Serve immediately


I have made this a few times and each time I change the recipe...it is quite filling.  I have had one half with a salad and it makes a wonderful meal.  I put 2 halves in a rubbermaid takealong and it is an easy lunch for me!

Dr appointment today

and the verdict is.....my blood pressure is 104/83!!!!  can you just see me doing handstands????  It has not been this low in years!!!!  My weight is 214.2....When I saw  Dr torres in January it was 218.4.  I am down 4.2 pounds.   My cholesterol is down total is 197 and I cannot remember what the LDL and HDL are but they are good.  I think one of them is like 1 point away from where it really should be but I can live with that! MY A1C, which is a 3 month fasting sugar count ( to rule out diabetes  2) is 5.something.  They recommend less than 6.5%   I had  my mammorgram done earlier and all if benign...

NEXT up is the colonoscopy...I go see the Dr for consultation in april.  I am sure things are nice and cleaned otu with all the roughage I am eating!  LOL

Saturday memories

After dinner this evening, College Girl and I sitting and talking about Nana living here before she found her condo.  Ernie would stop on his way home from work on sunday mornings and buy dunkin' donuts and have toasted coconut donuts for Nana.
I then started talking about when I was young,,,way back when...on Sundays we would have a roast,,,and then Nana would make that roast last most of the week.  On Saturday nights we would have pizza from a box..and for a treat ( dessert) we would have a Hoodsie ( icecream in a cup with little wooden spoons) as my brothers and I watched Creature Double  Feature on channel 56....I believe that was on the VHF section of the TV.
 In the 70's I used to have a transistor radio that I listened to.  I would put it under my pillow at night so that it would not bother the rest of the house.  In the 80's , Boom boxes became the things to have and they were so big, that you could hardly carry them...now things are smaller than those transistor radios were! 

Black Bean and corn soup!

2 tbl olive oil

1 medium red onion chopped

1 medium red or yellow pepper chopped

1 medium carrot chopped

4 garlic cloved minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 can (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups cooked or 3 (15.5 ounce ) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

6 cups vegetable broth , homemade, storebought or water

2 cups, frozen or fresh corn kernels

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Tabasco sauce to serve

1. in a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat, add onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic, cover and cook until soft about 10 minutes. uncover and stir in the cumin, oregano, tomatoes, beans and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Puree about 1/3 of the soup using an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor ( I omitted this part). BE CAREFUL THE SOUP IS HOT!!!   Add the corn, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to heat through and blend flavors.
3. Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.  ( I omitted the salt and pepper)  Serve the Tabasco on the side.

Ladle into bowls.

This is supposed to make 4 servings.  I thought I would double this so I could have at least a weeks worth of lunches.  The maker of this recipe must think people have huge stomachs because I got at least 12 servings out of this!  I ended up freezing some.   I added some different things to the soup to give it a different taste  at lunch.  One day I added avocado, one day a mango salsa, another day I had tortilla chips with it. I could make  spicier if I wanted or keep it mild.  For those who are not vegans, it is still a great dish!  My meat loving husband enjoyed it!!  I can see this as being a very versatile soup!

oh, my aching tummy

My 15 year old daughter whom I call Drama Queen, DQ for short ( I will probably post pictures of my children but will not post their real names to protect them), took a 4 week cooking class that ended last night in a family meal.  The class all voted on the menu and it was decided that they would make bruscetta, salad, chicken parm, apple pizza and home-made icecream.  DQ told the teacher that I was a vegan and she was afraid I could not eat anything on the menu  except the salad.  The teacher called me to ask exactly what a vegan was.  I explained but quickly reassured her that I am doing this for health reasons and since my daughter was so excited and proud of her cooking skills I was planning on eating the meal.  I could not promise I would eat a full meal but I would at least take bites of everything.

Last night arrived.  Dinner was at 7:30.  Ernie, Nana ( my Mom), Drummer boy (my 14 year old son)  and I went to the dinner.  DQ had arrived at 5:30 to cook.  I ate a good portion of salad, 3 small pieces of the bruscetta, almost half a very small piece of chicken parm, a small piece of the apple pizza, my small serving of homemade ivannila icecream...and then I finished off Drummer Boy's melting icecream.  I have to tall you, I LOOOVVVEEEE Icecream.  DQ was so happy that we loved her food. 

Serves me right...I had such horrid stomach pains all night long!   I am so glad I go back to my vegan food today and my tummy will be happy again!!!

and the search goes on

I am still in search of a creamer for my coffee.  Now, I am not looking for the exact replica of HALF AND HALF or cream...but a reasonable taste and texture would be nice. 

 When I was out  shopping this past weekend, I found Organic Valley Soy Creamer.  AH, a new one!!!  It cost $2.49, a bit pricey for me.  I  shook the carton like ti said to and then poured it into a small glass....It sure does have a brownish look for being French Vanilla.  I tasted it and it is sweet but not very French and not very vanilla, at least not to me.  The next test was to try it in my coffee...I can drink it but it does not taste delicious enough to spend $2.49 on.

The search is still on for a good creamer replacement for my coffee..any and all ideas are welcomed!

My new adventure

I cant' really give you a date of when this new adventure started but I know it was in February. Some of the people I work with were talking about eating as vegans for a month, for health reasons and they challenged me to do it.  I half heartedly decided to do it.  So, I have given up all animal products in my food with the one exception of HALF AND HALF in my 2 cups of coffee a day.  I have not found anything that I really like to replace it and I have been searching high and low.

A strange thing has happened to me since I started to do this...weight has started to drop off of me.  I started this adventure at 232 and am now 214.6  I am not starving like I do when I "diet".  When I feel hungry , I eat a wonderful bowl of lettuceswith some flavored vinegar sprinkled on top.  Breakfast is usually  friut, in almond milk with rice protien in a smoothie....and I like it...

Are you wondering about gas???  WEll, to be truthful, the first week was real stinky....and now, things have settled down...and of course, since I am a lady, I have no gas ( cough cough!)

No, my family is not joining me in eating vegan but they are joining me as I celebrate this new life-style..


I hope to be sharing family stories here and recipes with you.....

So, come and join the fun!!!