Featured: DailyBuzz Food: BBQ Vegan Skewers

My BBQ Vegan Skewers are featured on today's Top 9 on DailyBuzz Food.

Loving this! The site, DailyBuzz Food is an update and add on to FoodBuzz. I love the new format, and am excited to be included.

There is a tab on the top of the site for Special Diets. Until today, I hadn't really thought my recipes would fit into this. Upon further inspection into my list of posts, I guess I do talk a lot about alternatives to dairy and gluten. And now vegan. You can track my eating habits through the last 3+ years of posts to see just when all these exceptions to my very full diet began. Blogging is interesting in that way. Sometimes you repeat and repeat (you'll see roast chicken here and any number of smoothies appear over and over). Sometimes you change and update (no more cheese for me: make the pesto without it, it'll be just as good).

Take a look at the collections they have featured so far (the new format just started this month). It's really nifty.

Thanks, DailyBuzz Food (I still want to call you FoodBuzz, is that ok?)!!

Roasted Vegetables: Beets, Potatoes and Zucchini

 I know it's really hot outside, but if you can deal with it, you need to make some roasted vegetables. There are many great choices at the farmer's markets right now:  beets, potatoes, zucchini.

 The best part is, that once you make it through the roasting, you'll have plenty leftover for upcoming meals. You can serve these veggies as part of a green salad, as a pizza topping, or just on their own, cold with some salt and pepper.

Roasted Vegetables: Beets, Potatoes and Zucchini

You can cook all the veggies at once, but I prefer to do them individually so that they each keep their own flavor.

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 zucchini sliced into rounds
• 8 to 10 beets, peeled and cut into chunks
• 10 yukon gold potatoes sliced into rounds
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and place an empty jelly roll pan in to heat up at the same time.
2. Once the oven has preheated, carefully remove the tray from the oven, pour 1/4 cup of the olive oil onto the tray and place the zucchini on top.
3. Turn the zucchini slices over several times to coat in the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pieces have browned and softened.
5. Repeat this process with the beets and the potatoes.

Stuffed Zucchini, Vegan-Style

Stuffed zucchini is a delight. I haven't made it in awhile, since I used to cover it in cheese and can no longer do so, dairy-free me and all.

I realized that if I were to put something else with a nice strong flavor in the stuffing, that could complement the mellow sweetness of the zucchini, I might be able to make this taste just as good without the cheese.

Last week, I made this Onion & Shallot Marmalade (click here for the recipe) and thought it could be the perfect accompaniment for the zucchini.

I was right. It added texture and also flavor, both savory and sweet.

Though I did  replace the regular bread with a gluten-free variety (Udi's), all the other ingredients are the same as what Gran Fran always used to make hers. It took me awhile to remember that you have to steamed the zucchini before you stuff and bake it. I did also fry the bread briefly before adding it to the stuffing, to make sure it browned and didn't soak up too much of the oil from the onion & shallot marmalade.

My daughet managed to eat the first batch of chantarelles that I sauteed and I couldn't quite remember how long to cook them in the oven, but in the end, they turned out great. I even managed to get a non-vegetable lover to eat this without any complaint,  and of course, I loved it, too.

 Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

• 6 Zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
• 1/4 lb. Chanterelles, cleaned and chopped coarsely
• 2 pieces Rice Bread, cubed
• 4 to 5 sprigs fresh Oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 6 Tbsps Olive Oil
• 1 recipe Onion & Shallot Marmalade (click here for the recipe)
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Steam the zucchini halves until just soft. Do not cook them all the way through, just enough that the meat of the squash is soft to the touch.
3. Remove the zucchini and allow it to cool.
4. While you are steaming the squash, heat a saute pan large enough to hold the bread cubes in one layer.
5. Add the 1/2 of the oil, the oregano, some salt and the bread cubes. Lower the heat to medium.
6. Sautee the bread for about 4 minutes, keeping the cubes moving with a wooden spoon so that they don't burn, but just brown.
7. Remove the bread cubes from the pan and set them aside in a medium bowl.
8. Return the saute pan to high heat, and add the remaining olive oil.
9. Add the chanterelle mushrooms to the pan and cook until nicely browned.
10. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and add them to the bowl with the cooked bread cubes.
11. Take the zucchini halves and scoop out the flesh and add that to the bowl as well.
12. Mix up all of the ingredients in the bowl.
13. Put the scooped out zucchini halves into a baking dish, large enough so they aren't touching.
14. Scoop a layer of the bread/zucchini/mushroom mixture into each xzucchini half.
15. Top with onion and shallot marmalade.
16. Bake at 375 degree for 20 to 25 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.

Enjoy!