My mother-in-law makes some fantastic stuffed peppers and I had a craving for them today but couldn’t find any nice peppers at the grocery store today.  In a flash of inspiration, I grabbed some beautiful large zucchini and used it in place of the peppers.  It was a great light meal and easy to make and fun to take a family favorite and give it my own spin.  Enjoy!

Stuffed Zucchini

1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup quinoa
2 large zucchini
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch roasting pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium sauce pan, cook the quinoa in vegetable broth for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Stir occasionally. Allow to cool.

Trim zucchini and halve each lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out seeds and some pulp from zucchini halves, leaving a 1/4″ thick shell. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil on medium-high until hot. Add onion and cook 3 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and red pepper and cook until fragrant. Add beef and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove from heat. Stir in quinoa and half of mint.

On prepared pan, toss tomatoes, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1 teaspoon oil. Arrange zucchini halves, cut sides up, around tomatoes. Mound 3/4 cup beef filling in each zucchini half, packing tightly.

Place pan in preheated oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until tender. Place zucchini and tomatoes on a platter; sprinkle with remaining mint.

A note from the Accidental Chef: Stuffed peppers traditionally calls for rice instead of quinoa.  You may substitute rice or another grain of your preference.  If you use rice, the recipe is still gluten-free.

Kitchen Table Talk…

Have you ever experimented with a family favorite recipe?  If you try one of my recipes, please let me know what you thought by sharing a comment in the area below.  Or if you like this post, share it with your friends and family through your favorite social media service.

There was a gorgeous eggplant in the produce section of the grocery store today.  I had gone in wanting to pick up some ribs for dinner and came out with a load of veggies and a new inspiration for tonight’s meal.  One of the things I love about making pasta dishes is that they’re so quick to make.  Most take less than 15 minutes, including prep time.  As a busy business owner, I’m always short on prep time.  And even though I love to cook, there are days when it’s tough to find even fifteen minutes to spend in the kitchen.  This meal took about 15 minutes to prepare.  Gotta luv that!

Rustic Veggies with Pasta

1 medium eggplant, cubed into 1″ cubes
2 medium zucchini, sliced
1 whole orange pepper, sliced into thin rings
1 whole garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
12 whole kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
cooked pasta

Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in large heavy skillet and heat over medium heat.  Add spices, garlic, peppers and zucchini to skillet and cook just until they begin to soften, about five minutes, turning occasionally.  Add cubed eggplant and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, just until eggplant is done.  Add canned tomatoes, stir and let simmer for about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in sliced olives, put mixture into large serving pasta bowl.  Toss with hot cooked pasta (I used rice rotini pasta as it’s gluten free).  Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.  Yum!

For a heartier meal, you can add sausage or chicken.  Cube chicken and cook separately.  Set aside and then use the same skillet to cook your vegetables.  When you add the eggplant to the dish, add your chicken or sausage back in and continue with the rest of the recipe.

Kitchen Table Talk…

If you try one of my recipes, please let me know what you thought by sharing a comment in the area below.  Or if you like this post, share it with your friends and family through your favorite social media service.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Here are some more Mexican inspired treats for your Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Sausage and Potato Quesadillas

1 pound fresh chorizo or other sausages, casings removed
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 6-inch flour tortillas
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
2 cups Monterey jack, grated

Heat the oven to 425°F. In a large nonstick frying pan, cook the sausage over moderately high heat, breaking it up with a fork, until browned, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the sausage from the pan. Pour off the fat from the pan.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pan over moderate heat. Add the potato, 1/2 teaspoon of the paprika, and the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes.

For each tortilla, put half of the sausage, potato, onion, cilantro, and cheese on the tortillas, spreading the ingredients all the way to the edge, and top with another tortilla. Repeat with the remaining sausage, potato, onion, cilantro, and cheese and cover with the remaining four tortillas.

Brush the tops of the quesadillas with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon paprika. Put the quesadillas on a baking sheet and bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.

Roasted Red and Green Pepper Quesadillas

4 whole poblano peppers
2 large red peppers
1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
16 (8-inch) soft-taco-size flour tortillas
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
5 ripe avocados
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt

Preheat broiler. In broiling pan lined with foil, arrange poblanos and red peppers in single layer. Broil 15 to 20 minutes or until blackened all over, turning occasionally to evenly blacken. Wrap peppers in foil; let cool.

Toss onion and tomatoes with oil until coated in a baking dish or pan; arrange in single layer. Broil 12 to 15 minutes or until onion is brown and tomatoes begin to burst, stirring once. Remove from broiler and cool in pan. Reset oven control to 200°F. Remove peppers from foil; peel off skin and discard. Remove and discard stems and seeds; finely chop peppers.

Prepare quesadillas: Arrange 8 tortillas in single layer. Divide Monterey Jack, cilantro, and chopped peppers among tortillas. Top with remaining tortillas.

Heat 10-inch skillet on medium until hot. Place one assembled quesadilla in skillet and cook 1 to 3 minutes or until bottom browns. Carefully turn and cook 1 to 3 minutes or until bottom browns. Transfer to clean large cookie sheet and place in oven. Repeat until all quesadillas are cooked.

Prepare guacamole: Cut avocados in half. Remove and discard seeds and peel, then transfer to large serving bowl. Add lime juice, onion and tomatoes, and ½ teaspoon salt. Using potato masher or fork, mash until just slightly chunky. Makes 5 cups guacamole.

Cut each quesadilla into sixths, and serve with guacamole on the side.

Cubano Quesadillas

Here’s one for the kids…. I make it at the cottage for my nephews often (usually omitting the dill pickle).

8 (6-inch) low-fat flour tortillas
1/4 cup yellow mustard
4 ounces thinly sliced Black Forest ham
8 slices sandwich-cut dill pickle
4 ounces thinly sliced roast pork from the deli
4 ounces thinly sliced part-skim Swiss cheese

Prepare outdoor grill for direct grilling on medium.

Brush 1 side of each tortilla with mustard. Evenly divide ham, pickles, pork, and cheese on 4 tortillas. The kids can help with assembly of the quesadillas. Top with remaining tortillas, pressing firmly.

With large metal spatula, place quesadillas on hot grill grate and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until tortillas on both sides are browned and Swiss cheese melts, carefully turning quesadillas over once. Transfer quesadillas to large cutting board; let stand 1 minute. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges to serve.

Kitchen Table Talk…

If you try one of my recipes, please let me know what you thought by sharing a comment in the area below.  Or if you like this post, share it with your friends and family through your favorite social media service.

I’m having my sister over for dinner on Good Friday.  We had planned to be at dad’s place for dinner but he has other plans.  Not to be swayed, I invited her over to my place for dinner.  We typically don’t eat meat on Good Friday and had planned to make fish for dinner at dad’s place.  My house, my menu: so we’ll be having beans instead.  It’s my honeyman’s family recipe: a Macedonian favorite!  I’ll probably substitute white kidney beans in place of the lima beans as that’s what I have on hand but the recipe traditionally calls for lima beans.  Enjoy!

Baked Lima Beans

1 pound lima beans
2 quarts water
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 large green pepper, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 cup stewed tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon mint
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Soak beans overnight in cold water.  Pour off water and place in large saucepan.  Add 2 quarts water and bring to a boil.  Reduce to medium heat.  Boil for approximately 1 1/2 hour until beans are tender, stirring occasionally.  Drain beans and place in a casserole or roasting pan.

Saute onion, pepper and garlic in oil until soft.  Add tomatoes, paprika and salt.  Continue to cook for an additional ten minutes.  Pour fried vegetables over the beans and mix well.  Add enough water so that beans are not quite covered.  Sprinkle with pepper and mint and bake at 300F for about 1 hour.

Kitchen Table Talk…

If you try one of my recipes, please let me know what you thought by sharing a comment in the area below.  Or if you like this post, share it with your friends and family through your favorite social media service.

Yesterday was my Daddy’s birthday.  In honor of the day, I thought I would post a few recipes from the region where my dad was born: Veneto. Other than pasta, risotto is one of the most famous of Italian foods.
Risotto is a specific way of cooking rice. To make a true risotto, the rice must first be cooked in olive oil or butter.

The rice must be stirred so that it is evenly coated with the oil or butter, and cooked until it starts to become translucent. Another hallmark of a great risotto – the creaminess comes from the cooking process, not by adding heavy cream to the recipe (as I was just served in a restaurant last week). The famous texture of the risotto is achieved by adding the broth slowly (and I mean slowly, one spoonful at a time is traditional). The joke around my kitchen is that there’s a lot of love in risotto.

Authentic Wild Mushroom Risotto

Although a variety of wild mushrooms are often featured in traditional Venetian fare, I use what I can find easily at the grocery store: porcini, shitake and cremini, but any type of mushroom will do.  I don’t remember if my mum ever made risotto when I was growing up.  I’m sure she must have but I really don’t remember.

1 pound portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 pound wild mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 whole shallots, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a saucepan, warm broth over low heat.

Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  A large electric skillet also works well for this recipe.  Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.  Remove mushrooms and their liquid, and set aside.

Add remaining tablespoon olive oil or butter to skillet, and stir in the shallots.  Saute until translucent. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When the rice has taken on a pale, golden color, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add 1/2 cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is nearly absorbed. Continue adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is al dente.  You may not use all of the stock called for in the recipe.  The amount of liquid requires varies based on your cooking temperature and the age of your rice (older rice tends to require more liquid).  The rice will take about 25 minutes to reach the desired texture but again, cooking temperature and age of rice will be a factor.  The only way to truly judge if the rice is ready is to taste it.  It should be firm but tender to the tooth (al dente).

Once the rice is al dente, remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid and parmesan.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pair with red wine (Amarone is my favorite Venetian wine) and serve.

This recipe yields 6 servings (1 cup servings)

Venetian Fusili with Peas, Bacon & Ricotta

The Veneto region is known for its heavier fare and beans are a common ingredient.  One of my favorite dishes growing up was pasta e fagioli, made with beans (fagioli) that we grew in our backyard garden.  Or maybe I just thought we grew them in our garden because my mum and I would sit on the back porch and shell a bushell of beans.  One of my least favorite dishes was pasta with peas and yet as the head of my own kitchen, ironically, it’s the one dish I make quite often.  My mum would use ham instead of bacon and I don’t think she would add ricotta but here is my version of a recipe from my childhood.

1 cup frozen peas
2 cups fusilli pasta (I use rice fusilli for a gluten-free variation)
6 strips of bacon
3/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese, crumbled

Cook peas in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 1 minute or until bright green. Drain and set aside.

Cook pasta, following packet directions, until just tender. Drain. Return pasta to saucepan.

Meanwhile, cook bacon in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp.

Add bacon, peas, ricotta, and salt and pepper to pasta. Toss over low heat until well combined. Spoon into serving bowls. Serve.

Kitchen Table Talk…

If you try one of my recipes, please let me know what you thought by sharing a comment in the area below.  Of if you like this post, share it with your friends and family through your favorite social media service.

I don’t remember my mum making minestrone when I was growing up but I do remember a very close friend of the family making the best soups and minestrone was always one of my favorites. The temperature dipped below freezing today and i needed a good hearty soup to warm me up so I decided to whip up a batch of minestrone. In true Accidental Chef fashion, I made the recipe up as I went along. I used gluten-free macaroni noodles for the pasta (made out of rice flour) that added a nice richness to the broth. When Romana makes the soup, she soaks the dry pasta in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes before adding the pasta (minus the soak water) to the pot.

Minestrone Soup

1 clove garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 small can tomato paste (I didn’t have any so I used tomato soup instead)
4 large tomatoes, diced
1 whole zucchini, sliced
1 cup cooked beans (I used Romano beans)
1 cup macaroni pasta (I used gluten-free), uncooked
1 cup spinach
8 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot on medium. Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Saute until the onions are soft.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, spinach, zucchini and beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients except parsley, cook until pasta is done to taste.

Add parsley a minute before serving.

Accidental Chef’s Note: There is no end to the variations of this soup. You can substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth to make this a vegetarian meal. You can add tiny meatballs. You can even use rice instead of pasta and any variety of vegetables. Feel free to experiment!

I’m a big fan of sushi. I have a standing date with an old friend once a month to get together and get out fill of Sushi. When I discovered the raw food diet a few years ago, I thought my Sushi days would be over. However, I soon stumbled across a great recipe for Raw Sushi that turned my taste buds on WOW! Over the years, I’ve seen other recipes and in true Accidental Kitchen style, I’ve mixed and matched to make my own tempting version that appeals to even the pickiest “meat eating” palates.

Raw Sushi

1 cup soaked sunflower seeds
1/2 small spanish onion
2 whole stalks celery (optional)
2 medium carrots
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 whole jalapeno
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped into match sticks
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and chopped into match sticks
1/2 cup zucchini, peeled and chopped into match sticks
1/2 cup carrot, chopped into match sticks
6 to 8 sheets nori

Combine sunflower seeds, onion, carrots, lemon juice, jalapeno, pepper and olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth.

To assemble the nori rolls, I suggest that you purchase a bamboo mat. You can get them at any Asian grocer or a gourmet kitchen supply store like Williams Sonoma (though check your local Asian market first as they’re likely to have a better price!). Lay your mat in front of you and arrange all your ingredients for easy access. You will also need a small bowl of water to moisten the nori sheet as they can tear as you’re rolling them if they are too dry.

Place a nori sheet on your bamboo mat, lining up the edge of your nori with the mat. Dip your finger tips in water and moisten about 1/2 inch of the long edge of the nori sheet that is closest to you. Begin to assemble your sushi by spreading a thin layer of the sunflower mixture (about 1 1/2 inch in width) on your nori. Be sure to leave the 1/inch closest to you blank – without any spread or vegetables.

Line your nori sheet with a few sticks of your vegetables. Place them directly on your sunflower spread and use as many as desired.

Once you’re satisfied with your filling, carefully roll the edge of the nori closest to you over the mixture. You’ll be using the bamboo sheet to help you form your roll. Be sure to tuck any stray vegetables in and squeeze them toward the center of the roll you are creating so that you’ll be able to easily complete one turn of your nori and create a seal with the moistened nori. Your first roll should be about 1 1/2″. You can reshape the sushi roll by laying the bamboo mat across it and squeezing it gently to create a tighter roll or even out any bumps or lumps in the cigar like roll you’ve created.

Using a sharp knife with moistened blade (be sure to re-wet between each cut), gently cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut slowly to avoid tearing the nori. Continue with the rest of the nori pieces, spread and vegetables until all rolls are complete.

If you’re not a fan of the nori sheets or have trouble finding them, you can substitute peeled zucchini. Peel the zucchini and slice thinly with a mandolin or vegetable peeler. Place one slice on a plate, add a dollop of the sunflower spread to a one inch section of zucchini and assemble one match stick of each vegetable desired. No need to moisten the zucchini as it should already be fairly moist. Roll as above. As your zucchini slices will already be about one inch thick, there will be no need to cut into bite-sized pieces. You’ll be forming each individual piece so you’ll need to cut your match stick vegetables into smaller pieces before you begin so that they don’t stick too far out of the top of the zucchini roll.

Serve with soya sauce if desired. If any of your guests are gluten intolerant you’ll want to make sure the soya sauce you select is gluten-free. The zucchini rolls could be served with a home made salad dressing or eaten plain.

Enjoy!

As featured in the Healthy Salad Dressings ebook compiled by Deborah Carraro

This creamy, filling dressing is delicious and much healthier than the old version, and has helped keep my family and friends RAW! A tasty treat for special occasions.

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup raw, organic tahini
2-4 Tablespoons cold-pressed, organic flax/hemp or olive oil (optional) OR mashed Avocado
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 inch ginger, grated, optional for added zest!
Celtic sea salt, Nama Shoyu or olives to taste for newbies OR powdered dulse and kelp for black belt Raw Fooders

Blend, stir or shake until mixed.  Use immediately, or store in an air-tight jar for 3 days.  Garnish with a pinch of ground flax seeds for a ‘parmesan cheese’ effect if desired.  Serve with a generous helping of bliss!  Enjoy!

The Accidental Chef is back!  Not that I have had any time off from nightly KP Duty but somehow got hung up n the fact that I never seem to have my camera handy when I’m at my most creative moments in the kitchen.  No picture meant no recipe posted for you to enjoy.  Good thing I got over myself

So I’m back in my virtual kitchen ready to share my experiments with you.  Enjoy!

My neighbor plants a garden every year and I’m often the beneficiary of the overflow.  Leek is in season!  And there is plenty to share.

Nothing tastes better than vegetables fresh from the garden.  I went over this morning (in the rain) and harvested four stalks of leek for the potato leek soup I have been craving all week.

The side tonight was stuffed mushroom caps, suggested by my honeyman.  I had never made stuffed mushroom caps but figured my kitchen was ripe for an accidental recipe so I set to work.  You’ll find some unique ingredients listed, I used what I had on hand rather than searching for a recipe for stuffed mushrooms.

Fresh From The Garden Leek Soup

4 large stalks of leek, cleaned and dark green sections removed
5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned and chopped into 1-inch cubes (peeling is optional)
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
A dash of paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon of chopped chives

Melt the butter in a 6-quart pot.  Chop the leeks and sauté  with the spices for approximately five minutes, taking care not to burn your spices.  Add the chicken stock and potatoes and bring to a boil then reduce to medium-low heat.  Cover and let gently simmer for approximately 1 to 1.5 hours or until potatoes have softened and the broth has thickened from the starch from the potatoes and the broth has reached your desired consistency.

Traditional potato leek soup is pureed until smooth at this point and a cup or two of heavy cream is added to the puree.  I prefer my potatoes left whole and no other flavors dampening the flavor of the leeks.  To add the cream, turn off the heat and puree the potatoes with an immersion blender until smooth.  Stir in the cream.  Taste and adjust seasonings as required.

Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve.

Virgin Mushroom Caps

1/2 pound large mushrooms
3 tablespoons of butter
2 whole shallots, finely diced
1/4 cup pepperoni, finely diced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped baby spinach
1/4 cup gluten free rice crumbs (or 1/2 cup bread crumbs)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup old cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Wash the mushrooms. Pop stem out.  Chop stems and set aside. Melt 1 tablespoons butter; brush over mushrooms.  Spray a shallow baking dish (about 8-inch square, or one which will fit mushrooms in one layer) with butter-flavored spray or grease with butter.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet.  Chop green onions; combine with reserved chopped mushroom stems, pepperoni and garlic. (Note: I used pepperoni because it was what I had on hand.  My original thought was to use bacon but I did not have any.)  Add to skillet along with the spinach; sauté until tender.  Remove from heat and transfer to small mixing bowl.  Add bread crumbs (or rice crumbs if you require a gluten-free variant), salt, and pepper and cheeses to vegetable mixture; stir well.

Fill each mushroom cap with a little of the stuffing, mounding up.  Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes, until mushroom caps are tender.