I have been in a bit of a food rut lately. It seems like I have been in an endless loop of stir-fry beef with broccoli, ground turkey taco salads, Thai-Basil seafood bouillabaisse and peach-glazed chicken. I had essentially exhausted my go-to cookbooks and my go-to standards and nothing (not one thing) was exciting in the kitchen. I was in an endless loop of: there's nothing here for dinner.
In recent years, I've collected over 250 recipes. Some recipes I try and love and keep. Some I try and hate and toss. My system is to collect favorites - ripped from magazines - and organize them in a three-ring binder. I love the idea of having a custom cookbook just for me! My favorite sources have been Martha Stewart's EVERYDAY FOOD and COOKING LIGHT. I'm also partial to REAL SIMPLE. A few years ago, in order to cut costs, save time and paper, I've quit my subscriptions to all of them.
UNTIL NOW. In my food doldrums, I found the sparkly new EVERYDAY FOOD app for my iPad. I ordered a six-month subscription and within minutes had my hands on a month's worth of doable recipes!
Plus, it is loaded with fun features.I can email recipes to myself, tap empty bowls to reveal secret ingredients or nutritional information, watch videos on how to create a dish and get links to external websites.
Of course, the one dish that I'm currently obsessed with is not actually in this month's edition. It was in a past version of EVERYDAY FOOD that I recently revived from the archives. I've been into winter vegetables and roots and playing with foods like kale, sweet potatoes, carrots and even radicchios. My favorite discovery is stuffed zucchini. There are a cart-load of different stuffings available but I love the simplicity of the squash itself, feta cheese and grape tomatoes.
Here's the recipe I love:
Of course, the one dish that I'm currently obsessed with is not actually in this month's edition. It was in a past version of EVERYDAY FOOD that I recently revived from the archives. I've been into winter vegetables and roots and playing with foods like kale, sweet potatoes, carrots and even radicchios. My favorite discovery is stuffed zucchini. There are a cart-load of different stuffings available but I love the simplicity of the squash itself, feta cheese and grape tomatoes.
Here's the recipe I love:
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini, (6 to 8 ounces each), halved lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- Freshly ground pepper
- 7 1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Using a tablespoon, scoop out zucchini centers to form "canoes," leaving a 1/4-inch border. Roughly chop centers; set aside.
- Arrange zucchini, cut sides down, on a rimmed baking sheet; bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Add onion and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chopped zucchini, and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool slightly. Fold in feta and tomatoes.
- Turn hollowed-out zucchini cut sides up, fill with vegetable-feta mixture, and bake until top is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Lift zucchini from baking sheet with a wide spatula, and serve.
