Tiffany Goes Travelling

My most recent recipe is Zingy Herbed Squash courtesy of Patti (you are single handedly keeping my food eatable). This is how it goes:

Zingy Herbed Squash

1/4 cup butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp. fresh snipped oregano

1 1/2 tsp. fresh snipped basil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 medium zucchini, sliced thin

1 medium yellow squash, sliced thin

1 large tomato, cut into 8 wedges

1. Place garlic and butter in a microwave safe 2-quart dish and microwave on high until butter melts, about 45 seconds.2.

2. Add all other ingredients except tomato. Toss to cost. Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until squash is tender.

3. Remove from microwave and stir in tomato wedges. Cover. Let stand 2 minutes before serving.

Serves 4

Naturally I had my own spin on this. To start, I neglected to measure anything; and though I tried my best to estimate the correct amount of spices with shakes, I am almost certain I used waaaaaay more salt than recommended. Not a mistake, just to taste.

Also, I have yet to successfully locate a yellow squash, so I used the other half of my yellow turnip. It did not, however, substitute well. The turnip cooks considerably slower than the zucchini, and by the time I’d had it all cooked through, the zucchini was in a rough state. Still good, just rough.

Also, also, the entire time I was cooking I was waiting for the dish I had chosen to explode in the microwave because I was not entirely sure what it was made of or if it was microwave safe, and it had a decorative metal ring on it which sparked in the microwave. All good though! Explosions averted.

Despite my best efforts, this meal was very good and I would make it again, though probably not with turnip. This was very easy to make.

I got a large folder of recipes from my mom-in-law Patti, and today I tried one called Veggie Quesadillas. I had decided to make this recipe the night before, and had therefore been fantasizing about it all night and the following day. So by the end of the day, I had envisioned this meal to be an explosion of flavour par none, thus leaving me with the worry that perhaps I had built it up to unreasonable standards in my mind, and what would have been an otherwise enjoyable meal, would not live up to the fantastic standards I had dreamt it to.

Not so! It was absolutely delicious; even better then I was expecting! This is the recipe:

Veggie Quesadillas

1 small onion, chopped

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced

1 small yellow squash, thinly sliced

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can fat-free refried beans

8 large whole wheat tortillas

1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

1 cup salsa

low-fat sour cream (optional)

1. Coat large skillet with cooking spray and warm over medium heat. Add vegetables and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove vegetable mixture from heat.

2. Spread beans evenly over all eight tortillas. Spoon vegetable mixture evenly on top of the beans on four tortillas. Sprinkle cheese over the vegetables, then top each with one of the remaining tortillas.

3. Place one quesadilla in the skillet. Cover and cook over low heat, turning once, for 5 minutes or until heated thoroughly. Place in 200 degree oven to keep warm and repeat with remaining quesadillas. Cut into wedges and serve with a dollop of low-fat sour cream and salsa.

I had to change a few things. I could not find a yellow squash, so I bought what I presume is a turnip in its place. Turnips are vegetables and kinda yellow, so I think it works. Also, I could not find re-fried beans, so instead, I bought a can of brown beans, and mashed them up. After the first dose of mashing and spreading over the tortilla, it occured to me that perhaps these beans are not cooked. So every batch after that, I microwaved the mashed up beans before spreading them, just in case, and for the first tortilla, I left it to the skillet gods to cook the beans in the pan.

I also did not have sour cream or salsa. I really wanted sour cream, and I looked for it, but I couldn’t find any. I saw salsa, but I thought it was too expensive, so I didn’t buy any. I regreted it later, eating my salsa-less and sour cream-less quesadillas – which were very tasty – but would have been over the moon with sour cream and salsa. It is not too late, I have lots of leftovers, so I can grab some expensive salsa tomorrow.

Here are some pics of my adventures: