Zucchini, Asparagus and Bean Salad

My favourite part about summer is the produce. Summer is when the best tasting fruits become ripe and the vegetables become more affordable. This summer is especially great because we are reaping the rewards of our first vegetable garden.

Eeeek!

The plant with one massive zucchini and several smaller ones

Summer is also the time to get excited for BBQs. There are few things better than basking in the evening sun to the sound of sizzling meats with a cold beverage in your hand.

Peeling the zucchini

If, like me, you have recently learned that a BBQ without vegetables is a tad uncouth, I suggest you give this recipe a try. 

Please don't be put off by the name of this salad. It may sound boring but I assure you, it is the perfect side for any BBQ you are sure to have in this stonking hot weather. 

This is one of my favourites because it requires minimal preparation.  The yoghurt brings a creaminess to the salad without being too heavy while the honey helps to accentuate the sweetness of the vegetables. The vegetables are also in season so it's pretty light on the pocket too!

Have you broken out the BBQ yet? What are some of your go to sides?

Zucchini, Asparagus and Bean Salad
A Lucyeats Original

Ingredients:

2 medium sized zucchinis, ends cut off
1 bunch of asparagus (about 10-15 stalks)
1 large handful of green beans
Greek yoghurt
Runny honey

Method:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the zucchini into thin ribbons and arrange on a plate
2. Cut the woody ends off the asparagus and the stringy bits off the ends of the beans
3. Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the asparagus and beans for 3 minutes
4. Remove the vegetables and plunge into ice cold water to stop the cooking process
5. Drain the vegetables and place on top of the zucchini
6. Place dollops of Greek yoghurt atop the salad and drizzle with runny honey

Chicken and Sesame Cakes

So we're about halfway through the fit24 challenge at work and, I have to say, it's not as easy as I thought it would be. Just to recap, this is a well-being challenge my work has put out to all employees to complete the following tasks for 24 days this month:

1. At least 7 hours sleep
2. At least 10,000 steps
3. No sugar

As I expected, the sleeping was the easiest challenge for me as I rarely get less than 8 hours but was quite surprising to see that many of my co-workers struggled to get the required hours at the beginning! This challenge has forced them (well, some of them) to make small steps towards shaking the bad habit of working into the night and making sleep a priority in their lives.

Pictured: most of the ingredients

Getting 10,000 steps while working in the office was a little harder. Most of us were aware that office based jobs offer little in the way of physical activity, but never realised how inactive we were at work. 

Research shows that completing 10,000 steps a day dramatically reduces the risk of developing lifestyle illnesses such as obesity and cardiovascular disease.

During our trials with our pedometers, a group of us measured less than 3,000 steps each during work hours and I only managed 6,500 when I took an hour long site visit. On average, about 10 minutes of physical activity equates to 1,000 steps so fulfilling this challenge was great motivation to get out off our butts! I've also used this as an opportunity to explore cycle ways around Auckland with Jason.

At the office, we've been having lunches away from the office (which is a nice incentive to try new places), trialing walking meetings and using the stairs instead of the elevators. I'm also more keen to get up to change the channel instead of asking Jason to pass me the remote (yes.. I'm very lazy sometimes).

By far the hardest challenge for everyone is the sugar ban. We were given a list of foods that needed to go, which includes the obvious things like sugar, honey, desserts but also dried fruit, certain sauces and dressings, fruit juice and "low-fat" products which contain a surprising amount of sugar when you check out the nutritional information. Any item with more than 10g sugar per 100g must go.

Most people have had to rethink their workplace snacks as museli bars and chocolate biscuits are no longer viable. Instead, I have seen them replaced with mixed nuts, rice crackers and, my favourite, cheese and crackers. I've been eating mandarins and grapes when I feel like a sweet hit.

This, so far, has been working for me but I would be lying if I said I hadn't used any of the 6 cheat days we are allowed (I allow myself dessert once a week when we visit Jason's parents). One of my poor Japanese co-workers can no longer make teriyaki chicken at home because of the amount of sugar contained in the sauce :(

My favourite part about this challenge, so far, is how much great discussion it creates around the workplace. I love hearing new ways people have managed to complete their 10,000 steps and the woes of no longer being able to have dessert after dinner.

Coming at a close second, is cooking without sugar at home. This recipe is something I actually made at the beginning of this year and have only just gotten around to posting. These Chicken and Sesame Cakes make for an incredibly easy and light lunch or a very yummy party snack.

Has anyone else tried to go sugar free? What about taking on a difficult challenge?

Chicken and Sesame Cakes (makes 16 patties)

Ingredients:

500g chicken mince
1/2 cup fresh coriander (have some extra as garnish)
2 Tbs sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 zucchini
1 red chili
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs sesame oil
1/2 Tbs white pepper (I used black pepper because I couldn't find white pepper..)
Oil for frying



Method:

1. Grate your zucchini and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Discard the liquid.
2. Put grated zucchini into a bowl with all the other ingredients and mix together with your hands. If the mixture is a too wet, add some breadcrumbs.
3. Divide the mixture into 16 balls and flatten them slightly to get a disc shape.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set the shape.
5. Heat some oil in a frying pan and add the patties, frying for about 5 minutes on each side until they are golden on the outside and completely cooked through.
6. Serve with rice and a cool salad.

Note: the mixture can be divided up into smaller balls as a party snack with sweet chili sauce for dipping

Randomiser 1.0

My parents got me an iPhone for my 21st birthday so, naturally, I went about downloading all the apps I could find. I now have a 6 categories on my homepage: entertainment, language, games, music, photography and, of course, food and drink. 

One of my favourite apps is from Allrecipes AU which has endless amounts of recipes to try and, what sets it apart from the rest, a RECIPE SPINNER!

Dinner spinner (choose categories or let it decide for you!)

Current forecast = Rain. Just rain. And lots of it. 


Since the rain has ruined our plans for a picnic my boyfriend, Jason, and I decided to finally try this gadget out. 

Hmm.. A vegetarian dish including grain that we can make in less than 60minutes..

To be perfectly honest, we spun the randomiser 5 or 6 times before we settled on something we actually wanted for lunch..

Zucchini Fritters!

I love zucchinis. Jason loves fritters. Our decision was made.

Clockwise from top left: Pepper, Salt, Creamed Corn, Milk, Garlic, Onion (pre fried), Italian Herbs, Eggs, Flour, Cheese and ZUCCHINI!

The recipe, itself, is really simple -just get the ingredients into bite sized pieces, mix and then fry -voila! The reviews for this recipe thought the fritters turned  out a bit plain and definitely needed some sort of dipping sauce as an accompaniment. We had it with sour cream and good ol' Watties tomato sauce.

Jason, the pro fry cook

Recipe (courtesy of the spinner): Serves 6, ready in 25 minutes


Ingredients:
-1 large zucchini, grated or finely chopped
-1 small onion, chopped
-1 clove garlic, chopped
-3 eggs, beaten
-1/2 cup grated Romano cheese (we just used tasty cheese.. I don't think it makes a difference)
-1 Tbs chopped parsley
-1 cup milk
-2 cups plain flour
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 Tbs olive oil for frying
* We added 1/2 cup of creamed corn (trust me, it makes it so much better)


Method:
1. In a large bowl, mix together the zucchini, onion, garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, milk and flour. Season with salt and pepper.


2. Heat about 1 Tbs of oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Drop tablespoons of the batter into the frypan, and flatten slightly with the back of a spatula. 

3.Turn fritters over when the center appears cooked. Cook on the other side until golden brown. Set aside and keep warm. Add more oil as needed and continue with remaining batter.

I'm not a fan of onion so I diced it really really finely and then fried it before putting it in the batter.

Finely diced onion. Because biting into raw onion is gross. No one wants that.

Mixed ingredients -looks better in real life.

Flip over when the top starts to bubble

Yummy.

Verdict? Not bad -I definitely agree with the reviews that the fritters were a bit bland but good with sauce. Certainly doesn't deserve the title of the best zucchini fritters.. Maybe "good for a quick lunch" fritters..
Jason thought the zucchini pieces could have been larger and I would have liked a little more corn. 


Maybe you'd like to play around with this recipe and give me any suggestions?


I'm going to the boys' flat for an early Christmas dinner tomorrow so tune in for another randomised dish soon!