Recipe & Food ideas from our kitchen...

Friday, October 15, 2010

Yesterday in the Kitchen....

Yesterday we used up all the Zucchinis we picked the other day  by making some bulk Zucchini & tomato sauce....  
Please note that I make recipes up as I go even when I am supposed to be following one.... ; )»
No 2 batches of sauce are ever the same....
                                                               Zucchini Sauce....



  • 3 medium onions Cut in ½ then sliced thinly
  • 4 large cloves of Garlic crushed
  •  Approximately 1 kg of Zucchini sliced lengthways then into 1.5cm chunks
  • 500grams of Mushrooms chopped
  • 3x 400g tins of diced tomatoes
  • 375g jar of tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp dried Oregano
  • ½ tsp Dried Thyme
  • 2 tsp dried Basil
  • 300g jar of grilled Peppers chopped (I ran out of time & capsicum to make my own so raided the pantry)
- Cook off onions & garlic in some oil (We use Rice Bran due to the high smoke point & added health benefits)
- Add mushrooms & Zucchini.. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally so as not to burn 
- Add the tins of Tomato, paste, roasted Capsicum, dried herbs & bring to the boil for 5 minutes
- Simmer for 2 hours to reduce liquid..

This made up 2.8 Kg of sauce which I split into 4 lots... from this we can split a lot in ½ to use as a sauce or a whole bag as a base for a main meal..


I blitz it with the stick blender to use as a Bolognese sauce base, as a chunky sauce on sausages or steak, mixed through some pasta with extra flavourings then topped with cheese/bread crumb mix as a pasta bake, & B's Favourite, a sauce for a Chicken Parmigiana with Colby or Wauchope (Just a friendly reminder MUM !!! : )») cheese  grilled on top.....

 Also made a very tasty stuffed Zucchini for dinner..... (Don't faint Mum)

                                                      Stuffed Zucchini/Marrow...
  • 1 Large Zucchini Halved Sliced length ways & seeds scooped out (Feed to the worms)
  • 3 slices of Shortcut Bacon Diced Finely
  •  2 small-Medium onions Diced finely
  • 300 g of mushroom Diced small
  • 2 large cloves of Garlic Crushed
  • 1 stalk of Celery Diced finely
  • ¼ red Capsicum Diced Finely
  • 2 Tblsp Tomato paste (didn't use the Tomatoes)
  • 400g of Beef mince (Pork or Sausage would be just as good me thinks)
  • Master Foods African Spice blend (You can use your favourite Spice or herb blend)
  • Grated cheese
- Bake sliced Zucchini halves in oven at 180°C for 20 Minutes.. I checked after 10 just to make certain that it didn't go to soft..
- Fry off Onion, Garlic, Mushroom & Bacon until most of the Mushroom liquid has evaporated..
- Add Celery, Capsicum, Tomato paste & mince..
- Add Spice/Herb mix to taste & cook until mice is browned..
- Take Zucchini from oven & remove any pooled Liquid...
- Stuff Zucchini with mixture, top with grated Cheese n& grill until browned.
Enjoy...... We did !!!

You could easily turn this into a vegetarian recipe by using Eggs, Rice, Quinoa or even oats if desired.....
Next one I make will be a Vego one with Quinoa, Olives, sundried Tomato slithers Danish Feta & Spinach....


Also made up a batch of Vanilla Sweetener for my Sister.. She has been trapped at home for nearly a month with multiple cases of Chicken Pox & is the only one not to fall ill so far...
I think she needs a pick me up (Bit of an understatement there me thinks) & know how she loves her Vanilla Coffee....
                                                      Vanilla Sweetener...

4 beans were sliced lengthways & their seeds were scraped out & placed in a Mini Blender with about ¼ cup of Xylotol.. (I did the same with white sugar for myself)
That was Blitzed until the seeds were evenly distributed through the Xylotol..


The mix was then removed & stirred through the remaining sweetener & placed back in the jar along with the pods... Best to leave it for a few weeks to let the flavour spread through the Sweetener..                 This was dropped off with some extra beans for her to play with...
I couldn't wait & have already used some in coffee for B☼ & Myself.... Subtle but still Lush...
I got the beans from a supplier on eBay... 250g of Madagascan Beans for $39 delivered... There are larger volumes available that make it cheaper if you use it a lot... I will be Buying some Vodka & experimenting with making our own essence in the near future....

Must go Make the evening's Nosh..
Have a great one all....
: )»

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