Italian Zucchini Boats...

Based on the name...perhaps I should call these gondolas??  

I haven't shared a recipe in a while...probably because I haven't been doing much cooking!  Cooking is my love, my escape, my zen place!  Well, one of them!  Anyway, I'm back from New Orleans and Spain and boy do I have the cooking bug.  This recipe was oh so simple, but really delicious!  It's also something that you can definitely modify and make it your own!  This is a vegetarian recipe, but again, meat can always be added for the carnivores out there!!  :)

What You Will Need (to feed 5-6):

1.  6 - 7 hearty sized zucchinis
2.  4 cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced (garlic powder or paste can be substituted, but c'mon...let's keep it real!)
3.  1 can of quartered artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped
4.  2 cans of crushed tomatoes, preferably the ones that already have oregano or garlic flavorings.  (Or if you want to keep it UBER clean, toss some tomatoes and seasonings into your food processor to make your own crushed tomatoes!)  
5.  3 teaspoons of olive oil
6.  Salt and Pepper to taste
7.  1 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs.  I used the panko type for better crunch.
8.  1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps:

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 350.
2.  Line a large baking tray with foil and spray the foil with non-stick spray (optional).
3.  Slice your zucchinis length wise in half (do this as evenly as possible).
4.  Using a spoon, scoop out the pulp of your zucchini halves into a bowl and place zucchini halves on your baking tray.

Your empty zucchini halves will look like this..

5.  In a large, non-stick pan, heat up your olive oil and minced garlic.  
6.  Add the zucchini pulp, chopped artichoke hearts, crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Let simmer for about 15 minutes until some of the juice has evaporated.  This is where you can get creative!  Add onion, oregano, thyme, corn, bacon bits, sausage, shredded carrots...WHATEVER YOUR HEART DESIRES!

7.  Next, ladle the hot filling into zucchini boats! Fill 'em up, don't be shy!

8.  Place filled zucchini boats in the oven for 20 minutes.

9.  After 20 minutes, remove zucchini boats from oven.  Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs all over boats.  

10.  Bake 10-12 more minutes.  Zucchini boats should be tender, but not mushy!  Bread crumbs and cheese should appear toasty!  Mmmmm!

11.  Serve this with a spinach salad to keep it green and low carb!  ENJOY and don't forget the vino!!!

Vaughan Town

This is going to be a short entry as the schedule at the language school is grueling and exhausting.  But make no mistake...there is no negative connotation with either of those adjectives.  It is grueling and exhausting in the most gratifying way!  It is Tuesday afternoon...we’ve only been at it for two and a half days, but it seems like two and a half weeks!  Again, I don’t mean this in a negative way.  This concept of putting Anglos and Spaniards together for hours on end only speaking English is the most difficult, complicated, rewarding, interesting and gratifying experience!  There are 14 Anglos (this refers to the English speaking volunteers) and 14 Spaniards.  Our Anglos are mostly from the U.S. or the U.K.  I believe we have one Anglo from Australia and one woman who is Polish, but speaks English well enough to be a volunteer.  Our Spaniards are from all over Spain, some from big cities such as Madrid and some from tiny villages.  In my last post I spoke about feeling nervous about this experience.  The unknown can be scary!  And even now, two days in, I still feel nervous in certain situations, especially with the Spaniards who don’t speak English very well.  Those one on one sessions are difficult!  Furthermore, the second night we were here I was asked to get up and sing a song (California Dreamin’) because I made the mistake of mentioning that I like to sing.  HA!!  However, this is one of those situations that you just need to jump in feet first.  And it has been such a pleasure so far!  Often when you visit a foreign place you don’t really get to know the people of that place.  You sign up for tours (which are usually with other tourists) or you hoof around the area on foot with your family or companion!  But this situation is truly giving me the opportunity to get to know the people of Spain and this is so exciting!  On a more logistical note, the rooms are lovely, the location is beautiful and rural, and the food is pretty good!  We sit down for three meals a day, and two of them are served as three course meals! Unlimited wine served with lunch and dinner!  It’s so nice!  More details and thoughts later, but so far I am SO happy!  One of the leaders has already spoken to me about coming to Spain permanently to teach English.  I guess it’s true that with the more risks you take, the more possibilities arise!  

We Have Nothing To Fear...But Fear Itself...Unless, Of Course, You Are Lost in a Foreign City!

This is my 19th night away from home and I’m struggling tonight.  I feel really homesick and I just have a general feeling of discomfort.  Nervous stomach, unable to sleep, headachey, etc.  I’m in this really odd hotel a bit outside of the city center, and just now I was sitting out on the patio hearing the cars go by and feeling a bit dishelveled.  Tomorrow I board the bus to Gredos for my week at the language school and I’m sure this is contributing to my weird feelings today.  I don’t fully know what to expect, what I’m walking into, how I will do speaking to Spaniards for hours on end, how the food will be, how well I will be able to sleep, etc.  While I’m there I don’t think I will have internet access and this makes me nervous.  How ridiculous am I?  There are people in this world who still sleep under thatch roofs in the jungle.  And I’m complaining about the fucking internet?  It’s making me giggle just typing this.  Which in turn is making me feel a bit better.  Yay, thanks blog!  To be honest, I know it would be incredibly healthy to be unplugged for a week.  But I’m just going to come clean and say the whole thing makes me a little nervous.  It’s funny...and PLEASE don’t think I sound conceited saying this...but I often have people tell me they think I’m very courageous. I do NOT say this to sound full of myself.  If you know me well, you know I am far from it.  Ew, cocky people are the worst.  But I guess some people think the things I do are pretty brave and that my life has influenced decisions they have made. I’ve received emails from people telling me about situations in which this happened.  And apparently thinking about what I might do in their situation helped them make the bolder decision that ended with an awesome result.  WHAT!?!  While this is so very flattering, it always catches me off guard because half of the time I walk around feeling pretty anxious about things.  Sometimes I catch myself in the situation that is so completely obscure I am literally chanting “What the hell am I doing?” in my head over and over and just wishing I could be at home on the couch watching Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.  

Let’s use last night as an example.  After the Flamenco show (more on that show in another blog) I was starving and looking for something easy to eat.  After walking several blocks I found myself in a totally unfamiliar area of Madrid.  I had accidentally left my guide book at home and my phone died (too many videos of the dancers I think!)  So I’m alone and lost in Madrid at midnight.  Awesome.  It is an insane feeling to feel completely lost in a foreign place, in a sea of people who don’t speak your language, without any tools other than your senses to get you safely home.  Madrid is not as English speaking friendly as Paris, so trying to explain to the taxi driver where my hotel was located was like trying to explain to my students why they are going to need to know cursive some day.  “Because I said so” doesn’t work with a cabbie.  Anyway, after circling around a bit I thought I saw something familiar so I had him drop me off.  Oops, nope.  Not familiar.  Lost again.  Holy cow was I starting to get nervous.  I could actually feel my brain starting to edge toward full blown panic mode.  I started to question myself...what was I doing, why did I take this trip, why did I travel alone, no one else I know is doing this, why do I always get into these crazy situations...blah, blah, blah.  That critical scared voice reared its ugly head.  But then I just sat down on a bench, focused my energy for a second, absorbed some possible outcomes, and decided to embrace the opportunity to explore and hope that my senses would see me home.  And guess what? I was back to my hotel within the hour...stopping first for some crazy delicious street pizza and to watch some dancers perform killer acts in the plaza.  Aw yes, see how it all worked out?  But believe me, it started with “What the hell am I doing?”  Lesson learned, stay calm, stay present, and trust your senses.  And think about how much better this experience was than sitting on the couch watching reruns!  The other lesson learned, keep your darn phone charged while traveling alone in a foreign county.  

I guess I just want to take this opportunity to be really honest about the fact that most of the stuff I do makes me pretty nervous.  Most of the things I have accomplished in my life have not been comfortable.  In fact, most have been difficult and scary and nerve wracking.  I’m kind of a chicken!!  But the decision I have made and tried to stick with is that fear will not stop me.  It will not create unnecessary road blocks.  And I am a firm believer that if you aren’t just the slightest bit uncomfortable, you probably aren’t growing much. So I’d like to think I’m on my way to an enlightened and brave life where fear does not drive my decisions.  There are areas of my life in which I have really implemented this thought process and have truly disallowed fear to inhibit me.  There are certainly other areas where those ugly walls ‘o fear are still stubbornly standing strong and need to be bulldozed.  Working on it.  I love the short and simple quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” This I will most definitely keep doing, for I feel it is the best way to be your absolute best self.  On that note, the knots in my stomach are just a bit looser, my mind feels just a little bit clearer and I think I can now grab a few zzzz’s before I begin my next adventure in the morning.  Thanks for reading.  xo

P.S.  I've included some oh so silly selfies…

Spain is Amazing

It's super hot!

I've been stranded in Madrid in 2 days with only the clothes on my back…making the best of it!!

Trying out the metro…which is only in Spanish

I am SO LOST

VERY VERY LOST….  LOL!!

The Big Easy is Easy to Love

I can’t believe my two weeks in New Orleans is over!  How did that happen?  Time always goes so much faster than you expect when you are enjoying yourself.  And what a lovely time I’ve had.  I’ve definitely learned a few things during my stay in the Big Easy.  For example, as much as I love to cook and as excited as I am to go home and whip up a cajun inspired meal, I definitely do NOT foresee any shrimp peeling attempts in the near future.  When faced with the task of peeling fresh shrimp for gumbo during my cooking class, my reaction was similar to someone who was about to make their first jump out of a plane. It was really quite embarrassing.  I felt shaky and my heart started to race as I willed myself to reach in the bag, pick up a shrimp and rip its head right off.  Good Lord, what a wimp!  My grandmother would be appalled.  :)

To make matters worse, mid shrimp peeling panic attack, I simultaneously had an allergic reaction on my hands.  It was very intense!  The feeling was reminiscent of the time I tripped in my kitchen a few years ago and landed palm down on a hot burner on the stove.  I’m pretty sure flames were lapping around my fingers.  OWWWW!  Luckily, our dear sioux chef doused my hand in milk and it provided almost immediate relief.  I’m sure the third glass of wine didn’t hurt either.  It was strange though.  I have never had any kind of allergic reaction to eating seafood in the past.  I’m really not sure what happened!  Perhaps my shaking hands (symptom of mini break down) were not primed for proper shrimp peeling and I may have given myself microscopic cuts from the shells.  Whatever it was, from this point on it’s pre-peeled shrimp for this California girl.  Despite the mini nervous breakdown and minor allergic reaction, we still had a wonderful time!  I’m so grateful that my cousin Karen was willing to take the class with me!  We made the most divine shrimp and sausage gumbo, exquisite crawfish étouffée, and magical chocolate chip bread pudding with a mocha brandy sauce!  Who’s coming over for dinner next month? 

  

Another thing I’ve learned is that New Orleans has a very distinct scent.  Of course any city is going to have typical metropolitan odors, but this scent I’m referring to is entirely different and most certainly unique.  To capture the scent in words is difficult, but if I had to describe it I would say it was a mixture of a fresh herb garden and well oiled wood furniture.  Perhaps how you might imagine an antique store might smell.  Although I only visited New Orleans a couple of times as a child, I think that smell was retained in my arsenal of olfactory associations, and now as an adult I recognize it in various parts of the city.  It’s a delightful old timey smell that makes me feel very nostalgic.  I love it.

Another lesson.  New Orleans is hot in the summer time.  And humid.  And hot.

Finally, as much as I have a love hate relationship with social media, I will be forever grateful to Facebook for allowing my family to reestablish relationships with our New Orleans family over the last several years.  Growing up I so desperately wished I had cousins in my every day life.  Our little family in California was so tiny.  Small, but mighty was our motto.  Of course I had the knowledge that I had a slew of cousins in New Orleans, but we just didn’t keep in touch with them and I always felt a little bit sad about that.  I will be forever grateful that Facebook has changed that several years ago.  And I know that no matter the distance, our futures will always be tied together and that fills me with utter joy.  It makes me infinitely happy to get to know these lovely people and see all of their talents and personalities.  Not only is this family of mine in New Orleans gorgeous to look at, but their talents are phenomenal and inspiring.  From artists to comedians to social workers to professors to fire captains.  My love grows in abundance and I have cherished this time with you all so very much.  While I may never visit again in the summertime, you can most definitely bet that I will be visiting again soon. :)  xoxo