Mushroom-Stuffed Zucchini

After too many meals using pre-packaged junk and too much restaurant fare (thanks to unrelenting morning sickness triggered in part by cooking smells), we're finally back to what hubby refers to as "real food."

Today's lunch consisted of tomato-cucumber-avocado sandwiches on freshly-baked honey wheat bread, baby carrots and celery sticks w/ garlic hummus, and mushroom-stuffed zucchini. Now, plain as the sandwiches may sound, they're practically deserving of their own entry -- definitely a quick-fix staple in our kitchen. But the zucchini stole the show. How do I know? Well, hubby isn't generally much of a squash person. He'll eat it (in small quantities), but has never been known to seek it out. Today, though, he asked for seconds.

To begin, I took three moderately-sized zucchini (about 1" in diameter by about 8" long) and steamed them, along with a solitary yellow squash, for 15 minutes. As soon as the timer went off, I plunged all the squash in icy cold water to stop the cooking process. Then, I split the zucchini in half vertically and scooped out the seeds.

That done, I made a mushroom stuffing with sausage overtones:

Using a $5 electric food chopper, I minced the following:

6 oz. mushrooms
1/4 cup red onion
2 cloves fresh garlic

I then sauteed the above mix in 1 tsp. basil-infused olive oil + 1 tsp. of grapeseed oil.

As the mix cooked, I added ...

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. rubbed sage
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (could have used more, but Hubster isn't into overly-spicy food)

While all the above cooked down, I pureed the yellow squash in the aforementioned food chopper and finely shredded about 1/2 cup carrot.

I then mixed the pureed yellow squash, the carrot, the cooked mushroom mixture, 2/3 c. seasoned bread crumbs, 1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast, and a good 1/2 tsp. of Herbamore (vegetable-infused salt).

Lastly, I stuffed the mixture into the scooped-out zucchini shells and stuck the now-stuffed zucchini in a 350 degree oven for about twenty minutes. Relatively simple and oh-so-good!

Mock Tuna Salad

Tuna isn't necessarily one of hubby's favorite foods, but ranks pretty high on his preferred food list. I, on the other hand, am not fond of seeing or smelling the stuff, much less preparing it for him. So during his last 24-hour shift, I decided to experiment.

Now, there's not really to duplicate the texture of tuna, and I'm not sure I'd care to even if I could. But hubby has already been converted to a veggie-rich version of tuna salad, so I figured if I could approximate the overall flavor combination he's used to, I'd be headed in the right direction. So ...

NOT-Tuna Salad

1 can chick peas, partially mashed (I used a potato masher to get them to the desired consistency)
1 c. celery, minced
1/3 c. red onion, minced
1/4 green bell pepper, minced
2 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish
1 Tbsp. organic mayonnaise
juice of 1/2 lemon
dash of vegan worcestershire sauce
generous sprinkle of Garlic 'n' Herb Mrs. Dash
even more generous sprinkle of Old Bay Seasoning
~ 1/2 tsp. Dulce flakes (kelp powder would have been better)
salt and pepper (or lemon pepper) to taste

All in all, NOT a bad combination. Whether Hubster goes for it remains to be seen, however. Between my lunch and my dinner, this whole batch disappeared.