The Boy and I are on our annual, traditional vacation. Every year since he was five, we have taken a trip together. We take turns picking location. This year was his turn. Seeing as he just graduated high school, I offered to take him anywhere (not requiring a passport; long story). I offered Hawaii, New England, an Alaskan cruise... Pick.
He chose renting a house somewhere and just hanging out. There's a teenager for ya. I asked where, what kind of environment, what activities would we do... No ideas. Just thought it'd be cool to rent a house somewhere. So I set to work investigating. I researched places all over California; places we had not already been, that allowed us to take the dogs, but had stuff to do.
Where did we end up? Mendocino. And it is a beautiful, relaxing, gorgeous, perfect place! We rented a quirky, little 1880's house with an ocean view, a fenced yard that allowed small dogs, had a kitchen so I could fix all sort of special treats, and a private hot tub on the deck. We arrived yesterday and all I can say is, "Ahhhhh....."
Front gate and garden path between the buildings of the vacation house.
So, I decided to tell our vacation story through the food. My favorite part of any vacation is the food whether it been fancy restaurants, local delicacies, or home cooked treats. This trip allows for the wonderful mix of local restaurants and good home cooking. Plus, cooking in a strange kitchen with who knows what equipment and pantry items is an adventure in and of itself.
Our first evening we arrived was Stuffed Homegrown Zucchini.
Stuffed Homegrown Zucchini
1 large zucchini (Remember those pics I posted a few days ago? We
brought those with us)
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 large onion, diced
2 t olive oil
Crushed garlic to taste
2 8oz can of flavored tomato sauce (whatever flavors you like; I
used one can of Mexican flavored tomato sauce
and one of basil, oregano tomato sauce. Part of
this was out of necessity for me since I am
cooking in a kitchen not my own. I don't have
the herbs and spices I usually have available
to use. If you like, you can use one 16 oz can
of tomato sauce and just add your own flavors)
16oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup bread crumbs
DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Saute the diced onions in a small amount of olive oil until they are translucent, about 5 minutes over medium heat. Then add the ground turkey and crushed garlic. I used quite a bit, 2 tablespoons, but you can add as you like. Cook until the meat is cooked through
2) Meanwhile, slice the large zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out the inside pulpy part with seeds. Leave the firmer, fleshy portion, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick all the way around.
3) Add one of the flavored cans of tomato sauce. I used the Mexican spiced can I bought. Stir in well and cook down until most of the liquid is gone. Next drain some of the liquid from the canned diced tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the pan.
4) I made coarse breadcrumbs from the crusty ends of a baguette I purchased from the local market. This kitchen doesn't have a food processor so I had to make do with what I could manage by hand. If I had been home, I would have used either homemade bread crumbs from my freezer I had ground in the food processor at some previous date, or canned pre-prepared breadcrumbs (but a whole can wasn't worth buying for one little recipe on a vacation.)
Add these to the pan of ground turkey and tomatoes. Stir in and remove from the heat.
5) Fill each zucchini half with the mixture. Spoon the other can of flavored tomato sauce over top. (If desired, you could add cheese to the top part way through the cooking. Parmesan or mozzarella would be good.)
Bake in the oven at 375 until the zucchini is tender, about 45-60 minutes. Times will very based on the size of the zucchini.
View from the backyard. Hanging out on the deck
while waiting for the stuffed zucchini to bake.
6) Remove from oven. Slice and serve with green salad and crusty bread.
INGREDIENTS FOR PANCAKES
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