Vegan Swiss Chard Dolmas with Garlicky Pesto Quinoa

Greek food has a special place in my heart, mainly because every time my mom took me on a mother-daughter outing (and these were few and far-between due to the three brothers in the mix) we would end up eating lunch somewhere she could have a gyro. Being young and culinarily inexperienced, I would always order a cheeseburger from the "American" section of the menu, but mom always let me take bites of her lunch, and I always wished I had ordered that. Aside from the gyro, possibly the most perfect non-sandwich sandwich on the face of the earth, I am grateful to the Greeks for dolmas. Man those things are good!

Yesterday before dashing out the door to a Super Bowl party laden with snacks that I couldn't eat (baked brie, chips, crackers, cookies, etc.) I decided to make something different. I had a hankering for dolmas, none of the necessary ingredients in the fridge, and not much time. I made do.

These could only loosely be called dolmas. They are more of a little bite-sized burrito or something, but whatever the heck they are, they are yummy. This recipe is really quite versatile - you could put anything you want into your quinoa filling depending on what you have on hand and what you are in the mood for. The chard I used is from my garden and was pretty small and tender - larger leaves would have to be cut smaller. Another idea would be to blanch your chard leaves before rolling the quinoa in them - this would be more dolmas-like, and I have done this before. It takes more time and can be a bit of a soggy operation, but still tastes good. I hope you enjoy these!

VEGAN SWISS CHARD DOLMAS WITH GARLICKY PESTO QUINOA

1 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup finely grated green cabbage
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
1/4 - 1/2 C vegan pesto (recipe below)
salt & pepper to taste
12-15 small swiss chard leaves, tough rib removed

1.) Prepare quinoa according to package directions, the put in fridge to chill. Stir cabbage and diced onion into quinoa, then add pesto. How much pesto you use is up to you - I used closer to 1/2 cup, which made for a very garlicky, pesto-ish (is that a word?) flavor, which I love. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2.) Put a dollop of quinoa stuffing in the middle of a swiss chard leaf, then roll it up like a burrito. Use a toothpick to pin the whole thing shut.

3.) Enjoy!

VEGAN PESTO

2 Cups packed basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup high quality olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor and bland till smooth.

Zucchini Madness

It's an old story, really. Late summer and a sudden insurmountable influx of zucchini. No matter how many you eat and give away there are still more. You start carrying huge zucchini around in your purse and car on the off chance you can find someone to foist them on. This is how I find myself. After all my complaints about poorly producing zucchini plants (mine are still turning out a pathetic one zucchini per week) my dad went out of town, leaving me in charge of his garden for a week. That's his garden, in the first picture. Only one of those huge garden beds has zucchini growing in it, but there is absolutely no hope for me. I just can't keep up with them. The first day he was gone I harvested 4 the size of my arm. I lugged them into his house to put them in the fridge and found TEN similarly sized ones already in there! Plus four really big yellow summer squash.

So I've been looking for zucchini recipes. On the off chance you find yourself in the same predicament as me, and are out of people to give your zucchini to, here are a few places to check out. This post from Kalyn's Kitchen has TONS of great zucchini ideas, as well as links to lots more yummy looking recipes. I didn't even have time to check them all out, but I'm pretty excited about these yummy stuffed zucchini bites.

And this zucchini pasta salad by my friend Kristy (of the famous Keepin' it Kind blog - seriously, have you not checked it out yet???) looks absolutely amazing. I'm planning this for tomorrow night. Or morning. Or in an hour or so...

And finally, a zucchini bread that I can eat, which means it is gluten free and candida-friendly. Actually, it is grain-free and calls for a bit of chocolate and natural sweetener, both of which I leave out. Even without those things it tastes delicious, so if you are on a less strict diet than me I'm sure you will find it divine. I have three loaves of this waiting for me in the freezer as we speak.

Man, all this talk about recycling zucchini into food is giving me the itch to cook. Please please share your zucchini recipes with me - I need anything I can get!