zucchini | The Spamwise Chronicles

Zucchine Alla Parmigiana

November 2, 2014 by Stan Santos

When someone asks me “What do you like to cook?”, I almost invariably answer “Italian”. If pressed for detail, I sometimes answer “Mediterranean-style vegetable-focused cooking, with a strong preference towards Italy and occasional side trips to Spain, the Middle East and India”. In fact, I cook Italian food so much that I sometimes wonder if I lived in Italy in a previous life. When I buy Italian cookbooks, the first section that I turn to is the section on vegetable […]

Categories: cooking, food, food photography, Gluten-Free, Italian food, recipe, summer, vegetarian • Tags: cookbooks, food photography, foodblogs, gluten-free, Italian food, Memorie di Angelina, recipe, summer, vegetarian, zucchini

Zucchini alla Scapece

October 4, 2013 by Stan Santos

Every summer, the inevitable question arises: “What shall I do with all this zucchini?” Besides the usual zucchini bread, ratatouille and deep-fried fritters, I’ll often start stufato di verdure or summer minestrone with a base of sautéed aromatic vegetables (onion, celery, carrot) and zucchini. Occasionally I’ll use it in a tian, or cooked with garlic and slivered almonds in olive oil and vegetable stock and puréed as a sort of a light green gazpacho. If you’re not averse to anchovies, […]

Categories: cooking, food, food photography, Gluten-Free, Italian food, summer, vegan, vegetarian • Tags: food photography, gluten-free, Italian food, recipe, summer, vegan, zucchini

Saturday Snapshot

August 18, 2013 by Stan Santos

Zucchini “Pasta”, with Uncooked Tomato Sauce It’s not real pasta of course, hence the quotation marks. Zucchini “pasta” — Shave a medium-sized zucchini paper-thin with a vegetable peeler, then simmer in lightly salted water for 15 seconds. Lift out with a slotted spoon, then blanch the zucchini immediately in a bowl of ice water; drain. Squeeze out any excess water with paper towels. If you don’t do either of these steps, the zucchini will either be overcooked mush (remember that […]

Categories: food, food photography, Gluten-Free, summer, vegan, vegetarian • Tags: amuse-bouche, food photography, gluten-free, preserved lemon, summer, tomatoes, vegan, zucchini

Spaghetti con Vongole e Zucchine

August 17, 2013 by Stan Santos

When I was growing up, Friday night dinner was typically “fish night”. One thing that we had every so often was linguine or spaghetti with white clam sauce. The way my Mom made it, there were chopped canned clams, bottled clam juice, garlic and lots of fresh parsley in a brothy sauce, with a touch of white wine. There was also grated “cheese” from a shiny green can. When I look back on meals from my childhood, it’s as if […]

Categories: cooking, food, food photography, Italian food, recipe, summer • Tags: clams, dinner, food photography, Italian food, pasta, recipe, summer, zucchini

Zucchini Snapshots

August 10, 2013 by Stan Santos

Zucchine con acciughe e capperi (“zucchini with anchovy and capers”) — click here for a recipe from August 2012. Insalata di zucchine e pecorino (“shaved zucchini and pecorino cheese salad”) — Shave zucchini with a vegetable peeler, and combine with paper-thin slices of cheese using either a vegetable peeler, mandoline or a sharp knife. Toss with lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, then serve immediately.

Categories: food, food photography, Gluten-Free, Italian food, vegetarian • Tags: contorno, food photography, gluten-free, insalata, Italian food, summer, vegetarian, zucchini

Stufato Snapshot

July 11, 2013 by Stan Santos

Stufato di Verdure But what is it, you ask? Well, it’s typically vegetables that have been stewed in little more than olive oil and a tiny bit of water, along with one or two flavorings such as herbs, garlic, anchovies, olives, pancetta or wine vinegar over low heat for over an hour. In the process, they lose their crispness and become luscious and silken, and their flavors concentrate until each spoonful is literally the essence of summer. Stufato di verdure, […]

Categories: cooking, food, food photography, Gluten-Free, Italian food, summer • Tags: food photography, gluten-free, green beans, Italian food, summer, tomatoes, zucchini

An Almost Vegetarian Thanksgiving, Part 2

November 20, 2012 by Stan Santos

A while ago, The New York Times ran a an article on the mainstreaming of veganism in the United States. Vegan and vegetarian diets have come a long way, helped along in part by public figures such as former President Bill Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres and Kathy Freston, and also in part by a heightened awareness of environmentalism, a focus on sustainable agriculture and the farm-to-table movement. Other people are passionate about animal rights, animal husbandry (especially here in America, where […]

Categories: autumn, food, food photography, Italian food, recipe, vegetarian • Tags: autumn, cooking, dinner, food photography, Italian food, pasta, recipe, Thanksgiving, vegetarian, zucchini

Minestra di Zucchine e Scarola

August 30, 2012 by Stan Santos

Minestra di zucchine e scarola — “zucchini and escarole soup”

Categories: cooking, food, food photography, Gluten-Free, Italian food, recipe, Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie ) Sundays, summer • Tags: dinner, escarole, food photography, gluten-free, Italian food, soup, Souper Sundays, summer, zucchini

Fagiolini e Zucchine

August 24, 2012 by Stan Santos

Fagiolini e zucchine, otherwise known as “string beans and zucchini” in English There is little in this world more beautiful and humble than a bowl of string beans. It’s one of the more unappreciated of vegetables.

Categories: cooking, food, food photography, general, Italian food, recipe, summer • Tags: appetizer, food photography, gluten-free, Italian food, side dish, string beans, summer, zucchini

The Spamwise Chronicles

A blog devoted to the beauty of food.

Tag: zucchini