You Can Go Home Again

I'm having fun in Orlando, but sometimes it's hard being away from home. Even though I'm 20 (21 in two days!), this is the longest I've been away from my mom, so I miss her. Last night after an incredibly long day I was craving something that comes straight from my family recipe vault - zucchini and potatoes. My grandmother would make these on holidays or special occasions and knew how much I loved the dish. I haven't eaten it in a long time, mostly because her version involves a lot of oil and Parmesan cheese. Well, today I knew I had to make the dish my way. So I went to Publix and picked up the biggest zucchini I could find and some rosemary and set my sights on this beauty.

Note: This could easily feed 2 people, but after more intense work outs my appetite is raging, so this was perfect for just moi.


Zucchini & Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 medium russet potato, cut in uniform chunks
- 1/2 large zucchini or 1 small, cut similarly to potato
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp rosemary leaves
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flake
- 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- In a pot, bring water to boil. Add potato pieces and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add zucchini to the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until potato is just shy of fork tender. Drain.
- In a large pan, saute onion and garlic until translucent on medium heat. Add zucchini and potatoes, rosemary and seasoning. Stir to combine.
- Let everything sit in the pan for a couple minutes without touching anything. Toss once and repeat. This is important because a crust begins to form and the flavors begin to meld.
- Turn on your oven broiler.
- Transfer mixture on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Broil for 2-3 minutes. Vegetables should be golden and the nutritional yeast will add to the crust. Mangia!




Don't be afraid of the white potato. They have a bad reputation, but they're still nutritious and perfectly fine to eat in moderation.

As soon as I took my first bite I was immediately home again; could picture myself sitting around a table with my loud Italian family, all of us stuffing our faces. This dish is total, amazing comfort food. My addition was the rosemary - my grandmother never used it but I absolutely loved it here. I think rosemary and potatoes are the perfect combination.

I also had a salad with romaine, baby spinach, crimini mushrooms, sunflower seeds and my special homemade dressing (recipe to come, but it's so simple and delicious even my dad loved it!). I added some navy beans for more protein.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to Universal again (yay season pass) so it's going to be another early night and a lame food day tomorrow. But remember, with food, you can always go home any time.