Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Ziti with fresh Tomatoes, and Zucchini

I still have some photos of my $ 1.00 thrift find bag of mixed vegetable, that I did't get to post about in the last few months. Now, that I'm back and forth to my place from my son's house, I rarely get a chance to do much other than taking care of the pets, (mine, and his)...not much chance for cooking or baking.
Good thing I went to check on my place because I came home to a surprise...a flood of water gushing from my A/C unit ceiling all soaked. Good thing I wasn't sleeping there because I turned the A/C and called the service first thing in the morning.
Really there's no set recipe for this wonderful sauteed mixed zucchini, squash, onions, and blanched chopped fresh tomatoes, served over a pasta of your choice, I used ziti pasta.This is one of my favorite vegetarian pasta dish!
I could easily have at least 3 or 4 vegetarian meals a week...eating something so healthy and delicious like these veggies! When we were kids, growing up in Cleveland in the late fifties and mid sixties, I remember my mom only made a meat dish about once or twice a week on the weekend...everything was prepared in season, and canned for the winter. Homemade breads, rolls, danishes were not an option, it was made regularly, just as homemade noodles. As a nation, we have consumed way too much meats over the decades...time to slow it down a bit and eat what mother nature produces for us!
Last night I did  not feel like doing much, just cleaned out my son's refrigerator, and defrosted one of my pizza crust that I make ahead of time to freeze, thaw out and bake...I  topped it off with caramelized onions, fresh tomato sauce fresh basil leaves and crispy fried and crumbled pancetta...thick sliced chopped bacon is OK to use in place of pancetta. Just because you're spending time alone, does not mean that you cannot treat yourself to something homemade and delicious. If you don't want to make your own dough, you can get fresh bread dough in the bakery section of your supermarket. It's that easy!
Here's the source I used for my pizza dough, since I'm not posting from my home, I didn't have my personal pizza recipe with me. This is an excellent recipe...Epicurious always has the BEST of all the recipes!
Did you ever see such gorgeous clouds in your life?...only in South Florida you get to see the sun going through such a transition...the sun, perching through the clouds in late afternoon that looks like a huge marshmallow, the palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze. (a view from my beach condo apt.) ...as I was leaving to go back across the bridge, just a matter of a 10 min. drive passing through A1A route taking a slow drive, and almost wanting to stop the car to take a few pictures of Rod Stewart's well hidden mansion...but it's just a dream, that I would ever even enter in one of these mansions!

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38 comments:

SKIP TO MALOU said...

YOu're right I should really cut down on my meat. I've been eating too much of meat and no veggies at all.. tsk tsk not good I know.
I lived in FL (melbourne) for 6 years and one of my regrets is not going South. I should have I know...
I hope no more AC mishaps, esp this summer. I know how hot it could get there over the summer.
Malou

marisz57 said...

Kedves Elisabeth! Az én gyerekkoromban is csak hétvégén, meg ünnepeken ettünk húst, mégis változatos ételeket fogyasztottunk zöldségekből, sült és főtt tésztákból.A cukkinis paradicsomos tésztád nagyon elnyerte a tetszésemet, ki fogom próbálni.
Az ég, a felhők, a naplemente csodálatos nálatok!
Gyönyörű helyen élsz!

Lyndsey ~The Tiny skillet~ said...

Funny I was telling some girls at book club tonight that I made eggplant, zuccini curry last night for dinner sort of a pantry what I had on hand meal. Someone said My family wouldn't put up with that...so I'm guess I'm lucky they will eat less meat.

Petra said...

Jó ötlet az egészséged érdekében húsmentes és egészséges ételeket beiktatni egy héten többször is. A cukkinis-paradicsomos tészta nagyon guszta!

Nami @ Just One Cookbook said...

What a beautiful veggie dish! Look how colorful this dish is! I love eating veggies, more than drinking plain water (bleh). :-) Those clouds don't look real. Gorgeous!

laurie said...

this is such a fresh clean meal, I rarely eat meat but myhusband is a true carnivore.Those are lovely clouds,

claudia lamascolo said...

These pictures draw me into the dish just lovely! Its been storming here in Central fla every day... you sky looks a little mean too! :)

Bianka said...

Gyönyörű színekben pompázik a tészta

Michael Toa said...

I often have vegetarian meals during the week too. No particular reason. I just enjoy it. The pasta dish looks utterly delicious and I love all the flavours on the pizza. Yum.

Angie's Recipes said...

I too should have had more vegetables!! This is such a colourful and summery creation. I just love how vibrant and bright it looks.

Lizzy said...

Your pasta and pizza both look scrumptious! I'd rather not eat a ton of meat as well, and these as delicious options. My are those gorgeous clouds...can you send one of them filled with rain up north to visit me??? I"m so sorry about your leak...no fun! Happy Wednesday, my friend! xo

Junia said...

i love chock full of veggies in my pasta sauce too :) zucchini, onion, and mushrooms are a must for me. i put some eggplant in the other day too!

mangiabella said...

this pasta is gorgeous, and I could easily join you in eating vegetarian most of the time...in fact, i could eat your pasta dish every day without tiring of those delicious veggies and that comforting pasta.....and those clouds are awe inspiring indeed!

Patty said...

The pasta looks good and so does the pizza...I have been making a pizza dough that is made in my food processor and you freeze half...it is the best dough...and I just used the frozen portion and it was amazing...I had no clue this was even possible...

aipi said...

The color in your dish is so reminiscent of summer ~ bright n bold, my fav way to eat n make pasta! Loved that beautiful pizza crust too :)
US Masala

Monet said...

I'm so sorry to hear about the AC, but I'm so glad you shared these beautiful vegetarian dishes...and that lovely shot of those clouds! Thank you for sharing, my sweet friend. I'm hungry and wishing I could have THIS for dinner. Blessings and love from Austin!

1-2Punch said...

The pasta looks like the perfect summer meal!

Roxana GreenGirl said...

vegetarian meals are always welcome, and not just summer time if you ask me.
So sorry to hear about your A/C problems, hope you had it fixed.

ping said...

Aaahhh ... pasta. That's one of my favorite comfort foods. Unfortunately, my husband and I are what our friends termed "meatarians" and can't do without meat. Since we're both animal lovers, we tried just having seafood as substitute once and was craving a steak so bad after about 1 week, we were like cave people. Sigh ... Oh, I'm going to check out your pizza crust recipe. I've been looking for a good simple crust. Yours look really nice!!

The Harried Cook said...

The pasta looks fresh and delicious... and that pizza is calling my name! I love pizza topped with caramelized onion... one of my new favorite toppings! Great post, Elisabeth! Sorry to hear about the AC. Hope it gets fixed soon!

Parsley Sage said...

Sorry to hear about your A/C unit. What a pain! At least there was yummy food :) The ziti looks delish and I totally drooled a little when I read about the pizza!

Jacqueline said...

That pasta dish looks so fresh and delicious. Just the sort of dish I enjoy.

Mary said...

That is a gorgeous pasta dish. You've made me hungry and I should be thinking of breakfast rather than dinner :)Your photos are all wonderful but the last of the sky is breathtaking. I hope you have a wonderfulday. Blessings...Mary

honey82 said...

Ciao Bella!!!
Come stai??:-))
Complimenti per questa magnifica pasta..eccezionale,se proprio brava!!!;-)
Un abbraccio e tanti baci,a presto**

Pachecopatty said...

Wow, what a beautiful view! I love to watch clouds and would enjoy visiting South Florida.
I'm craving your pasta now- you've made it with all my favorite veggies, I just love that combination, it's so summery;-)

Peggy said...

What a lovely way to use up your zucchini and tomatoes! Sounds like a great dish =)

Hope you're having fun on your South Florida adventure!

Shabs said...

what a perfect summer dish , yummm!!! . the pics are just gorgeous elisabeth , take care and thank for your wishes :D .

Mari said...

Wonderful ziti recipe, it looks fantastic. I love the clouds photo. I always love looking at the clouds at sunrise and sun sets the clouds look always remarkable. Have a fabulous weekend ;)

Sandra said...

This screams summer to me, but at the same time full of taste and comfort! Beautiful photos!!

Christine's Pantry said...

Looks wonderful! Yum! Love the photos.

Chic & Gorgeous Treats said...

Heya Elisabeth! What a great recipe. This could be the way to get my brother to eat more veg. Btw, I gave you a shout out in my latest blog post. Do stop by whenever you can. You know what's strange, I'm suddenly missing from your blog friends list. Oh! well...No worries ;). You take care my dear friend. Hope to hear from you soon. Hugs, Jo

Junebug Furniture and Design said...

Your ziti recipe looks fabulous and thank you for your basic pizza dough recipe, both look so yummmy! Such beautiful photos too.

Hope you are enjoying your summer... do try to get out and do a little treasure hunting, you never know what you will find.

happy junking,

Glad

claudia lamascolo said...

I love this dish, fresh, my kids and hubby will love this!~

Kathy said...

Elizabeth, Finally I get to thank you for my award and for your very kind words. It is so good to have you as my blogger friend! I love your veggie dish...I have an abundance of zucchini growing in my garden and can't seem to use them fast enough. I'm going to have to try your dish this week. Your photo of the clouds and palm trees is gorgeous! You live in such a pretty place. Have a wonderful weekend!

Emma said...

I also prefer vegetarian dishes to meat ones. Meat is nice for a special occasion but I don't enjoy it regularly. And I just love the freshness of that pasta dish, it looks really good.

That last photo is stunning Elisabeth! I can just imagine how warm it is there now.

Magic of Spice said...

This sauté is so vibrant...gorgeous and I have no doubt delicious!
The pizza looks pretty great too :)Sorry about your flooding though, hope there's not too much damage.
Wishing you a great week...

marisz57 said...

A cukkinis, paradicsomos tésztát elkészítettem apró módosítással. Tettem rá zúzott fokhagymát és meghintettem friss bazsalikommal meg kakukkfűvel.
Mennyei eledel volt! köszönöm a receptet Elisabeth. Pusz.

Butrcreamblondi said...

That pasta dish is just beautiful! The colors from the zucchini, squash, and tomatoes are wonderful! The pizza looks amazing too with those caramelized onions!