These indulgent zucchini patties highlight the sweetness of this popular late summer vegetable.

If the word “fried” scares you don’t run screaming after step 3. Yes, you will need to fry these zucchini patties once they are assembled but it’s just a flash fry and most of the oil will drain off on paper towels. These patties are the perfect starter to your light late summer meal. If you’re serving a salad for dinner, start with fritters to delight your guests as they assemble individual lettuce wraps.

Use a box grater to get nice thick strands of zucchini and don’t be afraid to mix up the herb selection. I’ve used parsley and green onions in this particular version but cilantro, dill or even basil would be delicious. I serve them with a very simple yogurt sauce and wrap the patties in lettuce leaves, but they are also delicious on their own.

Zucchini Patties with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce 

Makes about 12 fritters

Ingredients

2 medium-sized zucchinis
¼ cup feta cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup chopped Italian parsley
3 scallion (green onion) stalks, finely chopped
1 lemon
¾ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup Greek yogurt
12 baby lettuce leaves

Directions

1. On the large holes of a box grater, shred the zucchini into about 2 cups of strands. Add to a large bowl with the feta cheese, egg, scallions, flour, parsley and salt.
2. Zest the lemon and add about ½ teaspoon of the zest to the zucchini mixture. Then slice the lemon in half and squeeze half of the juice into the mixture and squeeze the other half into a small bowl and combine with the Greek yogurt. Set the yogurt mixture aside.
3. In a medium-sized skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and place paper towels three layers thick on a plate within arm’s reach of the skillet.
4. Form the slider-sized patties with your hands, squeezing excess liquid out before gently placing in the hot oil. The patties should fit snugly in your palm.
5. Fry the patties, 3-4 at a time, cooking for two minutes on one side before flipping and cooking for an additional two minutes. Remove the patties from the oil carefully and drain on the paper-towels.
6. Serve the patties with a dollop of the lemon-yogurt sauce wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

Related on Eco Salon

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Vegan Leek and Zucchini Gratin 

Eggplant Zucchini Lasagna 

Photo credit: Ally Jane Grossan

The post Zucchini Patties Recipe with Lemon-Yogurt Sauce appeared first on EcoSalon.

You eat healthy at home and then once you hit the road, it all goes out the window. Clean eating can be difficult when you’re traveling–you’re in a place where you don’t know the healthy hotspots and you’re off your routine. But with a few simple tips, you won’t fall off track.

6 Tips to Clean Eating While Traveling

1. Bring the essentials along.

Bring some clean eating essentials along like non-dairy milk and organic granola for breakfast. Bring snacks along as well like seaweed snacks, raw nuts, dried sulfite-free fruit, and raw granola bars.

2. Do your research.

When I travel I do my research ahead of time. First off, I contact my vegan and vegetarian friends that either live in a place or have been there and find out the details. And then I go to the Happy Cow website to find out the veggie havens in the area. Even if you’re not a vegan or vegetarian, finding plant-friendly places usually means finding the healthiest clean eating in town. Additionally, farm-to-table restaurants are clean options that please a meat lover’s palate as well.

3. Find a place with a kitchen.

Call ahead to find hotels with a kitchen. If your hotel room has a kitchen, then you can eat in at least a few meals during your trip. If it’s a bed and breakfast, you can stock the fridge with vegan and gluten free options that they may not offer. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much people want to accommodate you if possible.

4. Don’t get wasted.

Vacation and travel isn’t an excuse to drink too much. This leads to dehydration, disrupted sleep, and eating an unhealthy diet.

5. Have a salad.

That may seem obvious, but by enjoying a raw salad as either a side or an entree at least once a day, you’re going a long way to maintain your daily veggie allowance and you’ll feel better for it. Skip the cream based dressing and enjoy oil and vinegar instead.

6. Hit the farmers market.

I make it my mission to hit the farmers market nearly every time I visit a new place. It offers healthy, local options while  connecting you to the people of the place you’re visiting.

Related on EcoSalon

11 Reasons to Completely Change Your Diet

Healthy Foods and Eating Well, It’s About Simplicity

Wanna a Healthy Diet? Reduce Portion Sizes

Image: Kurman Communications

The post 6 Tips to Clean Eating While Traveling: Bon Voyage! appeared first on EcoSalon.

The tomato comes out of the garden and into a sauce.

One of the best things about summer are the variety of fresh tomatoes that are available at the food markets right now. My favorite tomato is the local Beefsteak tomato. The may look ugly but the taste is rich and flavorful.

I can’t get enough of them so I eat tomatoes almost every day, preferably with just a simple vinaigrette on a slice of homemade sourdough bread topped with mozzarella. The tomatoes are also great in a watermelon salad with feta cheese. Another of my recent favorites is a tomato salad with red onions, celery and middle eastern string cheese. The string cheese is often spiced with black cumin (Nigella sativa) which gives this pleasant cheese an interesting flavor.

As an appetizer, a fresh tomato salsa, spiced with cilantro, chili and garlic is never wrong. If I’m starving and too lazy in the summer heat I turn pretty much the same thing into a cool tomato sauce for pasta.

Fresh Tomato Sauce
(serves two persons)

2 large tomatoes
½ red onion
Fresh chili pepper (amount depends on how spicy you want it)
Plenty of chopped fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar*
3 tablespoons olive oil
A dash of lime juice
One teaspoon mustard
Salt & pepper
Honey (optional)

Topping (suggestions)
Freshly grated Parmesan
Toasted sunflower seeds

Wash the tomatoes and chop them into smaller pieces. Chop the onion and the chili (adjust the strength to your own liking) into tiny tiny bits and pieces. Rinse the basil and chop the leaves roughly. Place all the prepared ingredients in a bowl and squeeze in 1-2 garlic cloves.
Mix together vinegar, olive oil and mustard. Season with lime juice, salt & pepper. If you like you can also add some honey to the dressing but if you are using a sweeter mustard that may not be necessary. Serve this cold tomato sauce on your favorite pasta topped with freshly grated parmesan and toasted sunflower seeds.
Enjoy!

* It works perfectly well with other kinds of vinegar such as balsamic, apple cider or white whine vinegar.

Illustrated Recipe by Johanna Kindvall

The post Recipe: Fresh and Summery Tomato Pasta appeared first on EcoSalon.

Though I’m an omnivore, I eat vegetarian (or even vegan) most of the time, so that I can afford to buy the most sustainable, delicious, pasture raised meat and poultry from local family farms. For protein, I rely on legumes and eggs.

I’m going to share one of my favorite dishes, mujaddara, with you. This popular Middle Eastern dish basically consists of three ingredients that you can find anywhere (lentils, rice, and onions).

It’s simple, quick, healthy, super green, tasty, versatile and here’s maybe the best thing about it: It’s really, really cheap. I priced it out once and the tab came to 40 cents a serving. I like to serve this as a one-dish meal with sautéed greens on the side.

This recipe will make 4 to 6 servings. Leftovers formed into rough cakes and fried with an egg are very enjoyable. Enhance with chopped parsley or cilantro and your favorite hot sauce or harissa, if you like.

There are many versions of this dish, with the rice and lentils cooked in varying proportions. For best flavor, make sure you salt a little at different stages. Here’s how I make it.

Mujaddara

2 large yellow onions, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup regular brown lentils
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
Salt

Dice one-half of one of the onions and slice the remaining onions very thinly.

In a medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid, over medium high heat, warm one tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the diced onion and a pinch of salt. Stir while cooking until it begins to brown. Add the lentils and rice, along with 3 cups of water and a healthy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are brown and very caramelized. You truly want them on the verge of burnt. This is what gives the dish flavor. This will take about the same amount of time as the lentils and rice take to cook.

When the rice and lentils are tender, turn off the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes to steam. Serve with the caramelized onions on top and a dollop of yogurt if you like.

Buy organic whenever possible!

Recipe Copyright 2009 Vanessa Barrington

The post Ecosalon Recipes: Quick and Delicious Mujaddara Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.