A typica breakfast has a lot of carbs in it, and if you are going to eat carbs, that's the best time to eat them. But, honestly, Americans eat too much carbs, and not enough proteins.
Cajuns are worse: they double down on both.
Now, breakfast isn't what we are known for. It's not where we sparkle. But then, the glitter is best left for Butbon Street. Don't want it sticking to every conceivable surface in my house. Today, breakfast is a must. I miss hash browns: oily, greasy, frankly-no-flavor-hash-browns. In order to eat healthier, some forms of fats and easy high-volume carbs need to go the way of the Dodo, so either sacrifices or substitutions must be made.
Cheese is not out, yet. Nor is butter. But pretty much any conventional deep frying oil is: it tastes like crud in large amounts (adding little tastebud-value to a plain potato that sucks too much of it in).
Something also had to replace the potato. And then I stumbled into this gem: things to do with zuchhini butter.
A lot to do with one base, no? But still no hashbrown recipe, so I will have to wing it, a bit. That, and I never follow the actual recipe anyway.
So, a comparison:
Calories in 1 medium zucchini, vs. 1 small potato. That is a 2 inch diameter potato. A medium zucchini is about 2 inches in diameter, but 2-3 times that size. Both veggies are full of fluid, but a potato gives up it's liquid a little more easily than a zucchini does, so you are eating far more potato, ounce vs. ounce.
But let's go ahead and do the math:
134×2.5=335 calories, or nearly 10x the calories of the zucchini! It leaves you no room for other foods added especially in a side or a snack.
So, what did I use to season the 4 shreaded zucchini?
Before cooking it down:
3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp thyme
1 tsp dill
1 tsp "Soul Seasoning" (specific brand from Save-a-lot, you can use any pepper/salt blend you like)
1 whole stick of butter.
Then I cooked it down and strained it. 4 zucchinis comes out to about 3-3 1/2 cups.
Got 2 small mason jars of juice out if it, in a strainer, which was more than half the butter, right back out.
This is only the halfway mark. As the original recipe shows, and the link of ideas as well, this stuff is versatile and can be put away, to use another day, but I wanted this done in 1 shot.
I remember from childhood watching some Jewish family make Latkes for Passover Seder. I think I saw it on Reading Rainbow, of all things. (Hey, I was young.) What I remeber is that they used eggs in these hashbrowns, along with some Mediterranean seasonings.
So, with 2 eggs and half a cup of cheese mixed in, time to put them on the panini grill, with a spritz of coconut oil, to grease the metal plates.
First ones weren't easy to keep together. You need the top to reach a dark caramel color before flipping them over, and take them off once done with the second, on my machine around 2 minutes each side.
This made 8 zucchini hashbrowns, calories around 114 apiece. And guys, this was extremely rich, with a hashbrown style crust and an ooey gooey center, and oh, so decadent. Well worth scraping zucchini against a grater for 10-15 minutes. If you have a processor, use it. Wrists were tired after this.
But if that takes too long, use spaghetti squash. In fact, I intend to try this next. I expect it to come out in between potatos and zucchini, as it is more fiberous.
Let's eat!
Goodness. I knew I adored zucchini for a reason.
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