FOFF Thursday: Zucchini Pie

Fusion of Food & Friends: FOFF Thursday with Carla Vavala

Introducing a collection of recipes to inspire and encourage expansion of your palate. The book Fusion of Food and Friends offers a range of recipes passed down from families and friends, coupled with ideas to make cooking fun and exciting. The book welcomes cooks of all levels to create new menus to share.

The author, Carla Vavala –

Carla Vavala is a self taught cook who utilizes her passion for food to become creative in the kitchen. She has written and self published two cookbooks, “Cut Costs with Creative Cooking” and “Fusion of Food and Friends”.

“I grew up in Syracuse NY, then served in the Navy and since then had a career in medicine as a physician assistant with a Ph.D in naturopathic medicine. I always try to find ways food can help with aliments in our bodies so I try to incorporate my medical knowledge with my knowledge of food. I could never decide which career to follow so I decided to follow both, with medical as my primary career, food was my favorite pastime when I came home. Now I would like to incorporate both skills and knowledge into something that will not only help people with their health but also with the ease of cooking and time constraints. How to use leftovers and create a new meal or just go to your pantry and find simple ingredients that will fuse into a fabulous dish!”

I’d like to welcome anyone who wants to join in to pick up either book at Cuts Costs With Creative Cooking and cook along each Thursday.  You will have the opportunity to chose the next recipe.

For now, until an independent site is set up, please send a photo with comments and/or changes that you made to the recipe (if any) and I will post your photo and a link to your post. If you don’t have a website, simply send the photo and your comments to share. Carla offers a super book filled with delicious recipes and it’s only $10.00 (right now, it’s FREE SHIPPING!).  Email your recipe and photos to: applecrumbles1@yahoo.com

Proof is in the pudding right? So let’s get on with our first recipe AND… if you make this, even though this post has gone up, please send your photo and comments. I will edit the post if you want to cook along.

Richie A to Zucchini Pie by Rich Albano

(From Chapter: Pastas, Rice and Vegetarian, page 47)

• 4 med. zucchini, peel, slice to about 1/4inch to 1/2inch thick *I used 1 large zucchini + 2 cups chopped broccoli crowns
• 1 cup boxed biscuit mix *I used 2/3 cup Heart Smart Bisquick, low fat, 0g trans fat, cholesterol free
• 4 eggs  *or 2 lg eggs and 2 egg whites
• ½ cup vegetable oil  *or a scant 1/4 cup olive oil
• ½ onion, chopped *or 4 green onions, white and green parts chopped.
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• *I sprinkled some Paprika on as a finishing touch.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Turn into an ungreased pie plate. Bake for 40 – 50 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Geesh! Talk about easy! And tasty?! You bet. I wondered how a dish with so few ingredients, no spices, no herbs would taste. In fact, I thought it might be bland. No way. This dish is really good.

It was light and moist.  Ted even thought there was some kind of a sauce in it but it was simply the eggs and cheese.

I added some cooked chicken to Ted’s plate for a little extra “man” protein.

NEXT WEEK:  Lets go with the very first recipe in the book, “Caponata”.  It’s done in the crock pot so don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients.  If you want to make the recipe but don’t have the book yet, OR you just want to “test” one of Carla’s recipes, please let me know and I’ll email the Caponata recipe to you.  If you cook along, you’ll get the opportunity to chose the next recipe.