The line between simple and labor intensive...

Tonight's meal, with both recipes coming from Local Fare, seemed simple enough. It took me awhile, though. It always does when I have an entree and a labor-intensive salad.

From Local Fare I received zucchini, as clearly demonstrated by eating it two days in a row! It's organic yaaay. Anyhow, the first step was to halve 2 zucchini and remove the seeds, which results in a perfect "boat" for stuffing. Next time I bake this, I will brush the zucchini with olive oil before stuffing.

I lined a baking sheet with tin foil and brushed olive oil over it. I placed the boats on the sheet, and cracked some salt and pepper over top.

I made the stuffing - 3 vine ripe tomatoes, cilantro, mint, and 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar. I could tell it needed something more, but I'm not sure what - maybe higher quantities of herbs. I also think it would be wise to let the tomatoes soak in the vinegar for a few minutes, so that they absorb some of the flavor. I filled the boats with the stuffing.

They baked at 400° for about 25 minutes. Then, I pulled them out of the oven and set it to broil. While I was waiting for it to gain about 100°, I sliced some mozzarella into small cubes and spread them over the tops of the zucchini boats.

They broiled for about 3-5 minutes, until the cheese was starting to brown.

Finished!

I made this dressing before starting the zucchini boats, so that the salad would be easy to assemble when the zucchini finished baking. I followed the recipe nearly exactly. The "labor-intensive part is here, since chopping the leeks and herbs, and zesting the oranges took a decent amount of time.

I boiled some chiogga beets for about 25 minutes until tender. We are not the biggest fans of beets, but since these were a specific type I thought we'd try them out. We liked them much better than regular beets, as they have a milder flavor. That is not salmon you see below, but beets! Chioggas have that striation. I had the boy prepare the salad - spinach and kale leaves, with the spinach from Local Fare and the kale from the boy's mom's garden.

I was pleased with both results. There was enough tomato mixture left over for some improvised bruschetta!