Courgette Omelette - A Quick Lunch During The Holiday Season

For some, weekends leading up to the holidays consist of shopping and gift-wrapping.  Others spend hours playing Super Mario Bros. on the Wii.  You can guess what Major Obvious and Sweet Pea were up to last Saturday.  Little Man and I are less committed to the Mario and Luigi Cause, so we took a break to make a quick lunch.  Little Man picked out a lovely courgette (zucchini) at Tesco that we were determined to use.

Courgette Omelette

3 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 courgette, peeled and grated
1/4 onion, minced
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

chopped chives, optional

pinch sea salt

few grinds of freshly grated black pepper

In a small nonstick pan over medium-high heat, warm oil.  While waiting for oil to heat up, take handfuls of grated courgette and squeeze over the sink to wring out any excess water.  Put grated courgette in pan with minced onions.  Sautee for several minutes, until vegetables seem tender.

If you haven't already, crack the eggs into a bowl.  Beat with a fork and add salt and pepper.  Add egg mixture to pan when veggies are ready.  Stir a little and add grated cheese.  Let omelette set.

At this point, you can fold the omelette in half, but I never bother with such silliness.  I just grab the eggs out of the pan with a spatula and put them on plates.  Garnish with chopped chives, if desired.  Serve with toast.

Serves 2 (if paired with toast and salad).

Whole Wheat Baked Ziti with Fresh Tomato and Cheese Sauce

This morning, Little Man discovered a large spider quickly crawling around in the living room. There's something particularly scary about fast spiders, isn't there? After we took care of the situation, my 3-year old son was so relieved that he named our dinner, "Spider Pasta" in honor of his bravery in surviving such an ordeal.

This recipe is largely inspired by Jamie Oliver's Quick Tomato Macaroni and Cheese.

Whole Wheat Ziti with Fresh Tomato and Cheese Sauce

1 lb whole wheat ziti
4-5 ripe tomatoes
350 ml tomato puree
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 handfuls of fresh basil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 handfuls of freshly grated parmesan cheese
300 ml single cream
1 medium ball of fresh mozzarella, cut up
handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked

Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Cook the pasta according to package instructions.

Cut tomatoes into quarters and put into food processor with the garlic, basil, and a couple of generous pinches of salt and pepper. Zap for 30 seconds, then add 2 handfuls of Parmesan cheese and the cream. Zap again until smooth.

Mix last handful of parmesan with fresh thyme leaves in a little bowl.

Mix cooked pasta with sauce in a large bowl and place pasta with sauce in ovenproof dish. Put mozzarella pieces on top. Sprinkle top with parmesan/thyme mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top. Serve with a green salad.