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6/25/13

Zucchini Two Ways... and Google Reader

Tis the season... for a bumper crop of zucchini!  I can't tell you how many times I've gone out back to check on our zucchini, decided none were *quite* large enough to harvest, then returned a day later and found a zucchini the size of a loaf of bread.  Check out the zucchini that Trevor harvested the other day.

 
We love zucchini, but there's only so much you can eat sliced and sauteed.  I have a number of favorite zucchini recipes, but I'm always on the lookout for more.  I've gotten in the habit of tagging awesome-sounding recipes in Google Reader.  With the tragic demise of Google Reader coming up on July 1, I decided to go through all my tags and move the ones that still sounded awesome to Pinterest before they were lost forever.  In the process, I found two zucchini recipes that I decided to try.

First up, Zucchini Enchiladas.  I followed the spirit of the recipe, though I reduced the garlic, replaced the scallions with minced onions, and used salsa verde instead of a red enchilada sauce with Greek yogurt.  So basically, I sauteed a small amount of onion and garlic with a lot of shredded zucchini, added salt and pepper, mixed in cheese, and rolled it up in tortillas.  I poured salsa verde over the top, sprinkled with cheese, and baked.  Here's what they looked like going into the oven. 
 
They were delicious!  All three of us enjoyed them.  Not only do I love having another great healthy (and meatless) option for dinner, but these were the perfect make-ahead food.  I prepared them in the morning, popped them in the fridge, and left baking instructions for Steve. When Trevor and I got home from baseball, the enchilada were bubbly hot and the whole house smelled fantastic.

The second recipe was for Crustless Zucchini Quiche.  I prepped this on the some morning as the enchiladas (might as well prep two dinners when everything is already out) and put them in the fridge for the following evening.  I followed this recipe almost exactly.  It smelled so good in the oven.  And it came out looking beautiful. 



The enchiladas were really good, but this quiche was to die for!  It was so good!  Steve missed the crust, but I didn't.  This was creamy and rich and full of flavor... not at all what you might expect for a dish that's at least 75% shredded zucchini.  I could eat this all summer.  It was so good, I might actually need to buy zucchini during the winter to make it then.  

Back to the topic of Google Reader.  I still haven't fully accepted that it's going away.  I would GLADLY pay a subscription to keep it, but unfortunately that is not an option.  For the past few months, I've been trying out a few of the (lame) replacements that are out there, then ranting to Steve about how such-and-such is so much worse than Reader.  Being the awesome husband that he is, he started researching options for me in the open source community and found CommaFeed.  It's not Google Reader, but it's the closest thing I've seen.  I'm still going to use Reader until the second they pull the plug, but after that it's going to be CommaFeed for me.  

What about you?  What's your Google Reader alternative of choice?  

20 comments:

  1. When they threatened to get rid of reader a few years ago, I created a private blog that I keep all my blogs I read on the side bar ... when you guys write new posts, it updates for me :) It's the easiest, less stressful choice for me :) Your recipes are looking YUMMY!!!!

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    1. Fascinating! I didn't realize blog rolls on a side bar would update when a new post goes up. That sounds like a really good solution.

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  2. Yum Yum!
    I'm trying Feedly, I ran across another blog with a lot of positive things to say about it. I personally don't pay much attention to my reader, I usually rely on FB for most of my updates. I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject anyway. :)

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    1. I tried Feedly but didn't like it. My main gripe was that every single post was truncated.

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  3. I hate Google Reader! Won't miss it at all!

    Your zucchini recipes sound so yummy and healthy! I love zucchini!
    My fav way to eat it is zucchini bread!

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    1. Really? Do you only read a few blogs? How do you manage your blog list if you read more than just a few?

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    2. Blogger page...just like Tanya!
      It's so miuch nicer looking!
      Google Reader looks like lines of code to me...I'm not a robot or computer so no thanks!! LOL!

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    3. Lines of code? I see a list of blogs as a narrow column on the left, then the full text with photos of each blog on the rest of the screen. I can scroll through each one, reading the entries as they actually appear. If I want to comment, I just click on it and it brings me to the site.

      I'm fascinated by how we all use totally different ways to read and follow blogs!

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    4. Well it looks like that to me too, but to me it looks more impersonal...like "lines of code".
      I just didn't know how better to explain it.
      I think the Blogger style of showing the posts is "prettier" and easier to follow.
      It's just the way you "look" at it and personally to me Google Reader is not user friendly.

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  4. I just use my Blogger page ... I hope that isn't going away (I didn't hear anything) ... and yes, those zucchini recipes sound delish! :)

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    1. Does the Blogger page allow you to follow blogs on other platforms besides Blogger?

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    2. I never really thought about it, but the ones I just clicked around on are all Blogger. I do follow a couple by email, so perhaps it doesn't. :/

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  5. Those recipe are definitely intriguing. As for Google Reader, I've been trying out NetVibes since it accommodates what I'm going to miss about iGoogle, too. The one thing I notice is that it seems to be a bit slow bringing in new posts, but I'm willing to live with that for now.

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    1. That's one I haven't tried. It's less of a reader and more of a whole social media manager, right?

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    2. It may be, but I use it more like how I use iGoogle. It has one tab of general info/calendar/news stuff and then one (or more) tabs that can be set up the same as Reader. I don't know if it has all of the features of Reader, but it works for me so far.

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  6. I've been using BlogLovin' but I am not terribly thrilled with it. It's a lot more work. Argh! No, the Blogger page doesn't let you follow blogs on other platforms.

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  7. Both recipes sound delicious.

    I have to get a new reader too. I don't mind bloglovin from the reader side but I haven't tried it from the blogger side.

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  8. I really like zucchini too. I have grown it a few summers to find, oh my!, an abundance in my garden. Like you, I tired of the sauteed version. I love your alternatives. The quiche, in particular, sounds great. I will try that one for sure. Thanks for posting. Cute pic of T, as always!

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  9. Those look delicious! Brian makes a killer Zucchini Lasagna -- replaces the noodles with zucchini :) (it's on my blog somewhere if you are interested!) As for the death of google reader... I'm still sad. I am using feedly. I don't have it truncate posts, so I'm not sure why it is doing that to you? I find it easy to use, particularly on my iPhone. I hated BlogLovin' and I've been experimenting with FlipBoard, but I don't love it. I liked the simplicity, search and organization of google reader. So sad it's gone. I'll have to try out CommaFeed... thanks for the recommendation :)

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