Iron Chef Tuesdays

Do you ever find yourself at the grocery store, lamenting over the prepackaged quantities of food that are far too big for one person to eat before it goes bad? Second guessing that mixed salad greens purchase, knowing that half of it is going to turn into that slick black mush at the bottom of the bag?

Well, in an effort to combat the wasteful practices of bulk veg past, my room mate and I have started a new tradition: Iron Chef Tuesdays.

What is that you say? Let me tell you! Yes, it follows the same simple rules as the popular television show of the same name: Iron Chef America. Somewhat. Each week, a special ingredient is chosen, and the two contestants must prepare a dish based on the ingredient. Unlike the chefs of Iron Chef, I own at maximum two frying pans, and two of each kind of dinnerware, so we aren't talking about a full four or five courses, but two ain't bad.



This week's ingredient? Zucchini. Delicious, delicious zucchini.



I used to hate zucchini as a kid, because of that slightly fibrous give that it had when you bit into it. Raw, it wasn't really crisp like cucumber, and it had a kind of pulpy, dryish aspect to it that reminded me of eating paper. Which I did a lot as a kid. (Why paper but not zucchini? Who knows.) Subjected to an uninspired steaming, the texture flipped as the zucchini absorbed moisture and turned into a bland, watery mush. Needless to say, I wasn't a huge fan.

That's because, like all things, zucchini is best when you add lots and lots of fat to it! So I decided to make zucchini and sun-dried tomato risotto.

When I read the recipe, which called for the rice to be slowly simmered in broth with lid off, the asian side of me was skeptical. What? No steaming?? No rice cooker? But I soon learned to let go of my fears. Actually, it was quite nice to have an al dente texture that probably wouldn't have happened if the rice was steamed.

Finished product:


The other dish was made by my room mate: Korean zucchini pancakes.


All of it:


Top down pancake:


The results were pretty delicious, if not the most healthy. There definitely was the satisfaction of having made it from scratch. But there were some downsides. The whole ordeal took over three hours, including trips to the grocery store during the process for forgotten ingredients. And, it wasn't the most thrifty option either. All said, I think I spent way more money on other ingredients to make these dishes than I would have if I just let one zucchini go bad. But! There is something to be said of learning how to make new things, and knowing everything that goes into the food you make. So +5 for fun points.