Homegrown (and huge) Zucchini Saute with Quinoa

I was nervous when Nick came in with these zucchini from our garden.  In the case of squash, bigger is not necessarily better.  I always find the smaller squash to be more sweet and less seedy.  He was so proud though, I mean, check it out....

To my surprise, these gigantic zucchini were neither bland nor seedy.  In fact, they tasted great.  These two glorious beauties made this quinoa salad I'm posting today, and about 50 delectable zucchini fritters, which I'll be posting tomorrow.  Of course, even after those two recipes I still had some zucchini leftover, which we enjoyed simply sauteed in some EVOO and topped with fresh parmesan cheese.

Zucchini Saute with Quinoa
Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

Serves 5

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini

2 Tbsp. tuscan or garlic olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. minced fresh marjoram

2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves

2 tsp. minced fresh oregano leaves

1/4 cup minced parsley leaves

3/4 cup quinoa, uncooked

Directions

1.  Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package (Typically 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water, together in a saucepan, bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes).

2.  Cut zucchini in half crosswise.  Cut in half again and cut into thin strips.  Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Cook zucchini and squash until it begins to brown around the edges.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir to blend well.  

3.  Combine the zucchini mixture with the cooked quinoa.  Serve warm.

**NOTE:  If you are following a low FODMAPS diet you will be happy to know that this is low FODMAPs!

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1/5th of recipe
Source: Calorie Count.com

Nutrition Highlights:  Under 200 calories, good source of fiber, vitamin C and iron

I didn't use this entire zucchini for the recipe, obviously, but I wanted to take these photos to give you an idea of just how massive these things were!  

Nick and I had some family friends over for a bonfire the night we served this.  Yes, we had hot dogs on a stick, fruit, beer, toasted marshmallows, and this salad.  Random? Sure. But it was a huge hit (and the sunflower seeds really added a nice savory crunch to the salad. I wasn't expecting it!).

So in terms of our garden the zucchini, herbs, and tomatoes have been a success (tomato recipes coming soon!) but the spaghetti squash, well, that's another story.  Yeah, I don't think this is a spaghetti squash.  Thoughts?

QUESTION:  Are you having success with your garden this year?

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.  I have today off but tomorrow (I think) I start my new job.  I'm nervous, excited, anxious, everything all wrapped up in one.  Most of all I can't wait to get back to work again.  While it's been nice having a couple weeks off, I'm getting slightly bored.  Crazy how that works.

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd