Month: January 2018

Armenian Stuffed Zucchini

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“Is this a monthly thing or something?” my workers asked me as I shared my casual plans for an Armenian dinner with friends.

Yes, yes they are. For about 6 months, my roommates from my time studying abroad have committed to planning the next month’s plans while we’re together. It makes managing crazy schedules and multiple priorities, well, manageable.

If you’re late to the party, catch up on the first three “cultural dinners” that preceded this one.

Come Thursday, I was given a few options for my contribution to our Armenian dinner, but my scrappiness prevailed, and the zucchini’s I needed to use up because the new focus.

Turns out, Armenian Stuffed Zucchini is a thing…

INGREDIENTS (yields 6 stuffed zucchinis, good for 4 people as a side)

-3 Zucchinis, the wider the better
-1 can chickpeas
-1/2 cup kalamata olives
-1/2 cup crumbled feta
-1 medium onion
-1 small can tomato paste
-1 tomato

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PREPARATION (15-20 minutes)

  1. Cut zucchinis in half and core each half, not puncturing all the way through so it can hold the stuffing.
  2. Chop onion and sautée with zucchini “insides.”
  3. Pour chickpeas, feta, and olives into seperate bowl and mash to a stirrable mixture
  4. Once onions and zucchini insides begin to brown, add in tomato paste and bring to simmer
  5. Take off heat, and stir into the mashed chickpea mixture
  6. Chop tomato and set aside for final topping
I use a cocktail muddler for mashing…no shame

COOKING (40 minutes)

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Stuff zucchinis with filling to the brim, you should have some stuffing leftover
  3. Place leftover stuffing at base of narrow pan- I needed the zucchini to be close together to help keep everybody standing and fillings in tact
  4. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, vary if zucchini is preferred crunchier/more well done
  5. Add chopped tomatoes to the final dish, and serve!

I promised myself my “pan picture” would turn out better than one’s I saw online, but I’m not sure it’s possible. Now it’s your turn to try!

If you need help convincing to host an Armenian dinner, please see below…

 

Boereg Prep
Cheese, parsley, eggs, wrapped in pastry puff
Taboulleh
Vegetarian lavash or armenian pizza for me, and egg noodles

The Best “Say Yes to the Dress” Signs

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Two years ago today, I wore the proudest title of “Maid of Honor,” as I entered Posh Boutique in Minneapolis to help my best friend say “yes” to her perfect dress.

About two days before the trip, inspiration struck, and I decided this event needed a little extra spice.

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I designed these signs to be a constructive way for everyone in the group to give feedback, without any negativity, such as a low score on a 1-10 scale.
I made the template for the signs, just by googling and inserting the various emojis. Once printed, I pasted them onto half sheets of scrapbook paper that corresponded with the sign. Everyone attending should have all 4 signs.
Here’s how I explained the scale:

–Doesn’t do you justice: This might be a boring dress, or not playing up their best features. The sleep emoji says it all

–How Pretty!: This is a pretty dress, but it’s not necessarily what the sign holder sees having the wedding day “wow.” It’s like when all you have to say about someone is that they’re “nice”
–Gisele, is that you?: This is a fun sign to tell the bride they are bringing it in this dress. It might be flattering, sexy, beautiful, or they may be carrying themselves extra confidently in this dress.
–Absolutely stunning!: The bride emoji says it all- this sign shows the bride you can see her walking down the aisle in this dress.
I hope you enjoy this as much as we did. I consider myself a Maid of Honor for life, so I can’t wait to live vicariously through all of you who try this!
Happy shopping 🙂

Scrappy Banana bread

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If you’ve ever wondered why this blog is called S is for Scrappy, I’d love to help you out. Well, S is first and foremost for Sarah. But my scrappiness is something very inherent to everything I do.

Some would make a nice banana bread as a kind gift, maybe when hosting others, or as fuel for a blog post they’ve had planned out.IMG_5405

Scrappy is whipping up banana bread because your boyfriend brought it to your attention that if you lose the cap for the maple syrup, you can’t just put it back in the fridge capless, like an animal.

This bread and post was also inspired by 3 VERY ripe bananas patiently waiting to be used. Even though I negotiated with myself that if I bought bananas they couldn’t go brown and be banished to the freezer with a rebrand of “smoothie bananas.” Scrappy.

So, I thought to myself, what can I make that uses bananas and maple syrup that won’t be sugar central. The healthy banana bread searches began.

Seeing as I am no Betty Crocker, I looked to Cookie and Kate to make sure the end result would be in a bread formation of some kind. With some changes, here’s what I was working with:

INGREDIENTS

  • ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup maple syrup (honey can be used)
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 ripe bananas mashed, I left mine kind of chunky for a different taste/texture
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, plus more to swirl on top
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)
  • 1 ¾ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
  • ¼ cup almond milk (I use unsweetened vanilla, but milk of any kind will do)
  • 1 cup chopped pecans- option for any other mix in

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) and grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, beat oil and syrup together. Add eggs and beat well.
  3. Stir in bananas and milk. Then stir in the baking soda, vanilla, salt, maca, and cinnamon.
  4. Switch to a big spoon and stir in the flour, just until combined. If you’re adding pecans or any mix-ins, gently fold them in now.
  5. Pour the batter into your greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon. Run the tip of a knife across the batter in a zig-zag pattern for a fun marble effect.
  6. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. If you check with a knife, it should come out clean, but my chunky banana approach made that a bit tentative. Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for  at least 5 minutes.

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While I am not committing to Whole 30 or any specific challenges this January, I am striving to be very conscious of my sugar intake. It’s amazing what a downward spiral having any traditional desserts (even in moderation) can be for me in sugar cravings.

With the sweetness of the bananas and pure maple syrup, I’m really not sure why anyone bakes with normal sugar. This was so satisfying in every way! I loved the maple flavor and bites of banana chunks, but that approach did make it more crumbly if that’s a concern of yours.

Moral of the store, if I can bake this, so can you. Looking forward to having this as a guilt-free snack, dessert, or something to bring to the yoga studio for when I am teaching multiple classes and need some sustenance.

Enjoy!