Calibasitas

I feel like I'm finally starting to catch up from the back log of recipes. This is the last dish I made while my mother was in town visiting. In my surfing the good ole interweb I came across a site where you could fill out a survey and get a free subscription to Woman's Day. So far, this recipe is the only thing interesting I've found in that magazine. That is one of the many reasons I never subscribe to magazines. I just can't justify the cost of subscribing for one interesting thing, sometimes less, per issue. Anyhow, I digress. Here is the original recipe:

Jill's Favorite Calibasita from Woman's Day Sep 2009 serves 5
4 small zucchini, diced
2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ears of corn, kernels sliced off
2 Roma/plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or feta (optional)

1. Place diced zucchini in colander set over a bowl. sprinkle with salt, toss and let stand 20 min. (this draws out the excess liquid from the zucchini)

2. transfer zucchini to kitchen towel and pat dry.

3. heat oil in large non stick skillet over medium high heat. add onion and garlic, saute 3-5 minutes until soft.

4. add zucchini and corn. saute 6-7 minutes until vegetables are almost tender

5. add diced tomato, saute 2-3 minutes until softened and zucchini is tender. remove from heat and stir in cheese if desired.

Now, for my alterations! I added 1/2 pound bulk sausage. I did this to appease Mr. "It's-not-dinner-unless-it-has-meat-in-it." I had Italian, but breakfast sausage would be tasty too. We had this along with eggs and corn tortillas. The end result was really a veggie loaded breakfast burrito. I mostly added the eggs because I knew that Blockette was more than likely to eat it if eggs were in the mix. (For some reason eggs serve a similar function that ketchup does for most kids, it makes the food palatable. Three cheers for the incredible edible egg!)

I can't figure out why this recipe calls for Feta or Mozzarella cheese. Because this dish has a name that means little squash in Spanish, I can't justify using a traditionally Greek or Italian cheese. I tried a bit of the veggie-meat-egg mix topped with both cheese versions. It didn't work for me. A Mexican blend (from a pre shredded bag) seemed like a better combination.

Next time I'd also add a can of black beans. Not only would it add to the taste, but I think it would look darn nice too. Black beans are a newly acquired taste for me. I used to hate them, but I had them a while ago and now I think they are great. Guess I'm getting less picky in my old age.

Do yourself a favor, when you make this, don't substitute frozen or canned corn. Using fresh corn gave off this rich buttery flavor that the rest of the veggies seemed to soak up. I don't think I would have loved this meal nearly as much sans the fresh from the cob kernels.

Mrblocko added salsa and Tabasco to his portion. EW! He's always gotta ruin a perfectly good meal with junk like that. I shouldn't complain too much, at least he's eating more vegetables.