We're lovers and we love to cook.

My boyfriend Addison knows his way around the kitchen...and into my heart(insert jealousy/envy/whatever here, I'm grateful and lucky! hehe ;) and his passion for cooking has slowly started to trickle into my life too. If any of you are pals of mine on Facebook or Twitter, chances are you have already gotten many a glimpse into that part of our relationship (the one that happens in the kitchen) and have also probably asked us for recipes or tips or what have you. Well, wait no longer buddies! We decided we'd start sharing photographs and recipes of our adventures in the kitchen with all of you right here, and that we'd make a little date-night out of it, too. How's that for mutually beneficial? Eh?

For this meal, being that it's Summer in Arizona and all, we wanted something sort of on the light side with minimal stove-slaving. Also, I was craving zucchini for no dang reason at all. I wanted to prepare an old standard of mine (zucchini with ricotta, pine nuts, garlic and lemon) but then we realized we're poor as dirt and pine nuts are plenty spendy. Enter Foodnetwork.com and their super snazzy appetizer recipe for Grilled Zucchini rolls with herbs and cheese.  

Side note: I don't know about you guys, but when I was a kid and my parents would let me order a bad ass appetizer like bruschetta or nachos for dinner instead of a meal, I felt like the Queen of the Universe...that feeling never goes away, apearently. So tonight we dined like royalty and had appetizers for dinner.

Here are the Deets:
(recipe adapted from this one. Our very few edits will be seen in italics)

Ingredients

3 zucchini (about 1/2 pound each), sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 ounces reduced-fat soft goat's cheese (if you're a cheese addict like me, don't be stingy here...throw in at least 2-3 oz)
1 tablespoon freshly minced parsley leaves Dill leaves
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup basil leaves
little sprinkle of onion powder

Would also be delicious with a little bit of prosciutto or tomato tapenade rolled up in there, too.

Directions

Discard Save the outermost slices of zucchini for an omelet or something and brush the rest of the slices with the oil on both sides. Season with salt and pepper. Place on a preheated grill or grill pan for about 4 minutes on each side, or until tender.

In a small bowl combine the goat cheese, parsley leaves dill leaves, onion powder, and lemon juice, mashing with a fork.
Put 1/2 teaspoon of the cheese mixture about 1/2-inch from the end of a zucchini slice. Top with a few spinach leaves and 1 small, or half of a large basil leaf. Roll up and place seam side down on a platter. Repeat with the rest of the zucchini slices. 

Tips from Adie and Addy:

This recipe was sssuuuppper easy, so there isn't a lot to change! The main thing I would note is when slicing the zucchini, try to be as consistent with the slices as possible and keep em thin...1/4 inch as recommended is a little on the thick side, so I'd aim for 1/8. Also, don't be afraid to get those slices super floppy (it'll help you with the whole rolling part of this activity).

Happy cooking!

Wine spritzers on our front porch, too :)