Zucchini Canoes

Got a boat load of zucchini? Make them into tasty canoes.
Zuccanoes (stuffed zucchini)
adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook
Ingredients
4 medium zucchini (Hollygrove)
1-2 Tbs olive oil (TX) [probably just as good with pecan oil]
1 1/2 C minced onion (Rouse's)
1 tsp salt (Avery Island)
1/2 lb mushrooms, minced (Hollygrove)
6 medium cloves garlic (MidCity FM)
1 1/2 C cooked rice (Hollygorve)
1 1/2 C minced pecans, lightly toasted (Bergeron's) [we didn't toast]
3 Tbs fresh lemon juice (Becnel's, Belle Chasse)
black pepper and cayenne, to taste (we left this out)
a few pinches of freshly minced or dried herbs (mostly from my friend Terry's yard):
  any combo of parsley, basil, dill, thyme, or marjoram [we used rosemary, thyme, sage and another small unidentified leaf]
1 C packed grated Ryals' goat cheddar cheese (St. James Cheesery)

Directions
1.  Cut the zucchini lengthwise down the middle. Use a smallish spoon to scoop out the insides, leaving a canoe with a 1/4 inch shell. Mince the insides, and set everything aside.
2.  Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion and salt, and saute over medium heat until the onion is soft (5 - 8 minutes).
3.  Add the minced zucchini innards and the mushrooms. Turn up the heat and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring, letting the liquid evaporate. Stir in the garlic and remove from heat.
4. Stir in the rice and nuts, along with the lemon juice, and season to taste with black pepper, cayenne, and the herbs of your choice.
5. Preheat oven to 350. Fill the zucchini shells, top with the grated cheese and bake on a cookie sheet for 30 - 40 minutes, or until heated through. Serve hot. Optional: serve with a vegetable puree (4 options to choose from in the Moosewood Cookbook).
Serves 4 to 6
About 1 1/ 4 hours to prepare (including baking)

This is very tasty, but fairly simple; no wow factor. The goat cheese cheddar does not act the same as your average cheddar, so it may be better to add the cheese in with the rice and mushroom mixture before baking, rather than on top only. We also recommend more mushrooms; there wasn't quite enough mushroom flavor. The pecans add a nice crunch element, even though we didn't toast them; it probably would have been an more pronounced flavor had we roasted the nuts before adding them.
I proclaim it wholesomely delicious! And I have a half a boat left over for tomorrow.