'tis the season for farmer's markets and fresh produce! don't you wish this freshness was available all year-long?? i know i do. i had a patient once whose son had a garden for the spring/summer and winter, but the only veg that would really survive in it was red cabbage or something like that. don't get me wrong, i love cabbage, but the colors of a summer farmer's market cannot be beat. additionally, gluties live off of these freshies because they are about as safe as food comes! my aunt carol has a great raised garden in the tennessee/georgia hills outside chattanooga. she sent me a picture the other day of "one day's picking," and it was enough to feed a small country... or perhaps make batches and batches of spaghetti sauce and zucchini bread. which is exactly what she did. my uncle estimates they've picked over 400 tomatoes this season. whoa! i can't wait to enjoy their fresh goodness when i go visit in a few weeks to see my hubs-- who will be doing a rotation at the children's hospital in chattanooga.
here is an idea of what to do with those wonderful, green zucchini. use as an appetizer at a barbeque, a side dish at dinner, or a healthy snack. the recipe is easily adaptable to a lot or a little.
dip:
you want to start caramelizing your onions first because they will take the longest. do the rest while your onions simmer.
1 tbls butter or substitute, melt in sauce pan
1 med-large sweet onion, sliced (it doesn't really matter how you cut it because it will be blended later)
melt the butter in the sauce pan, add onion, and simmer over med heat for 10-15 minutes. it's better to let them brown at this lower heat than for them to burn.
remove from heat. add:
2 tbls cider vinegar
2 tbls honey
1 tbls mustard (i used gf dijon for some spice)
sea salt&pepper to taste
add to food processor.
blend.
add to fp:
1 cup gf mayo or substitute such as greek yogurt (i can mostly tolerate gf mayo, it's easy to find in common brands. i used an olive oil based)
blend until smooth.
cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
zucchini sticks:
cut zucchini into 3 inc. "sticks." this is where you can make a lot (4 or more zuchs) or a little (1-2 zuchs) depending on your event. it's been recommended to let the sticks sit in a colander over the sink for a bit because a lot of water comes out of zuchs. my recommendation is to do whatever you want, but make sure you do pat the sticks dry before preparing.
dry ingredients:
in 3 dipping bowls, set up your gf flour, egg wash, and crunchies
(NOTE: you gluties can use smashed rice chex or other gf cereals, gf bread crumbs, gf cornmeal, etc.-- otherwise, non-gluties can use smashed corn flakes for a little umph)
powder your sticks through your "breading" process as you like
place on a sprayed cookie sheet
bake @ 425 for about 10-12 minutes, turn sticks, and continue another 5-8 minutes until desired crispiness
retrieve your amazing dip from the fridge, serve up in a cute ramekin fanned by your zuch sticks.
enjoy the rest of farmer's season!
