The way I cook now:  Covid related, just the two of us, plant based, and dairy free (mostly).  When I began this blog, many years ago, I was concerned about things like cholesterol and fat intake.  We were eating then, as now, a mostly plant based diet with fish and occasionally some animal protein. My attitude for decades now has been that I would prefer not to eat animals, out of  personal, health, and global concerns, but I have consciously decided not to be too rigid about it. I think that about 99.8% of our diet is vegetarian, but I will happily eat what is offered to me, and believe that every time I eat only plants I am doing myself and the world a favor.

Inflammation has become our newest concern, due to some serious and potentially debilitating health issues.  I did some research on inflammation and set us on the journey of finding which foods, if any, might be contributing to the constant swelling and pain.  We set off on a three month cleanse following the plan of Kathy Abascal, author of The Abascal Way  Initially the plan drastically limited the foods we could eat, then gradually added things back as tolerated.  It was an amazing and enlightening experience.  The most valuable takeaway for us was that Reyn, who consumed cottage cheese nearly every day of his life, is highly intolerant of dairy, and somewhat sensitive to gluten.  We have adjusted and adapted and changed our way of eating. The swelling is gone, the pain is reduced, and life goes on. We continue to eat delicious food.  I plan to write a bit more about the other food issues mentioned above, but for now we must make use of those last things harvested from the garden.

Zucchini - I have learned to love zucchini in all it's forms.  Our plants this year were stellar.  We had lovely small to medium squash daily until a few days ago and, for a time, we really were eating zucchini every day.  Here is one of my favorite summer squash recipes.

Zucchini Fritters

2 medium zucchinis

1 onion

Maybe some sliced scallions or chopped red pepper

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp roasted coriander pepper

Olive oil for frying

Grate zucchinis and onion together.  Add scallions or red pepper, if desired.  Stir in egg, then add dry ingredients. Consistency should be moist, but not too thin.  Add oil to a skillet heated over medium heat, then add spoonfuls of the batter.   I pat it gently to neaten the edges and shape into patties.  Saute 2 - 3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through.

Roasted Coriander Pepper - This is an incredible seasoning that I found in a very esoteric cookbook by Martin Nordin entitled, Green Burgers.  I highly recommend the seasoning and the book.

Heat a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Toast 2 TBS of coriander seeds

and 2 TBS black peppercorns until they begin to brown and are very fragrant. Use a mortar or spice grinder to make a fine powder.  Store in a jar.  The original recipe also calls for 2 TBS of Sichuan peppers, but I've never had them when making this.  It's fabulous without them.

In the photo above, I served the fritters with a warm salad of lentils, tricolor quinoa, sauteed onions and sweet peppers, tossed with baby arugula and a mild vinaigrette with just a touch of sesame oil.

Looking forward to more zucchini tonight.