The Hunger Struck - Confessions of a Food Fanatic.

We are finally back in our apartment after a month in boxes and I couldn’t be more happy. There’s still a lot of unpacking to do but we should be back to normal this weekend, which means that I will be posting more regularly again in the very near future.

Anyway, I made zucchini sticks! The healthy kind. And they rocked!

These little babies are a quick fix when there’s nothing much left in the kitchen. It’s also a recipe I find myself making quite often. For some reason it’s invariably the zucchini’s that are left in my fridge at the end of the week. I suppose  this is because historically I’ve never really been a huge zucchini fan. There’s something about cooked zucchini that’s never appealed to me and I can identify a few traumatic situations involving ratatouille as a child, or should I say extremely overcooked zucchini mush.

(Don’t worry Mom, I’m not referring to any meal you prepared. I promise.)

I guess that’s what turned me off, this is not a vegetable that lends itself well to long cooking times. I know people, there are a few exceptions to this and I assure you I’m just as much a fan of zucchini bread and other cake like zucchini applications. Obviously. I just find that for the most part, I prefer zucchini raw or just slightly cooked.

And this is one of my absolute favorite, slightly cooked zucchini recipes.

Also, we’re big fans of making healthy versions of junk food for weeknight dinners. You can often find vegetable fries, baked french fries made with yams and sweet potatoes and zucchini sticks with a salad and a selections of condiments on the table for dinner.

I’m not sure what this says about us.

Baked Zucchini Sticks

2 medium sized zucchinis, cut into 1/2 inch wide sticks

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Line up 3 medium sized bowls and place the Panko and Parmesan cheese in one, and the eggs and flour in the other two… IE. a breading station. Make sure to mix the eggs up with a fork and season each of the bowls with salt and pepper.

Prepare a large baking sheet.

Dredge the zucchini sticks in the flour then the egg and finally in the Panko and Parmesan mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining zucchini.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown in color but still crunchy on the inside.

Serve with your favorite ranch dipping sauce. Or do what I did and combine 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup sour cream, fresh chives, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.