Fried Zucchini

Many vegetable gardens in my part of Ohio was started a little later than usual due to the cold weather, at least later than last year when it was unseasonably warm. We have been eating spinach and lettuce for several weeks now and a few peppers, but nothing else.

Today, I was able to harvest three zucchinis and I decided to fry them up as a pre-dinner, hold-me-over snack. I know, I know. Why grow a garden for healthy eating if you just turn around and fry the veggies? Because fried zucchini is sooooo good! And it has to be better than anything you would get in a restaurant.

I use small zucchinis that have not started to develop their seeds yet. I slice them about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch thick (you choose however you prefer them). I dip them in a beaten egg and plunge them into a flour mixture. My mixture is a little different every time I make them. Tonight it was flour, Cajun seasoning, salt, garlic powder, and lemon pepper seasoning. I like mine a little spicy so I put more Cajun seasoning than anything else. I then pan-fried them on the stove making sure not to crowd them in the pan. I used tongs to turn them when the first side was golden brown and put them on a paper towel-lined plate. I had some buttermilk ranch dressing in the fridge and used that as a dip; hubs opted for ketchup.

Sometimes I double dip my slices using milk and bread crumbs for the final coating. There is no right or wrong way to do this. I usually dip them once, so you can still taste the zucchini.

I have summer yellow squash that looks like it might be ready tomorrow night and a few bell peppers to make my almost famous "Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta."