~Recipe & photo updated 2007~ One fall a loooooooooong time ago, for some reason the house was overrun with zucchini. My Mom came up with an idea for a quick bite after school. Every day, I'd get off the school bus, head into the house, move straight to the kitchen. I'd slice a zucchini - they seemed exotic then somehow, so firm, so green - then splash on a bit of tomato sauce and throw it in the mike. Tonight I was cleaning up leftovers so used the doctored tomatoes from Day 69 and the result was delicious. But if memory serves, tomato sauce works great. 2007 Update: Instead of tomatoes or tomato sauce, I used leftover salsa -- the kick was very good! VEGETABLE RECIPES from the ARCHIVES ~ more zucchini recipes ~ ~ more microwave recipes ~ ~ more favorite vegetable recipes (this was my very favorite recipe in June 2005!) ~ ZUCCHINI with TOMATOES & CHEDDAR Active time: 5 minutes Time to table: 10 minutes Serves 1 1 zucchini, sliced 2 tablespoons tomato sauce One i

If I've learned one lesson in nearly 11 weeks, it's this: if you're committed to eating vegetables (or by extension, more healthfully) you've got to have a backup plan, something that takes no thinking, no time, no cooking. When I finally came inside well after dark last night, even 15 minutes of knives and skillets seemed unfathomable effort. Maybe that new pizza place? I strategized. I'll cook two vegetables tomorrow , I justified. Really, I promised. Sure you will, my vegetable conscience countered. But I DID have a backup, a couple of cans of beets in the pantry. So supper was simple yes, just some spinach and cottage cheese and beets. It was plenty. It took all of two minutes to throw together. It was delicious - as Nana said so often, hunger is the best sauce. Always, always, always: have a backup.

Sorry, yes, that eggplant kick continues! These slices grew on me - perhaps it's better at room temperature than hot? But for a fair level of fuss, it needed to be great to become a keeper - and to be worth 3 points. Still, if you're on an eggplant kick, give it your own try. OVEN-FRIED EGGPLANT Active time: 15 minutes, virtually all up-front Time to table: 40 minutes Serves 4 Cooking spray 1/3 cup matzo meal (or bread crumbs as the original recipe suggested) 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise 1 tablespoon chopped onion 1 pound eggplant Preheat oven to 425F. (See ALANNA's TIPS) Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mix the matzo meal, Parmesan and Italian seasoning in a bowl (pick one that'll be easy to dip the eggplant slices into). Mix the mayonnaise and onion in another bowl. Remove the stem end of the eggplant, then cut in half-inch slices. Spread a thin layer of the mayonnaise o

Visit the Kitchen Parade weekly blog for another healthful hot-weather dish, a chicken salad laced with chickpeas .

Today's vegetable recipe: Sliced eggplant brushed with vinaigrette, baked, then topped with cheese. Low carb. Weight Watchers 1 point. ~ recipe & photo updated in 2008 ~ 2005: I seem to be on an eggplant kick so had high hopes for this after Day 71 . This time, however, I wanted an easy way to roast eggplant without a lot of oil so I brushed the slices with fat-free Italian dressing from the fridge. Too bad: not so good, even the addition of a bit of feta didn't help. Who knew that cheese couldn't save nearly anything?! The eggplant are pretty, though, yes? I had no idea what the internal structure of an eggplant looked like until these came out of the oven. 2008: This time I used a homemade vinaigrette of 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard and a clove of minced garlic (plus lots of salt and pepper) for a beautiful two-pound globe eggplant. Straight from the oven, the slices still tasted quite plain so again, I went th

Today's quick zucchini side dish, just grate a zucchini or two and then sauté in a quick vinaigrette. So easy, so good! Weight Watchers PointsPlus 1. Low Cal. Low Carb. Gluten Free. Paleo. Not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". ~recipe & photo updated 2015~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ BACK IN 2005: Just this week, the produce sections in grocery stores seem to be bursting with new fruits and vegetables. The scent of first peaches fills the air, begging to be bagged for home. Who needs farmers markets?! This zucchini is good – very good – and ever so simple. The trick is to salt the grated (or, I suppose, julienned) zucchini for 15 minutes, then to squeeze the liquid out. Then it cooks in just a couple of minutes, tonight, with a splash of the vinaigrette from Day 71 and a bit of fresh thyme. UPDATED IN 2015: How simple this was! It does pay to pay attention to the weight of the zucchini, allow a teaspoon of salt per pound (454g) of zucchini. Any more? The

~recipe & photo updated in 2007~ 2005 Original Text: "There must be a lighter way ... these are addictively good - a problem when they're loaded with olive oil! It may not be the recipe's fault. I couldn't find the pastry brush so dipped the first several eggplant slices into the dressing. I switched to my fingers, which used less of the dressing, but the damage was done." 2007 Recipe & Photo Update: With a silicone pastry brush, 'too much oil' was no problem, in fact, I brushed all the cut surfaces once then had so much leftover that I brushed them again after 20 minutes in the oven. So yes, there is a lighter way and yes, they're still addictively good. 2007 KITCHEN NOTES: While slender Japanese eggplant may be more tender (so I read but I can't tell the difference), the standard 'globe' eggplant is preferable here, because it has a lower skin:flesh ratio. That said, the skin isn't unpalateable so use what you have on hand.