Pre-Test Munchies

Today is the last day before I take my surgery shelf exam, yahoo! I officially finished my time on surgery on Tuesday afternoon, after completely my last 28 hour shift. Your body gets very angry at you when you force it to keep working for that long. I got to work at 7 am on Monday and was doing pretty well until around 6 am Tuesday running on no sleep. We stayed pretty busy through out the night, but as things started to slow down, that's when my body started to realize "what are you doing to me?!" Those last few hours of work I spent in a lecture, signout, and rounds were brutal. I felt like a walking zombie in a strange delirious state. I am definitely not going to miss that rotation! 

I've been trying to kick some bad eating habits out of my life. I've resisted the temptation for cafeteria french fries at 11 pm and opted for a nice hummus cup instead. One of my favorite foods is fried zucchini. I had some zucchini in the fridge and decided to try and healthy baked version. I had all of the ingredients laying around and it was a nice snack while I'm studying about fluid resuscitation, pneumothorax, and small bowel obstruction for my surgery shelf. Enjoy this easy healthy treat!

Parm Zucchini fries

adapted from Canella Vita

• 2 large zucchini
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp salt, divided
• ground black pepper, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups panko (other bread crumbs would be fine too)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp. spice blend (I used Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute)

Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut zucchini into thick French-fry-size sticks.
Now make the assembly line. Arrange 3 shallow, wide bowls or pie plates in a row. In the first bowl, mix flour, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. In the second bowl, whisk together eggs, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. In the third bowl, combine panko, Parmesan, spices, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

First dip zucchini in flour, shaking off excess. Transfer to egg mixture and toss until coated, then coat zucchini in bread crumb mixture. 

Arrange fries, in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes and then rotate the pans. Continue to bake until panko coating is golden and crisp, 7 to 12 minutes more. 

Fritters and Furry Friends

Happy Thursday! The weather has been spectacular recently. Blue skies, gusty winds, and warm sunny temperature. I came home after spending the afternoon talking about organ and bone marrow transplants. I was in the mood for a refreshing snack and found a great recipe for zucchini fritters. This seemed so simple and I had all of the ingredients on hand. They are actually very healthy too, just a little bit of cheese and lots of yummy zucchini.  They reminded me a lot of potato latkas but with a yummy green zucchini.

I think zucchini is probably my favorite vegetable and I'm always excited to see new ways to use it. These turned out just great and I was able to make them in under 10 minutes. The original recipe called for mint/parsley. I substituted Penzeys Mural of Flavor spice mix that has a mix of shallots, onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, basil, coriander, lemon peel, citric acid, black pepper, chives, green peppercorns, dill weed, and orange peel.I think this gave the fritters a great flavor. I also used Japanese panko breadcrumbs. I really do prefer these over regular breadcrumbs. They provide a great crunch and are really light. I served the fritters will a little dollop of tzatzki sauce which was perfect. It provided a cool, refreshing touch to the fritters. 

The recipe cautioned to squeeze the liquid out of the zucchini or else the fritters wouldn't hold together. I completely forgot that step, but the fritters still turned out fine. They were a little difficult to hold together at first, but once you get a nice brown on one side, it's not too terrible. 

While we were making these, Kuma was whining at the front door. I took a peak outside and realized there was a lost dog sitting on our patio. I managed to wrestle her down long enough to get the phone number on her collar. I found out her name was Affinity and her owner was right down the street. She was super excited and kept trying to wiggle her way into the house to play with Kuma. Her owner came and took her home after a few minutes. I've actually never found a lost dog, so this was my first experience with a owner-doggie reunion. I was so happy that we got her back to her owner and I can only hope someone would do the same if Kuma ever managed to break free. 

An exciting afternoon full of delicious food and happy reunions.

Zucchini Fritters

adapted from Giusto Gusto

• 2-3 small Zucchini, grated
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 Tbsp spice blend
• 1/4 c. cheese (I used a a mix of pecorino romano and parmigiano reggiano)
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil for frying

Combine all of the ingredients and form into small patties about 1/2″ thick. Fry in a hot pan with 1/4″ of olive oil until golden brown on both sides. Once fried to golden perfection, allow the fritters to drain onto paper towel, this will insure they stay extra crispy and not at all soggy.Serve with a dollop of tzatzki sauce.