Afternoon Snack: Recipe

Today threatened to be a nasty day...when we woke it looked dreary and chilly. But that was not the case, at all! Instead, it was hot and humid. (So it was nasty, after all).

Regardless of the weather, the garden was overflowing and it was time to do something. For some reason I grabbed a cookbook off the shelf about Greek food and I modeled a recipe off something in there. My slight modifications made this a very delicious afternoon snack and even though it's a fried dish, I still feel virtuous knowing it's really really fresh food with very little that's bad for you.

Fried Eggplant and Zucchini
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup warm water
1 egg
1 Tbsp. lemon oil

Olive Oil for frying
2 Japanese eggplants about 6-8" long, sliced about 1/2" thick
2 zucchini about 6-8" long, sliced about 1/2" thick

1 lemon
salt

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and oregano. Add into it the water and mix until it's smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Then add the lemon oil and mix again until well combined. Allow mixture to sit at room temperature about 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the zucchini and eggplant. In a large skillet, heat about 2 1/2 - 3" of olive oil until very hot. Dip the slices of vegetables into the mixture and coat well. Carefully drop slices into the hot oil and fry at high heat for about 5 minutes, turning once, carefully, with a wire spoon or with a thongs. You will probably get about 8 slices into the pan at one time.

Remove slices and place onto a paper towel to drain off oil - sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with the remaining slices. Squeeze lightly with lemon.