Baked Zucchini Fries With A Yogurt-Buttermilk Ranch Dip

These baked zucchini fries are an easy and healthy alternative to French fries. I made this a few nights ago when I was looking for a simple side that would go well with the grilled cheese sandwiches I was making for dinner. I also made a quick dip for the fries while they were baking in the oven.
The recipes for both the fries and the dip can be found on Faith’s blog.

For the Zucchini Fries:

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, cut into long, thick pieces
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk
¼ cup unseasoned, dry bread crumbs
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
Red chilli powder
Garlic powder
Dried herbs (I used a combination of basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease well.

In a wide, shallow bowl, beat the eggs with a little bit of milk. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, chilli powder, and dried herbs.

Dip the zucchini pieces in the egg-milk mixture first and then roll in the bread crumb- cheese mixture to get an even coating all over.

Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake at 425 F for 20- 25 minutes.

My fries were a little soft on the inside and had a crunchy exterior but they were still very tasty. I’ve also tried Ellie Krieger’s recipe for Zucchini Parmesan Crisps using the dry ingredients in this recipe. We liked it so much that I’ve made it twice in the last few days.




For the Yogurt-Buttermilk Ranch Dip:

Ingredients:
Yogurt
Buttermilk
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Sugar
Dried parsley
Dried dill

Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well. Serve with fries.

Cold Avocado And Buttermilk Soup

One of my recent cookbook acquisitions is World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey, which has some 650+ recipes from around the world.
With the hot weather we've been experiencing over the last couple of days, it seemed like the perfect time to make something light and refreshing. I flipped through the pages of my new cookbook and came across her recipe for a soup that did not require any cooking. Just the thing I was looking for!

Here's my version of the recipe.

For 3 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups buttermilk
3 green chillies, chopped
½ - 1 tsp freshly grated ginger paste
Juice of a lemon
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cumin powder (prepared by dry roasting cumin seeds and grinding it using a mortar& pestle)
1 ripe avocado, chopped
Salt
Chives (for garnishing)

Method:
Throw all the ingredients together in the blender and process until smooth. Chill and serve.

We had this tangy soup along with a bean salad.