backyard-to-table

I like potato chips, but I loooove zucchini chips...especially when the zucchini being used comes right from my very own garden.

You can't fully comprehend the sense of pride and accomplishment you get from eating foods that you've nurtured from seed to maturity until you do it yourself. I know some folks just don't have the right circumstances to have their own garden even if the desire is there, but if you're lucky enough to have some space in the sun and a little extra time, I urge you to buy a few pots, a bag or two of soil and compost, and some seeds and just take a stab at gardening. If I can do it, it can be done by you!

Now that I've said my piece about the gloriousness of gardening, I'll step off the grandstand and talk to you about these chips. They're simply slices of zucchini wearing a coat of breadcrumbs, seasonings, and Parmesan cheese and baked until brown and crunchy. Easy, nutritious, delicious, inexpensive, colorful, satisfying, and the list of positive attributes goes on. We had them as a side for this chicken with pecans, so the crunch factor for the meal was nearly off the charts.

Three mistakes to avoid, which I have generously already done for you to prove that they're disastrous, are cutting the zucchinis too thinly, over-salting, and having the oven temperature too high. My first batch resulted in tiny, shriveled, mostly-burned-to-a-crisp remnants of some once-magnificent zucchini. Be careful with your salt because its impact magically seems to intensify as the zucchini dehydrates. The silver-ish lining of my failed attempt is that I was working with supermarket zucchini and not the fruits vegetables of my own labor.

Farm Backyard-to-Table Zucchini Chips
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2-1/2 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.
Pour the milk into a shallow bowl.
Dip the zucchini slices into the milk, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating each side thoroughly.
Place coated slices on a baking sheet line with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Check often, as the thickness of your slices matters a lot!
Serve immediately.