So Last Season: Zucchini in Fine Slices

Listen, I know, I know, that picture up there practically SCREAMS out of season. Not very comme il faut, I know, but if I tell you I made this back in July, will you forgive me? I did tell you I had a lot of photos lying about with stuff I never blogged about and I might as well start now.

I - come to think of it we, as in both of the people in this household - eat too little vegetables. One of the things I have resorted to doing is to make salads to eat either before or after the "main dish" if you will, just to make sure we actually get some greens. This was one of those, heavily inspired by Shauna's Zucchini Carpaccio (from October. 2005. Yowser, time moves fast!) that I bookmarked some time ago (obviously). It's easy to do, and if you have a garden with zucchinis growing in it (I envy you - but that's not really the message I'm trying to get across right now), a bag of almonds and a block of crumbly cheese in the fridge, you're all set.

Finely slice your zucchini (I use a mandoline), layering them on a big, flat plate. Drizzle a little of your favorite vinagrette between each layer (for looks, use one with a light vinegar, such as white wine or elderflower - if you don't care about the dark streaks and want your balsamic, by all means, go ahead. Just don't say I didn't warn you) Chop up a small handful of parsley and basil. Toast a handful of almonds in a warm skillet and sprinkle on top. Crumble a nice chunk of feta cheese over everything, give the lot a good grind of black pepper and of you go.

Currently, I have 1254 (!!!) recipes to try in my del.icio.us account (isn't del.icio.us fantastic btw? I wouldn't know what to do without it!). Not to mention the piles of magazines with post-it notes sticking out from them and the cookbooks. 30 days of NaBloPoMo? Pshs! ;)