Fridge Scrounging Makes Zucchini Puffs

The desperate moment when you realize you don't have enough of anything to make your standbys. No pancakes, no biscuits and no darling, no cake. There is 1/2 a cup of almond meal. What are going to do with that?

Make puffs! Scrambled eggs, sliced tomatoes and puffs. We've got a good thing going on here, Lucas and I during our quiet 'tea time.' You cannot make enough eggs for him, I'm up to 4, 2 for each of us. Mama-mia, my backyard could hold chickens couldn't it? It took me a year to convince Patrick that we didn't need a t.v., how long you suppose to work my magic and get a little pen in the back? Tough sell that one would be.

The garden didn't do quite what I hoped, though my front yard city garden did seem to inspire others in the neighborhood to use their front yards a bit more creatively. It was beautiful to watch it pop and sprout and flower (no fruit on our various squash plants). Great conversation starter for those walking dogs and strolling by.

All but the spaghetti squash I grew for this meal and the kids picked the rest. It is funny watching them out front running around the tiny garden as cars drive past. The sweet basil and the sour little tomatoes (they can be sweet but we picked them early to avoid them splitting) sauteed in olive oil with sea salt and pepper. Using what you have, scrounging a bit in the fridge or garden and the cupboards is an act of simplicity. It is honoring the things you have, not driving again to the store, not eating out. Which brings us back to puffs.

I had zucchini and eggs and a teeny bit of almond meal. Puffs were born. I didn't use cheese but as you cheese lovers are already dreaming up, that too, would be lovely.

Zucchini Puffs

1/2 cup almond meal

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

1 egg

2 tb olive oil

1 tb agave or honey

1 cup of grated zucchini

Mix the dry. Mix the wet. Add together with zucchini. Place about 1/4 cup mounds of the mixture on a piece of parchment (oiled). Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes. They are a bit crispy when they first come out of the oven, but later in the day they do go a bit soggy. You can crisp them back up in the oven if you like. Made 8 puffs which lasted two days.