reminiscing

For those of you who are over, let’s say 35, do you remember way back in the 80’s when one of the most popular appetizers in just about every hip eatery was Deep-Fried Mushrooms and Zucchini?

Those were the days, weren’t they?

Magical Days.

Wonderfully magical, I tell you!

Every weekend at happy hour, we’d waltz into Lunt Avenue Marble Club and eat a huge platter of those crunchy delights. Dipping them into a creamy white dipping sauce …  and not gain a pound!

And at that heavenly happy hour, you could order 2 for 1 cocktail for three bucks and the waitress would deliver both drinks to your table at the same time. Sometimes you’d order your second round before you finished your first, and you’d have four drinks sitting in front of you. At the same time!

Honestly, kids, that is not a dream! It used to happen.

The part about not gaining a pound is true too. It may have had a little tiny bit to do with my 20-something metabolism … I miss those days.

I miss Deep-Fried Mushrooms and Zucchini.

I really miss my metabolism!

I miss it all so much that I tried to bring it back for a remix.

These days, just looking at a platter of Deep-Fried Mushrooms and Zucchini would cause me to instantly gain 10, maybe 20 pounds. So, I gave the zucchini a “makeover” – just to see if I could recapture at least a little slice of the glory days.

As far as makeovers go – this was a major fail! As far as your basic low-cal, low-fat, low-cholesterol makeover – it was fine.

These zucchini rounds are NOTHING like the glory days of zucchini, but they are an OK side dish. With that ringing endorsement, I’m sure you’re going to want to run into the kitchen and whip up a batch or two.

I miss the Magical Days!

I used diet cheese puffs for the yellow zucchini and diet honey mustard pretzels for the green zucchini. The cheese puff zucchini was disgusting! I’m only mentioning it because it is shown in the photos. Otherwise, I would prefer to forget it completely!

The pretzel variety was tasty … as tasty as diet-baked zucchini can be when you are really wishing you were at Lunt Avenue with four cocktails in front of you.

For those of you who still own a 20-something metabolism or are willing to throw caution to the wind… the original recipe for LAMC Deep-Fried Mushrooms and Zucchini is at the end of the post. If you make it, do not let me know. It will only serve to make me feel sad.

Baked Skinny Zucchini Rounds

1/3 cup Egg Beaters
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup crushed honey mustard pretzels
1 zucchini, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
Pam

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with Pam.

Whisk together the Egg Beaters, salt, and pepper in a flat bowl or pie plate.

Place the crushed pretzels in another flat bowl.

Dip the zucchini in the eggs, roll them in the crushed pretzel, and place them on the prepared baking sheet.

Spray the top of the zucchini lightly with Pam. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12 minutes, then turn over and bake for 8 more minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

Forget the creamy white dipping sauce, and serve with salsa, if you’d like.

Clear your mind of all past memories of fried zucchini and enjoy.

Serves 2

Lunt Avenue Marble Club’s Deep-Fried Zucchini and Mushrooms

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup yellow corn flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon celery salt

Sliced zucchini and small button mushrooms, sliced in half

1 whole egg, beaten
Oil (for frying)

Combine all dry ingredients and mix well.

Dip sliced vegetables into egg wash.

Dredge vegetables in flour mixture.

Fry vegetables until golden brown in oil heated to 375 degrees.

Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

The dry mixture is a large batch and may be kept in the refrigerator between uses.