I LIKE THIS! Baby Zucchini

Baby zucchini — who cares right? Wrong! I care, at least now that I've tried them. They are not just adorable, they are uniquely delicious.

I'm lucky enough to live in a place with Trader Joe's, which is where I purchased my first baby zucchini, though I'm sure other grocery stores (whatup Wegmans?!) and farmer's markets sell them as well so you should have no excuse not to give them a shot.

I am very consistent with my food shopping; meaning I basically get the same exact set of items every single time I walk into a store, Trader Joe's or not. I avoid the fruit, get three or four green vegetables, some avocados, maybe some sweet potatoes, definitely grape tomatoes, and then lots of nuts, frozen veggies, meats, tofu, almond milk, grapeseed oil and grass-fed butter, occasionally some brown rice pasta and/or tortillas. Same old, same old. Now as part of my green vegetable selection, depending on the season I often get some green zucchini, the full-size kind. They are generally well priced, looking fine and incredibly versatile; zucchini cook really quickly and pair well with a lot of other foods so they're a practical and smart purchase.

This is all to say I've been noting the presence of the baby zucchini in the produce area for some time, years probably, and never taken the bait. I'm sure my mental talk has been something like, "why pay more for something smaller??? it's much more cost effective to buy the bigger version, meh". 

Oh how foolish I have been. The day that I finally made the leap, it wasn't the cuteness of the mini vegetable that changed my mind, it was the handwritten shelf label with flavor notes that appeared below. I can't remember exactly what it said but I remember the word "nutty" and that is what got me. I asked myself why not? and put them in my cart. After all even if the sign was lying and they tasted exactly the same as the big version, don't I still deserve the joy of a tiny veggie every once in a while? Yes I do!

Well my dears, that shelf note wasn't joking around — they do taste nutty! Not in an overwhelming way, but in an "I taste noticeably different from the big version!" way. THEY ARE SO DELICIOUS. I prepared them by slicing once lengthwise and then pan-sautéing till they got a little caramelized. So quick, so easy, SO AMAZING. I'm using the all caps here to really express to you the intensity with which I make these statements — I am not exaggerating, I'm trying to help you! If you have never eaten a baby zucchini you are depriving your palate of what is possibly the most delicious of all the green vegetables!!! 

Ok then, now you know... Please do yourself a favor and TRY THEM.