Zucchini Feta Fritters

Tis' the season when spring has at last sprung. Lovely people start wearing brilliant colors and showing off their long-forgotten skin. SKIN! You forget how wonderful skin is during these long winter months, when even during intimate evening hours skin stays shrouded under the duvet. Skirts and shorts and fancy shoes...I love those beginning days of spring when people pop open like the buds. And then there are the buds; those lovely little green sprigs poking out, otherwise known as my kryptonite.

Yes, I have seasonal allergies. All the glories of opening season are lost when suddenly the sky begins to blur, my head begins to ache and I begin sneezing like it's my M#@$%in' JOB. Damn thee, pollen.

Partly due to these seasonal allergies, my appetite also takes a steep dive at the beginning of Spring. This means no more heavy casseroles, lasagnas, meat pies or other things that require basting, baking or massive quantities of butter. It's a sad departure, but it has to happen sometime, otherwise I would just be like this guy all the time. Happily.

So I turned to the trusty isles of Greece, where relatively light fare can flourish. I had zucchinis, I had feta, I was rarin' to go. These were delicious and light and really flavorful. Ramsay originally had mint in his but I skipped because I just didn't want to try and find any. This was still awesome. I also added some mystery spice from our mortar and pestle which I believe was just cayenne and pepper, but experiment, see what you get. The feta gets all melty and amazing, and the lemon at the end is soooo good.

DOWNSIDES TO SPRING:
-the streets start smelling because all the dog excrement starts unfreezing (and there is a lot)
-allergies
-never knowing if I should bring galoshes or sandals or a scarf
-allergies

UPSIDES TO SPRING:
-most everything other than allergies

IN CONCLUSION: enjoy these fritters. they make everything even better.

Zucchini Feta Fritters
(adapted from Ramsay's World Kitchen)

3 large zuchinnis
1 large onion
olive oil
salt and pepper
2-3 TBS AP flour
200 grams diced feta
3 eggs
tbs dill
lemon wedges

Grate the zucchinis into a small bowl and sprinkle with salt and let it rest for 10 minutes. While this rests, slice the onions very thinly and cook in a pan with olive oil for about 6 minutes, til soft. let cool. Take the zucchini and press out the water, then transfer to a large bowl. Combine with the onions, then add the feta, flour, herbs and eggs. Combine, and if it seems too wet add a bit more flour. add a good portion of pepper. Heat the skillet with olive oil, then add spoonfuls to the pan. allow to cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Eat warm with lemon!!!

Moussaka

The winter tends to bring on a rash of meat-heavy meals: sausage, meatballs, sausage, bacon. In some ways (for me) this is a paradise, but the old adage "too much can be a bad thing" (or whatever the hell it is) proves true even for a meat-lover like myself. That being said, this particular meal still has meat in it. But I believe Moussaka is traditionally a non-meat dish, and with these good intentions I have gained momentum towards a slightly less meat-full diet.

Perhaps I am also dreaming of Grecian isles during these winter months; a nostalgic dream of those years when debt figures were still being bluffed. Perhaps even farther back, when people still believed that a fleshy god was living just beyond the clouds and impregnating gorgeous virgins on earth. 

Ah, those were the days. 

Really my only knowledge of Greece comes from the film Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. In this film, we do not see Rorie Gilmore eating anything because she is too busy bathing her nubile young body in the Aegean Sea and flirting with a beautiful fish monger. From my perspective, if she wasn't stuffing her face with fish and cheese and motherfuckin' spanikopita all the time, bitch is crazy.