A Match Made in (Air Fryer) Heaven

Two years ago, before going plant based, I would never have thought that I’d be eating two pounds of  vegetables in one day, let alone one meal. Even now, two pounds of zucchini (and summer squash) steamed or stir fried would probably still be a little much, in both volume and taste ... at least for me. I like zucchini. It’s great in my banana, zucchini, oat breakfast cookies. I’ll add it as a “filler” to a lot of recipes to bulk them up, but I wouldn’t really say I love zucchini. Until today … when I introduced it to my air fryer. (Zuke, meet Breville … Brev, meet  zucchini.) A match made in air fryer heaven and now those two pounds of simple, unassuming squash are anything but.

Thirty minutes @ 400 degrees on super convection and I have a super delicious start to my day. Veggies for breakfast, oh yeah!  Air frying vegetables, much like roasting, concentrates the flavor and brings out the sweetness as the moisture content is released. And what I had on my plate this morning tasted almost like, dare I say it, candy. I can’t believe I’m saying that (ok, typing that), because the first time I heard Chef AJ say that her air fried zucchini tasted like candy, I was like … uh huh … yeah sure. But, I kid you not, what I just ate for breakfast was as satisfying as any candy … more so, actually. If I had eaten candy (or waffles or pancakes or cinnamon rolls or any other sweet breakfast foods) my taste buds would be on hyper drive and I’d be wanting more and more and more … and more.

So this was a great savory way to start my day. I did drizzle the finished product with a little of my California Vinegars. I mixed Sweet Heat, Teriyaki and Gilroy Garlic. Just the tiniest amount of each. And, honestly, these sweet little squash spears were good to go just plain naked too. Didn’t even need salt. Could I have dressed them up more? Sure. I could have dredged them in aquafaba and rolled them in some seasoned panko crumbs and faux parmesan. And I just may do that when I have the time and inclination. But this … this I will definitely be doing again. This just might be my new morning favorite.