In an effort to eat healthier I am exploring preparing some food that I am not very acquainted with in a little bit of a quirky way.

I found a recipe for Zany Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in a magazine and decided to give them a try.

The zany ingredient was zucchini.

I confess I have never purchased a zucchini and have only eaten it when being polite at a friends home. It was definitely as small a portion as I could get away with as the texture wasn't enjoyable.

There I was standing in the produce section, recipe in hand, trying to figure out which was a zucchini and how do you know if it is ripe or good to eat?

Thank goodness for labeling (smile). Now that I found them, how would I know how many to buy to get 2 cups grated? I called a friend. Two would be good and I was advised to get firm ones, not hard and to find 2 that are about medium in size when I looked at the ones to choose from.

The recipe follows:
1/4 cup (4tbs) butter, softened
1/2 cup each brown and granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. each baking soda and salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins


Heat oven to 350 degrees. beat first 3 ingredients together until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat 1 min. Add next 4 ingredients; beat 1 min. more. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop dough rounds onto greased cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes.

I used to know when my cookies were done because the smoke alarm went off. Last Thanksgiving I discovered unbleached parchment paper. Lining the cookie sheet keeps them for burning. It works terrific and makes cleaning, easy. The only caution is that you need to keep the oven temperature under 400 degrees.

As for taste, "zany." I like them. They certainly won't replace the traditional oatmeal cookies or the ones that include chunks of chocolate but they are good - you don't have to coax anyone to eat them by telling them they are nutritious.

It is one more example of how sometimes the most unusual combinations can make a wonderful blend.