As promised, for those of you who (like me) have an abundance of zucchini currently growing in your garden, here is a recipe for Sicilian-style stuffed zucchini, courtesy of my friend Tasha Zemke, who happens to live on an island off of Sicily. As you will see, the recipe is very Italian -- no amounts to the ingredients and a lot of smooshing and using your hands -- but that's what makes it fun, right? If it helps, throw in the occasional "abbondanza" while you work. Also, in her recipe, sardines or anchovies are suggested, but I'm guessing salted meats would also be good. Enjoy!

Cut a zucchini in half and hollow it out. Chop up the insides roughly and set them aside. Boil a pot full of salted water and stick in the halves and let them cook until you can prick them with a fork and they seem tender. Be careful, though, because if you overcook them, they'll fall apart and you want them to keep their shape.

Saute the zucchini pieces in oil and throw in some chopped-up onion, too. When they're to your liking, stick them in a bowl. To this add some bread crumbs (these should not be the store-bought kind -- instead hollow out a loaf of good crusty bread and basically rip it into fingernail-sized pieces), salt, pepper, chopped-up basil and parsley, capers, a few tomatoes, some sardines (or anchovies) and grated parmesan and pecorino cheese. Stir these ingredients together and then add some olive oil until the whole mix is soft and you feel like you could form it into small meatballs.

Once your cooked zucchini halves have cooled, fill them with the mix. Just use your hands and smoosh it in there and fill them up.

Heat up a skillet, add olive oil. Right before you cook the zucchini halves, beat up an egg or two and then brush some gooey egg onto the filled sides of the zucchini halves and use your hands to let the goo run around the side of the zucchini, then stick all of the halves filled-side down in the skillet and let the egg cook up. Cook until browned. Serve at room temperature.

As Tasha says: YUM!