Earlier this month my daughter and I attended my niece's wedding in Vermont. The wedding was held at one of the resorts at Killington, which was a beautiful setting, but my niece was more beautiful.

One evening, we all went to the Countryman's Pleasure Restaurant, which serves German food. You can read the reviews online, where you'll learn about the restaurant's converted farmhouse and engaging ambiance. It's all true. Countryman's Pleasure was a perfect place to enjoy a dinner with family who I rarely see. I ordered the veal à la Holstein (breaded veal with fried egg, anchovies and capers). The egg and anchovies complemented the veal in the satisfying way that I have to think they were supposed to.

Now my daughter's off with her mother visiting another set of relatives in Florida. They're coming back Thursday or Friday, and I was thinking of making this zucchini dish to celebrate. Why? Because it's tasty, and there's lots of zucchinis around now. Also, I've been making this dish for a long time – long enough for my daughter to have drawn the picture of it shown above. Around the time she drew that picture, I overheard her reassure one of her friends, who was over to the house at dinnertime, that this zucchini was "really weird but good."

This recipe originally appeared in Cooking Light (Claudia Roden [October 2001], How to cook Middle Eastern, pages 138-139, 142-144, 146, 148, 150-151). The caraway and coriander are key, so don't be tempted to leave them out.

Ingredients
1¼ pound small zucchini, cut into 1-inch thick slices
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon caraway seed
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon original Tabasco brand pepper sauce
1 large garlic clove, crushed
¼-½ cup (2-4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese (domestic cow's milk feta at $6.99 per pound; do not use a pre-crumbled, flavored variety)

Procedure
Place zucchini in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook 20 minutes or until zucchini is very tender. Drain in a colander. While zucchini is still in the colander, coarsely mash with a fork. Drain some more.

To make the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, caraway seed, coriander, Tabasco sauce and garlic in a bowl, and whisk. Add zucchini, and toss well. Sprinkle with cheese.

I serve this zucchini with long-grain brown rice (4 cups for $1.50, on sale).