Every blog I read has been complaining about the abundance of zucchini and other delicious summer vegetables.

Behind my house, there is a parking pad. Not a garden. So that “problem” is not one I’m faced with. Rather, I intentionally purchase these vegetables from the grocery store and look for things to make with them.

I also commonly make things that most people would consider side dishes as my full meal. Yet another woe of cooking for one.

This was really easy, and includes all of my favorite things:

1) Tomatoes. I eat them as a snack, sliced with italian dressing. Or bite into them like an apple. My tomato tally for today is 3 beefsteaks.

2) Onions and garlic, you know this. It perfumes my house and makes my taste buds happy.

3) Cheese. Find me a food that is not made better by either cheese or chocolate.

4) Colorful vegetables that get slightly mushy and soak up the flavors of garlic and butter really well.

Winner winner, non-chicken dinner.

Summer Vegetable Gratin

from For the Love of Cooking

2 medium tomatoes

1 small yellow squash

1 small zucchini

1/2 vidalia onion

1 large clove garlic

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

butter and oil

Slice the onion and caramelize- I use a little bit of oil and butter, and salt generously. As they’re browning, layer thinly sliced tomatoes at the bottom of your casserole dish. Add a layer of the yellow squash. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.

Once the onions are mostly browned, add the garlic. Let it cook for 30 seconds or so, then remove from heat.

Add as the next layer. Top with thinly sliced zucchini (salt and pepper this layer again), then another layer of tomatoes. And more cheese on top.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 5 minutes until it’s nice and brown and bubbly.

It was delicious scooped onto the wheat bread I made. And the perfect accompaniment to How I Met Your Mother reruns on a rainy night, when I should be doing schoolwork. Priorities. Then I made it again for lunch yesterday. Kelly was unimpressed. “It’s just vegetables and cheese? I could do that.” I hope our four readers other than her aren’t equally as disappointed.