The summer dinner that broke

Zucchini lasagna swaps noodles for long planks of squash. Great flavor, but you slice, salt, and wipe every single plank before you can start layering.

“salt each individual plank, wipe each individual plank”

Too many kids, too little time

The writer has more children now and less patience for prep rituals. The fix was not a better technique, it was abandoning the format entirely.

“Now I have far too many children to be salting individual planks of zucchini”

Coins, not planks

Halve three medium zucchini lengthwise, then slice crosswise an eighth of an inch thick. No salting, no draining, no layering. The pieces cook down in the pan.

Turkey first, then squash

Brown a pound of ground turkey in olive oil for about 4 minutes, add the zucchini and salt, then crank the heat and cook 6 to 8 minutes until tender.

Sauce does the seasoning

Stir in canned tomato sauce with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and half the basil. Pantry powders replace the slow-simmered aromatics.

Swirl, cover, melt

Drop spoonfuls of whole-milk ricotta into the pan, scatter grated mozzarella over the top, cover on low for 4 minutes. Finish with basil and chile flakes.