Summer Tomato, Eggplant, & Herb Gratin

There are plenty of summer gratin recipes out there, all fighting for your attention. So what makes this one so special? Well, for one thing, it's pretty. (If I do say so myself.) For another, unlike some of its heavier cousins, it's not a cheese-laden calorie bomb. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not what I want on a hot day.

Summer "Noodles" of Yellow & Green Zucchini with a Cool Basil Oil Tomato Sauce: International Incident Noodles Party

Please don't misunderstand:  I adore noodles. Spaghetti, fettuccine, ramen, udon, soba, cellophane, rice - I don't play favorites, I love them all. Making them is fun; eating (or slurping) them all up is even better.

But I decided to forgo the dough for this latest noodles-themed International Incident Party.  Thanks to the summer heat and humidity (at least in my hemisphere),  the thought of kneading dough and getting covered in flour and then - horrors! - boiling a big pot of water leaves me  exhausted and dripping with sweat.  These days I find myself craving crunchy, cooling, refreshing foods. So I decided to make ribbon-like "noodles" out of the ultimate cooling summer vegetable, zucchini. (To  check out what all the others brought to the noodles party, please visit our lovely hostess, Penny aka Jeroxie!)

This  dish is composed entirely of  ingredients I got at the farmers market. In fact, I made this the same day I visited the market - and it doesn't get much fresher than that!