This is barely even a recipe, I know. But it is what I cooked tonight, and it's a nice simple thing if you're ever stumped by excess zukes and tomatoes (likelier in July than February, I know).
When I was 18 and first living in NYC, broke as could be, my roommate Laila and I were the masters of cheap, simple vegetable dishes. (We also ate a lot of potatoes, but I try not to remember that part.) We had a huge bag of basmati rice given to us by another roommate's mom---it lasted four of us for a whole semester---and we split the cost of an ENORMOUS can of olive oil from a local italian deli. Then we found one of those mysterious vegetable bodegas in NY that seem to sell produce for half what it costs at any other store (what ARE the economics of that?), and we were pretty much set. I think I made this particular combo about once a week....
Thinly slice an onion, and slice up few zucchini and/or summer squash. Sautee these in olive oil with a little diced or sliced garlic. When they've softened, add chopped tomatoes. Douse generously in balsamic and sprinkle with dried dill. Cook until quite soft and serve over rice (or pasta - tonight I've gone with Acina de Pepe). Just a nice, savory hot dinner for a sleepy evening.
(In another food-memory from the same time, I remember one particular day when Laila and I splurged on a trip to the Union Square farmer's market and bought basil and pine nuts for fresh pesto. That was the weekend of 9/8 & 9/9/01. That Tuesday we found ourselves chopping our pesto ingredients by hand in a daze, huddled around a sporadically-working TV with the 20 young people in our international affairs program, which has just commenced the prior week. It was enough pesto to feed everyone, and a more sober semester than any of us had planned on.)
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