For most people, Summer means time for fresh, locally-grown produce.

(Not to rub it in, but out here in California, we get the good stuff year round. And there's no humidity. And you can ski and swim in the ocean in the same day. Sure, I'll wait while you book your plane tickets.)

And when it comes to that produce, no vegetable is as prodigious in July and August as the mighty zucchini (a.k.a. summer squash). Sold for cents on the pound, it's a versatile and welcome harbinger of warm weather wherever it appears. Have you had the little two or three inch ones, boiled in salted water and covered with fresh, green olive oil? Or what about the big baseball bats, sliced into long thick strips and thrown on the grill, as meaty and juicy as the best sirloin? Heck, you can even eat the stuff raw.

This week, we've got yet another recipe for the students out there.

Like last week's soup, this isn't a fast recipe; that being said, the labor required is minimal, and the end results are truly fantastic.

Bagels are a staple of the student diet -- smeared with peanut butter and filled with banana slices, they're the perfect snack; piled high and broiled with cheese, they make an open-faced sandwich like no other. And on the weekends? A couple slices of lox, a schmear of Neufchatel, some ringlets of red onion, a little tomato, some capers...are you getting the idea?

Indeed, few foods are consumed by students more often, which makes the sad state of most bagels truly unfortunate. If you're going to eat lots of something, shouldn't it at least be good?

To that end then, this week, we're showing you how to make bagels -- easy, versatile, and better than any of the anemic specimens you'll find hanging around your local grocery store. Let's get to it.

As you can see, the Pasta Burner is very excited about the spinach we've been recently getting from the Clark Park Farmer's Market. She wanted me to write a blog entry about it, but I've got a few posts back-logged before I can write an entry on just how freaking delicious it is. In fact, we just signed up for a CSA (or "farm share") with a local grower, so we'll be getting lots of great leafy greens and other locally produced food all winter, and, believe me, a lot of those recipes will end up here. So consider this photo a preview of sorts.

On to today's recipe...no, wait...two recipes.