Hiltrud Tuinstra from Santa Rosa, Calif., was looking for a recipe she lost years ago for making stuffed zucchini. She recalled that it had frozen spinach and bread crumbs added to the zucchini flesh, but she could not remember any other details. Joann Langdale, also from Santa Rosa, sent in her favorite recipe for making stuffed zucchini, which sounded fairly similar to what Tuinstra was seeking.

Stuffed zucchini is one of those dishes that has as many variations as your garden or farmers' market has zucchinis. Langdale's recipe is simple and straightforward, nothing overly fancy added, just good quality ingredients and the right balance of flavor and texture. So before you give away or compost those last zucchinis from your garden, you might want to give this recipe a try.

Requests

Leda Hoffman of Sonoma, Calif., is looking for a recipe for making a hearty apricot nut bread. She thought the recipe came from James Beard's book on bread, but she says she looked it up and it was not there. She remembers that in addition to the apricots, the bread had almonds and sour cream.

If you are looking for a recipe or can answer a request, write to Julie Rothman, Recipe Finder, The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278. If you send more than one recipe, please put each on a separate piece of paper with your name, address and daytime phone number. Please list the ingredients in order of use and note the number of servings each recipe makes.

Baked Stuffed Zucchini

Makes: 6-8 servings

6 to 8 medium zucchini

2 medium onions, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

12 sprigs parsley, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup frozen spinach, cooked and drained

1 teaspoon dried oregano

11/2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 eggs beaten

2/3 cup dry bread crumbs

Cook whole zucchinis in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out center, leaving 1/4-inch of shell all around. Combine the zucchini pulp with the cooked and drained spinach in a bowl and set aside. Saute onions, garlic and parsley in olive oil until onion is tender. Add to spinach and pulp mixture and combine well. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs, eggs, cheese and seasonings. Lightly grease or spray a cooking dish large enough to hold the zucchini shells. Lightly salt shells and fill with pulp mixture, then sprinkle bread crumb mixture on top. Cover dish with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.