Tuesday, May 1, 2012

I'm so excited I could SPEW!!

I bought a spiral slicer from Amazon last week, I got it on Wednesday, and I got to eat the benefits today!

Better yet, I got to SHARE!!

I gotta say, it was totally fun making the zucchini spaghetti.  It was kind of like playing with those Play-Dough people, where you put the Play-Dough in the head, and then press the person down, so that it grows hair! 

It was also was really satisfying in an odd kind of way.  Just one single zucchini made about 3 cups of curly cues, enough to share with friends. 

To go with the zucchini pasta, I made Thai basil pesto.  I brought it to work, and heated it slightly, because I didn't want it to be super cold (I find a lot of things taste much more flavourful when they're neither super cold nor super hot), but I also didn't want to heat up the noodles at all--zucchini gets pretty squishy when you cook it!!

A co-worker walked by when my friend and I were enjoying our lunches, and she sniffed, sniffed again, and said, "Something sure smells good!"

And the best part?  The recipe is squeaky super clean!  Love that!

Here's the recipe:

Zucchini Noodles with Thai Basil Pesto and Hemp Hearts (serves 2)

Ingredients (all ingredients adjustable to taste):

1 large zucchini, spirulized
Hemp hearts (optional)

Olive oil (about 2 tbsp)
Garlic cloves (3 or so)
Sea salt (pinch)
Cashews (1/2 cup)--soak them for a couple of hours if your blender isn't very powerful as it makes a more smooth sauce)
Nutritional yeast (2-3 tbsp)
Garlic powder (1/2 tsp)
Onion powder (1/2 tsp)
Lemon juice (2-3 tbsp lemon juice)
Fresh basil (regular basil is fine, or experiment with other kinds of basil--like lemon basil!  That would be delish!)

Add all ingredients in a blender, except zucchini and hemp hearts, and blend until very smooth.

In a large bowl, thoroughly toss together zucchini noodles and sauce.  Plate, and sprinkle with hemp hearts if using.

That's it!  Delish!