The Internet is overflowing with food and diet advice. The problem is sifting through all that clutter. In the past few months we’ve been using EatingWell to build meal plans and make our daily lives better.
However, this post isn’t about diet but rather a discovery we made through that search. Zucchini noodles are a great replacement for pasta and with a few simple steps very easy to prepare.
I have an excellent mandoline and can julienne like a pro, but these babies can be finger shorteners. Luckily, there is a much safer and cheaper solution … the spiral slicer.
Again the Internet is packed with a variety of these. But our advice is to avoid the small handheld tubes and go with a horizontal crank type, The above link is the one we use, but you can find similar models … on-line.
The 2mm noodle blade works best for most pasta dishes. Keep in mind that the stream of veg coming out the cutter blade can get unruly. Making use of kitchen shears when moving raw noodles to the cooking vessel works well.
Cut zucchini in half and place the cut side next to the blade. This does two things. First, it makes it easier to cut, and finally it moves the waste to the end you would have trimmed anyway.
Once cut, we typically give them a quick ‘wilt’ in a skillet over medium high heat with a teaspoon of oil (or quick spray). Not looking to do much more than pull the moisture out, but then we like a bit of crunch so you can cook them down to personal taste. A steam basket in the microwave works just about as good and again, the idea is to draw out water.
They don’t keep well, so you do need to make them fresh. Pair them with any sauce you choose. They are especially good with basic pesto stirred in at the end of the sauté. Just be sure to drain any excess liquid first.
If you think that avocados are just something to mash-up and dip corn chips into, here’s some news for you, and we’re not talking that ‘millennial ‘ toast fad either.
We came across a really great way to fix this fruit. Make an egg salad. You can skip the mayo and get a rich creamy egg salad that is perfect for a sandwich or scooping. Though we’d recommend that you use celery sticks, or carrot disks, rather than corn chips.
It may have been years since you tried Green Goddess dressing. I remember bottles of a Kraft version that showed up in our family fridge in the 70’s . I guess it was popular on the SoCal sprout salads of the day. We recently came across a version of this dressing as part of an oven-roasted green veggie salad … it was better than I remember and actually easy to make.
The way we are making it is with a hand blender which allows us to do very small batches but it can stay in your fridge for a few weeks if you wanted to do larger portions. The recipe attached is weighed out in grams to make this process easier.
Mix this with some of the green goddess and spread over a bowl of salad greens, some wilted kale or even a mix of both.
As the main salad maker in our family, my goal is to ensure we eat fresh veggies every day. A quick, mixed green salad fits the bill nicely. So why do I hesitate when it’s time to make a salad?
While my bread making has been inconsistent the last few months, there is an active sourdough culture in our fridge. That means this starter is fed every two to three weeks. It is pulled from the fridge, a portion is removed, and equal amounts of flour and water are added. Then it is allowed to start working before it’s return to the fridge.
The process of feeding a sourdough starter means there is some amount of perfectly good leavening agent that gets washed down the drain, if it’s not used for baking. When there’s no bread to bake, we make waffles. The recipe will work for pancakes if you are so inclined. “A waffle is just a more considerate pancake. It’s like, here, let me hold that syrup for you in these convenient boxes.”
If you are interested in sourdough, there are ways to start from scratch, but it is way easier to either find a baker and ask … they are usually looking for someone to take the cast off. But be ready to feed the beast regularly. That might be motivation to make a loaf of bread, or at least the more considerate breakfast food.