Raw Pasta w/ Pesto

I've been horrendously horrible about putting up posts on this blog, and in the meantime I've made a lot of amazing meals that don't need a lot of explanation. So I'm going to try to be a little more realistic about my ambitions for this blog and start posting pictures of simple meals I ate that really worked and can be explained briefly. Here's the first.



It's a bad picture from my phone, but somehow it still looks pretty good!

I shredded up some washed zucchini to make "raw pasta." (using this charming little gadget I got at Whole Foods for $8: julienne peeler)
Then I mixed it up with some homemade cilantro pesto (here's an example recipe, or you could buy pesto and freeze what you don't use for later and/or use basil pesto instead).
On top I sprinkled some chopped up red bell pepper, chunked up artichoke hearts, and a tiny bit of sea salt.

This was pretty damn good and satisfying. I have to say, one of my favorite *favorite* culinary discoveries of the last year has been zucchini "pasta." I tried it during my raw food experimentation, amongst a whole lot of failed nut pate and cheese experiments (I know now I probably need to get the right recipe and a $500 blender to make a good nut pate or cheese). Anyway, zucchini pasta. So. fucking. good. It really is. My favorite sauces on it so far are pestos and thai peanut/almond butter type sauces, but I haven't branched out much from there. A tomato marinara sauce would be lovely with this I'm sure. And its easier and faster (and healthier) than boiling noodles and adding spaghetti sauce. Probably cheaper too. And it's actually satisfying enough to be a main course if you add some protien (p.s. not pictured I had 1 leftover turkey meatball -- ground turkey mixed with chopped onion and thyme, rolled into balls and baked at 350 F until done). Amazing.

Yumyum.