Recipe: Judith Jones's Vegetable Sushi Rice Salad and a Hershey's Hot Air Balloon Ride

Do my chopstick skillz look better?

I've been practicing.  All day, all night.  When I should be pipetting and mixing chemicals together and looking at glowing cells under a microscope.  Really, I'm just thinking about how to hold chopsticks in my left hand without looking like a psycho killer.

Obviously.  I shouldn't quit my day job.

Also.  If I'm going to keep showing you my hands, I really should paint my nails.

Or get me some super chic rubber gloves.

(All the cool MD/PhD students are wearing them!)

(Cool MD/PhD student = oxymoron.)

Then you'd really think I was sitting in lab practicing chopsticking.

("Chopsticking" sounds dirty. You should probably not use it in a sentence today.  Especially not while talking to your boss. Or small children. Just saying.)



Enough rambling. Let's get down to business.

Sushi.

My love of sushi knows absolutely zero bounds.  It is, in fact, the sole reason why I can't give up eating fish.

More than just the raw insides, though, I love the sushi experience.  Dipping the rolls into soy sauce (insert collective swoon for the most perfect condiment ever created).  Covertly stealing pickled ginger from everyone else's plate.  Getting evil looks from my waitress as I completely mangle correct chopstick usage.

Eating my sushi innards before I eat the surrounding rice so that I can dip that delicious seasoned and sesame seed-studded exterior into my soy sauce and enjoy it all on its own.  Yes. I deconstruct my sushi before eating it.  Weird.

But have you tasted that rice?  It's good.  Really good/  Turn-into-a-salad-with-zucchini-eggplant-and-pickled-ginger-and-eat-every-day-for-lunch good.

So when I saw this Judith Jones recipe in her cookbook, The Pleasures of Cooking for One, I knew had to make it.  And quadruple it. To make four servings.  Yeah, I know.  Blasphemy.  Especially since...I actually only need to cook for one!

But I want sushi rice every day for the rest of my life.  So we're all pretty lucky I didn't quintuple it and then post about it every day for the next two weeks.  It did cross my mind, though.  Not gonna lie.     


So who is Judith Jones?  First of all, she's number 8 on Gourmet's list of 50 women game-changers in food.  She's also the woman who brought us The Diary of Anne Frank and Mastering the Art of French Cooking by saving them from the publisher's reject pile.  School reading lists and cookbook shelves around the world wouldn't be the same without her.

Plus, she loves sushi rice.  And that makes her a rock star in my book.

Vegetable Sushi Rice Salad
Serves 4, adapted from Judith Jones's The Pleasures of Cooking for One

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups white rice
• 6 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
• 4 tsp sugar
• salt, to taste
• 1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise and then widthwise into half moons
• 3 Japanese eggplant, sliced
• 8 tbsp minced pickled ginger

Instructions

1. Cook rice according to package instructions.  Preheat oven to 450.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Cover it with the zucchini and eggplant slices. Sprinkle with salt and roast for 20 minutes, or until the veggies start to shrivel and brown.
2. While the rice is still warm, mix it with the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.
3. Toss with the zucchini, eggplant and pickled ginger.  Serve with soy sauce.

To see what Judith Jones recipes others have cooked up, check out these sites!
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island

 

Alright.  So. Yesterday morning I woke up at 5AM.  For you. For me.  For chocolate. Mostly for chocolate.



Early last week, I was contacted by Hershey's asking me if I wanted to attend the premiere of their new "Air Delight" chocolate, which involved a hot air balloon ride in central Jersey. After much deliberation and a few quaaludes, I agreed. Little did I know that by "hot air balloon ride" they really meant "helicopter ride from the west side of Manhattan to central Jersey followed by a hot air balloon ride in a super spiffy Hershey's balloon". If I had known that.  I probably would have taken an extra quaalude.



This is the helicopter into which I entrusted my life.  And the man who flew it.  If you see him, thank him for getting me there and back safely. And give him a kiss for me.  He had a super cute Irish accent.  I fell a little bit in love. Moving on.



The helicopter ride was amazing. Not choppy at all (thanks to mister adorable up there) and probably one of the most breathtaking experiences in my life.  When else do you get to see NYC's skyline and the statue of liberty and New Jersey from a bird's eye view?  All in one day?  Never.



And then there was the hot air balloon ride. Equally breathtaking.  And just about as light and airy as the new Hershey's chocolate line.  Which is to say...melt in your mouth airy.



And the best part is..you don't have to take my word for it!  If you're in the NJ area this weekend, there is going to be a hot air balloon FESTIVAL in which Hershey's balloon will be featured!  And the people from Hershey's will also be there with chocolate samples. Even if you thought you had weekend plans...this is the time to change them.  Seriously.  Get on it. And thanks, Hershey's, for this amazing experience!

Recipe: Thai Basil Ice Cream

Sometimes, you have to wake up at 2AM to taste test the ice cream that you put in the freezer to chill at 10.

Even if it's Friday.  And you're tired.  And you have to wake up at 5:30 the next morning to beat the heat on your 10 mile run.

Set an alarm.

Sleep with a spoon next to your pillow.

That's what I'd do.  (Did.)



And then you should probably taste test some more the day that you decide to take photos.

I mean...you can't put it back in the container after you scooped it out into a bowl and let it sit on your desk photography platform for all of five minutes.  Right?




Health code violation?

FDA regulations?

Eats Well With Others apartment sanctions?

ALL OF THE ABOVE?!?!?!?

And then maybe...that first batch of photos isn't quite right.  Maybe you need to try again.


Shrugs.  Yeah.  It happens.



If, after all of this photographizing, there's even a smidgen of ice cream left.  You might want to serve it at the end of your sweet potato fry taste testing party.

Exactly two minutes before everyone's bedtime.  Just enough time for a spoonful per person.

Sharing is caring, after all.

Just, um.  Don't tell anyone what "that green stuff" is until after they taste it.

No one needs skepticism right before bed.

And they'll be so floored after eating it that they won't question your herb usage ever again.  Pinky swear.



Thai Basil Ice Cream
Makes 3 cups, adapted from 17 and Baking

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped Thai basil
• pinch of salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup chilled whipping cream

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan over moderate heat, bring the milk, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, and the basil to a boil.  Remove from the heat and let steep 30 minutes, half covered with a lid.  Transfer to a blender, keeping the saucepan and blend until the basil is ground.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks on medium speed.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until thick and pale, about 1 minute.  Pour the milk mixture into the mixer bowl in a slow, steady stream and beat until well combined.  Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.  Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, heat over moderate heat until the custard coats the back of the spoon and reaches 175 degrees.  Strain into a metal bowl and chill until cold, stirring often.
3. Stir in cream and churn in an ice cream maker.  Freeze in an airtight container at least two hours.

I am submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging, which is being hosted this week by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey.

Spinach-Tofu Burgers

You may think you don't believe in tofu, but that's just cause you haven't tried these burgers.  Check out the recipe over at Marcus Samuelsson's site!

Recipe: Smoked Salmon and Ricotta-Dill Sandwich with Cucumbers

I've really been trying to be the normal one at work these days.

You see.  My first week, I brought in veggie burgers, pizza, and chickpeas in mint sauce for lunch. 

Not all on the same day.  But still.

If we're being honest.  I got weird looks.  And zero marriage proposals.

There is some kind of conclusion to be drawn from such statistics.  I'm sure of it.



So last week, I thought I'd normalize myself.

"Blend in."

And what I came up with was sandwiches.  Sandwiches are totally rational lunch items, right?

I think yes.



Open up my crisper drawer, check out the goings on.  And what do we have but an abundance of the most boring vegetable known to man - the CUCUMBER!

(Thank you CSA for providing me with pound upon pound of water and cellulose and almost zero nutritional value.  I appreciate it.)

And not only was it sitting in my crisper.  But it was shriveling there.  SHRIVELING.  And no one wants a shriveling phallus-shaped object in their fridge. 

I promise.



And then it dawned on me.  The only two sandwich toppings that could make cucumbers worth ingesting.

Ricotta.  And smoked salmon.  Yum.

Throw some CSA dill into the mix that had been sitting on my counter for...days. Let's go with days.

And you've got yourself some sandwich.

Definitely awesome enough to make your co-workers think you're a superlative sandwich-eating sane person.  Until you write a post like this.  At which point. You're on your own.



Smoked Salmon and Ricotta-Dill Sandwich with Cucumbers
Serves 4, an Eats Well With Others Original


Ingredients

• 8 slices multi-grain bread
• 1 (15 oz) container part-skim ricotta
• 1/4 cup dill
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• 8 oz smoked salmon

Instructions

1. Place two slices of bread on a plate.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, dill, salt and black pepper.
3. Spread one slice of bread with 1/4 cup of the ricotta-dill mix.  Then top with smoked salmon, cucumber, and second slice of bread.
4. Repeat with remaining bread and ingredients.

I am submitting this to Souper Sunday, which is hosted by Deb over at Kahakai Kitchen!

Madhur Jaffrey's Chickpeas and Chana Dal (Split Peas) Cooked Together in a Mint Sauce

What you're looking at right here? 

This is the Indian version of the New York hot dog. 

(This is where all of my Indian readers and my roommate start a mutiny.  I know it's hot out, but stay calm people.  Stay. Calm.  In fact.  No sudden movements.  And keep your hands where I can see 'em.  Mmmkay?)

I wouldn't know, because I haven't eaten a hot dog in probably about twelve years (thanks to my brother who, when I was eight, informed me with all the authority that his six-year-old voice could muster that they were made from cow testicles). 

But so says Madhur Jaffrey in her pre-recipe intro.

And if you know anything about Ms. Jaffrey, then you know that when it comes to Indian food.  Her word is gospel truth. 



Now.  If only I could get the street carts in NYC to jump on this chickpea and chana dal bandwagon. 

It would make my life (and my lunch habits) so much easier.

**Before you go, check out my latest post on the Marcus Samuelsson blog - Pizza with Escarole, Fontina, and Walnuts!



This dish truly is the perfect Indian food starter dish for those who think they don't like Indian food.  (Cough mom and dad cough).  It doesn't have any curry powder so it isn't quite as much of a palate shocker as other dishes.  The mint gives it a refreshing air to it, while the tamarind paste adds a hint of tang - the two complimenting each other perfectly.  I added some zucchini into it because, well, who doesn't have an abundance of that at the moment but I think it would also be great with eggplant, sweet potatoes, or butternut squash, depending on the season.

Chickpeas and Chana Dal Cooked Together in a Mint Sauce
Serves 4, adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, picked over, washed and drained
3/4 cup chana dal or yellow split peas, picked over, washed and drained
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
3 fresh hot green chili peppers, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 cup mint leaves, packed, washed, and coarsely chopped
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 lb zucchini/summer squash, cut into half moons
1/2 pound very ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp garam masala
3 tbsp tamarind paste or fresh lemon juice to taste

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water to cover by about 5 inches.  Drain, discarding the washing liquid.

2. In a large pot, bring the chickpeas and split peas and 7 cups of water to a boil.  Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for 1 hour or until chickpeas and split peas are tender.  I would start checking around the 30-40 minute mark.  Drain and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, combine the garlic, ginger, green chiles, and mint leaves in the container of a blender.  Add 6 to 8 tbsp wter as needed and blend, pushing down the mixture with a rubber spatula several times, until pureed.  Set the minty mixture aside.

4. Heat the oil in a wide, medium pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and stir and fry until they are a rich, reddish brown.  Add the zucchini/summer squash and saute until starting to get tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes.  Stir and cook until the tomatoes reduce and darken.  Add the green spice paste and stir over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.  Add the chickpeas and dal, and about 2 cups of water.  Stir in the salt, coriander, cumin, garam masala, and tamarind paste, mixing thoroughly.  Cover, lower the heat, and simmer gently for 1/2 hour.  Serve hot.

This entry is part of a celebration of the 50 Women Game-Changers in Food.  Check out these posts for more Madhur Jaffrey recipes!

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Poland Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Kathleen -Bake Away with Me
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island

Sweet Potato Pie Fries - My Alexia Foods "Reinvent a Classic" Final Submission!

Have you ever tried waiting for marshmallows to get stale?

It takes longer than watching water boil.

It takes longer than the time I usually need in-between laundry loads to rejuvenate my laundry-doing determination (2.5 weeks).

It takes longer than the frequency with which I shave my legs (no comment).  (Joanne.  You're supposed to wait until AFTER you have a boyfriend to get so lax about such things.  TSK TSK.)

It takes longer than you (or I) can even imagine! 




Meaning I have no idea how long it takes.  Because I gave up a few weeks into the waiting game.  Told my roommate's mom, who was visiting at the time, that she could go ahead and eat the entire damn baking pan of them if she wanted to cause I never wanted to see their ugly powdery faces again! 

And never looked back.



You see, almost as soon as I agreed to participate in the Alexia Foods "Reinvent a Classic" french fry creation competition, I thought it would be super cute to do a sweet potato pie dessert fry.  A fry replete with marshmallow, graham cracker, cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg deliciousness.

But how to get those marshmallows into the mix?  That was the question.

I had this genius idea (or so I thought at the time) to pour a whole bag of mini marshmallows onto a baking sheet and let them sit on my kitchen table for weeks.  And weeks.  And weeks.  With the hope that they would harden enough that I could throw them in a food processor and blast them to smithereens (finely ground powder). 

You should know that in New York City humidity, marshmallows will never harden when you want them to.  Lesson learned.

Onto plan B.  Wait.  Do we have a plan B? 

Well, we didn't at first.  Until Sophie started moaning about how she couldn't stop eating the vanilla meringues that her mom had brought her.

And the rest, my friends, is history.

Those meringues had exactly the consistency I was looking for the "never-staling" marshmallows to take on.  As well as a delicious vanilla flavor.  So into the food processor they went, along with graham crackers, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch of salt. 

And there you have it.  Sweet potato pie seasoning.  Perfect for a sweet potato pie fry.



I'll be honest, I truly didn't want these to win.  But at my taste testing party...it was kind of unanimous.

And when you get five MD/PhD students, three medical students, and a philosopher to agree on something.  You kind of just have to go with it.

These fries are the perfect dessert (or after school/after work/after running practice snack) because they are sweet without being too sweet.  Just indulgent enough to satisfy that dessert craving, but also a fairly healthy treat when all is said and done. 

And if you're like me, the kind of person who craves sweet potato pie (and Thanksgiving in general) at all hours of the day.  Every day.  Ever and anon.  Then these are the perfect way to get your fix without having to worry about how much your hips or your thighs or your skinny jeans are going to hate you the next day.

Utterly addictive, in the most delicious sense of the word.



Sweet Potato Pie Fries
Serves 4-5, an Eats Well With Others Original


1 bag Alexia Sweet Potato Fries (or 2-3 sweet potatoes, cut into fry shapes)
6 vanilla meringues
6 graham cracker sheets
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 450. 

2. Put the meringues, graham crackers, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a food processor.  Puree until the consistency is of a finely ground powder.

3. Toss the fries with some olive oil to coat.  Toss with the sweet potato pie seasoning mix.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and cooked through.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt once removed from the oven, while still warm.

Serve with a sweet yogurt dip, ice cream, or even chocolate fondue!  Or, just enjoy them on their own!

Noodles in Thai Curry Sauce

You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and you really just want cold Chinese food?

And coffee?

And two advils?

No comment.



Maybe let's change the subject.

That picture up there is proof that unlike some food network star celebrities, I actually eat the food I cook for all of you.

Also.  I barely know how to use chopsticks.

Do they use chopsticks in Thailand?  I don't even know.

I'm sure they don't make these noodles in Thailand, so we're not even vying for authenticity at this point.  Such a shame.



I made these noodles right before I left for my Sangria date thinking that if "grabbing drinks" really just meant "grabbing drinks" at least I would have some good food to come home to and cuddle with unabashedly. 

Well.  After three hours and a pitcher of Sangria and not even a speckle of a hint of food, I was in such a state when I got home that I decided 11 o'clock was just too late for dinner.

So I went to bed and woke up craving cold noodles.  Funny how that happens.



I also decided that Thai basil is the real and true cure for any and all of my ailments.  Especially the bad date blues.  It's really good at fixing those. 

Unlike regular basil it has hints of licorice and cinnamon.  I got some in my CSA and I'm thinking of growing some on my windowsill.  Cause it's kind of the best thing that's ever happened to me.  Besides you guys.

Before we get onto the recipe, check out the poll in the top right corner of my blog and vote on which sweet potato fry recipe you'd be most likely to buy if you saw it in your freezer section.  The tasting last night was a total hit and though there was certainly an almost unanimously obvious winner, I want your input before I make a final decision.  Since you can't taste the fries, here's a little description of each of them:

Wasabi Ginger - all of your favorite sushi flavors come together in this sweet potato fry and are tied together with a hint of maple syrup.  A little sweet, a little spicy, a lot of delicious.

Thai Curry Peanut Butter - picture your favorite peanut sauce from your favorite Thai restaurant smeared all over your favorite vegetable (the sweet potato.  Obviously.)

Sweet Potato Pie - sweet potato fries coated in crushed up vanilla meringues, cinnamon graham crackers, nutmeg, ginger and a hint of sea salt.  Not overly sweet, these babies have all of the heart-warming flavor of sweet potato pie without all the calories.

Please vote!



Noodles in Thai Curry Sauce
Serves 4, adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

1 Japanese eggplant, cut into rounds
2 lb zucchini, cut into half moons
8 oz buckwheat soba noodles
1 1/2 tbsp roasted peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 onion, diced
15 oz light coconut milk
3 tsp Thai red curry paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 scallions, thinly sliced into rounds
1/4 cup Thai basil (or regular basil)

1. Preheat oven to 450.  Toss the eggplant and zucchini with a little bit of soy sauce. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes or until starting to brown.

2. Cook the noodles in plenty of salted boiling water until tender.  Drain and rinse well to stop the cooking.

3. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet.  Add the garlic, ginger, and onion and stir-fry over high heat until softened, about 2 minutes.  Add the coconut milk, curry paste and soy sauce and stir to break up the paste.  Add in the zucchini and eggplant.  Lower the heat and simmer until everything is well blended, 3-4 minutes.  Add the noodles, scallions and Thai basil and toss until coated.

I am submitting this to:
Meatless Mondays, hosted by Chaya of My Sweet and Savory
Maniac Meatless Mondays hosted by Rebecca Jean of Midnight Maniac
Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Debbi of Debbi Does Dinner

Alexia "Reinvent A Classic" French Fry Testing Extravaganza

I interrupt your regularly scheduled programming on this lovely blue-skied Sunday morning to bring you a very important announcement. 

Tonight.  At exactly 9PM Eastern Standard Time, the Eats Well With Others kitchen will be hosting an extravaganza unlike any other that's ever been held before on the Weill Cornell Medical College campus. 

And possibly unlike any other that's ever been held this side of the Rocky Mountains. 

(I make no claim to the west coast, however.  There are some crazy things that go down there.  I can't even begin to compete.)

Taste buds will burn with glee:


Seemingly insatiable peanut butter cravings will be satisfied:


Worlds will be turned upside down:


Philosophical questions that ask what it really means to be a french fry will be pondered.  And then food processed:


Stomachs will be filled to the brim:


Just make sure to save room for dessert:


So if you are in the NYC area and want to stop by around 9PM for a little french fry taste testing and voting, shoot me an email.  And for the rest of you who do not  live in the tri-state area (why? I think you need to move.  We should really be neighbors.), have no fear.  A poll is going to go up tomorrow with the top three finalists from tonight's festivities and then it is going to be up to you to decide which recipe I am going to submit to the Alexia Foods Reinvent A Classic competition.

The fate of french fries everywhere rests in your hands.  God speed.

*I am being financially compensated for my services in the "Reinvent a Classic" campaign by Alexia Foods.

Marcella Hazan's Penne with Creamy Zucchini and Basil Sauce

I went to the Olive Garden once.

I'm pretty sure that's an offense that will get you shunned from all Italian American communities and family gatherings.  But I did it anyway.

I was in high school at the time. Young and stupid. Reckless with my intestines and taste buds.  

One of my friends suggested that we go for an after school snack.  So we split an entree and one of those amazing never-ending bread bowls.  And gossiped.

I'll do anything for gossip.  And for never-ending bread bowls.  True story.




I remember thinking that the food wasn't half bad.

Then again, back then I also thought that I looked good with platinum blonde highlights.  And neon green leggings. 

No comment.



Thankfully, my taste in food has gotten better.  (Although my taste in men has regressed.  Trade-off?  Perhaps.)

(I've also graduated to hot pink leggings.  Way better than neon green.  WAY. BETTER.)

I'd much rather eat real authentic Italian food, which is actually very vegetable-heavy and fresh flavored, than the over-processed over-salted over-cheesed meals that are served in most Italian-American restaurants.  Which is exactly the kind of response that Gourmet Game Changer Number 6 - Marcella Hazan - has been fighting to obtain from the American public for years.

Marcella is considered to be one of the foremost authority on Italian cuisine, and for good reason.  She broke Italian cooking down for the average person so that they felt confident cooking it at home rather than feeling compelled to buy a jar of Ragu, throw it over pasta, and call it an Italian dinner.

I rarely make cream sauces because of how they make me feel after I eat them (sluggish), but Marcella's penne with creamy zucchini and basil sauce was not heavy or overbearing at all.  There was no roux to make it thick and heavy.  Just cream and some parmesan cheese, with basil sprinkled in for freshness.  Absolutely delicious. 

For more Marcella, check out these sites, as these women are also cooking their way through Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers:
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Kathleen - Bake Away with MeVal - More Than Burnt Toast
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Katie - Making Michael Poland Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite   



Penne with Creamy Zucchini and Basil Sauce
Serves 5, adapted from Marcella Hazan's The Classic Italian Cookbook

1 lb penne
2 lb zucchini
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
salt and pepper, to taste
a bunch of basil, chopped finely
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1. Set a large pot of SALTED water to a boil.  Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, wash and slice zucchini in strips.  Slice into strips the length of a tootsie roll, but skinnier.

3. Heat butter and olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and stir.  Before garlic starts to brown, add zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and starting to brown a bit.

4. Add cream.  Season with salt and pepper.  Let cook on medium-low heat until thickened a bit.  Let simmer until pasta is done.


5. Just before mixing with the pasta, stir basil into the sauce and turn off the heat.  Toss with pasta and parmesan cheese.

Looking for more pasta recipes that use zucchini?  Check these out:
Baked Zucchini Macaroni and Cheese
Homemade Linguine with Zucchini, Lemon, Capers and Pine Nuts
Ravioli with Brown Butter, Almonds and Zucchini
Zucchini Carbonara


I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights which is being hosted this week by Debbi of Debbi Does Dinner!