Sunday, June 15, 2008

Cranking them out


This may be a surprise to some of you, but after years of making raw foods (including zucchini "noodles"), I finally own a spiral slicer. Thanks to my loving husband (Happy Father's Day, by the way), I no longer have to cut each and every noodle by hand (actually, I think he got a little tired of me complaining about how long it takes).

So why haven't I purchased one sooner? Well, I just thought it was ridiculous to waste money and space on a gadget that only serves one purpose. Boy, was I mistaken.

Now, it's not a big deal to cut up one serving worth of veggie "noodles" for myself. However, when I want to serve a crowd, just the thought of the time it would take to make that many "noodles" by hand is quite daunting.

For instance, when I go to a potluck or a picnic, my first instinct is to bring a raw version of the traditional fare (you know how I encourage "rawifying" your favorites).

Lately, the first recipe that comes to mind is spaghetti salad, a simple dish consisting of spaghetti noodles, cucumber, green peppers, tomatoes, olive oil and a bottle of salad seasoning. I had thought about bringing my raw version to our neighborhood block party this weekend, but was dreading the zucchini prep (my raw equivalent to the noodles in this salad).

Although hesitant to cut all those "noodles" myself, I still picked up the ingredients for the salad. Luckily, Matthew had predicted this in advance, ordering this handy helper, which arrived just in time to make my masterpiece.

And, just in case you'd like to try it, too, here is the recipe:


"Zucchetti" Salad
3 zucchini, cut or spiralized into "noodles"
1 medium cucumber, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped**
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4-6 Tbsp. of your own salad seasoning*

In a large bowl, toss together the zucchini, cucumber, green pepper, tomato and olive oil. Mix in seasonings and adjust amount based on your taste. Enjoy or chill until ready to serve.

*To make your own version of the bottled salad seasoning, combine a mixture of nutritional yeast (the prepackaged stuff contains Romano cheese), sesame seeds, poppy seeds, paprika, celery seed, garlic, black pepper, red pepper and sea salt.

**Due to the tomato recall at the moment, I used diced cooked tomatoes this weekend in the recipe (forgive me). I just wanted to be safe, especially since I was going to be feeding this to others. If you are lucky enough to be growing your own tomatoes (I'm so jealous of those of you who are), please use fresh raw ones in this recipe.

8 comments:

yardsnacker said...

We'll be trying this out this week! Looks fantastic! We were using a veggie peeler to make fettucinni for the longest time...so lame. We now use the German made Lurch Spiralo. Works fab.

RawBin said...

Super!!! I remember talking about this with you so many times. As soon as I saw the picture I knew you were no longer slicing by hand! That was so nice of Matthew to order one for you.

The zucchetti salad looks great! Thanks for the recipe. I'll be sure to try that one out. I'll even taste it when done with my Juice Feast. I'm trying not to look at too much food porn until then. Have you tried beet salad yet? apples?

Unknown said...

i MUST have one of those!

my boyfriend says no more appliances :(

Charis said...

Ooh, I've been wanting one of those FOREVER! How did you make the noodles without them?

Penni said...

Mouth is watering, as usual!! I have the spiral slicer, mine is just like yours, and I love it. Your recipe is going on my list of what's for dinner this week.

xo....Penni

Anonymous said...

I just got a juicer this week. Maybe next week will be the spirilizer! Your salad looks great and easy for a big crowd.

Kristen's Raw said...

Girl! I just want to dive right into that bowl and swim! YUM!!!

shannonmarie said...

Yardsnacker, I hope you liked the Zucchetti Salad. I've had it a few times since this post.

Rawbin, I can't believe I finally gave into the idea of getting one of these contraptions. I guess you were right.

Good luck getting through the rest of your juice feast. You look great!

Haven't run any beets through the slicer yet, but Jacob loves when I make ribbons out of his apples.

Alissa, tell your boyfriend I said this appliance is worth it.

Charissa, it's easy to make noodles with a knife if you are patient. I either cut the zucchini in half or into thirds depending on the desired length of the "noodle."

Next, I cut very thin slices lengthwise. I stack a few slices on top of one another, so they are laying flat. Then, cut those into very thin slices. The resulting "noodles" are straight, but are pliable enough to twirl one your fork.

Penni, did you make the salad? I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.

Jaime, it is something to think about purchasing. In the meantime, you can make this salad with hand-cut "noodles."

Kristen, I feel the same way about that photo :-)