Zucchini "Noodles"

Just a quick pretty photo today of some luscious, fresh veg. This is a pile of raw zucchini noodles topped with a compote of fresh grape tomatoes, onions, garlic and oregano and basil from my garden. This was light and delicious. I counted it as dinner, my husband counted it as a side dish.

Being in a "weeding out" phase of life, I'm reluctant to add to my kitchen drawers, particularly if the item is pricey, but the "spiralizers" out there have long intrigued me. Still, I've resisted the urge to drop $20 for another veggie chopper -- until I found myself in the "As Seen On TV" aisle in our local Walmart. There it was, the Veggetti, right next to the nausea-inducing "Pedi-Egg"(for shaving dead skin off feet) and "Tag Away"(for skin tags), for the low, low price of $14.88. All items being hermetically sealed and unused, I swallowed my pride and a little bit of bile and popped that gadget in my cart.

I'm reasonably impressed with the initial results of this gimmick. The strands of squash are indeed "noodle-like" and, best of all, it hardly takes up any room and is dishwasher-safe. I'm sure it'll only work well with softer veggies, but that's okay with me. There is a small un-grated cone of zucchini that never makes it to the blades, but it's easily dispatched with a couple of slices.

I enjoyed the raw noodles with the warm compote, but liked the leftovers even more the next day, very slightly warmed. Next time I think I'll prepare the hot compote and then briefly stir the noodles into it before taking it off the heat. That should be just the right amount of cooking to maximize flavor without compromising texture. I definitely see more veggie noodles in my gluten-free future.