Friday, October 8, 2010

Raw Pesto Zucchini Pasta!

I just had myself a most sublimely delectable plate of zucchini pesto pasta. :)
Zucchini pasta is definitely one of my all time favorite raw dishes because it tastes great and it's sooo easy to make. I've been making it at least once or twice a month forever now, and most of the time, end up having it for a whole week.
Depending on what you like and how you happen to want the sauce to taste on any particular day, you by just adding a few things you can make sauces like marinara or pesto (in this post I'll put up a pesto recipe) go from an Italian zest one day to a homey sweetness the next. Experiment! :)

If you don't have a special slicer, do not fret! I was making this for probably more than a year just slicing away at zucchinis with a fruit/veggie peeler. It works great, but if you have the extra $10 or whatever it is to get a slicer, it's worth it. I got mine at Target for about that much, but its not a spiral slicer.

The pesto (and marinara) is always different as I just kind of wing it remembering bits of different recipes, but what I did today is what I'll post.

Anyway, here it is:
Raw Pesto :) 
- Big bunch of fresh basil (1 1/2 to 3 Cups)
- 1 C cashews
- 1-2  tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 3-5 cloves of garlic
- 1/3-1/2 C olive oil

Grind up the cashews and then place them and all the other ingredients in a blender. Turn it on and Presto! You've got Pesto! XD On looking at it, you might feel the inclination to add water; I do, and afterwards I always tell myself not to do so next time. Once everything is served it becomes just a tad too liquidy, but it's never bothered me more than aesthetically. Still tastes great, and you can increase the amount of sauce you've made. But, if you do add water, you'd probably want to add another 1/2 C of cashews.



Now, over a pot or a bowl slice up your zucchini. I peel mine, but you don't have to. Even if it is organic, though, I suggest you do, because USDA owns organic. Anyway, once you've got it all sliced up, just add the sauce into the bowl or pot or on top of each serving on a plate. :)

To sprinkle on top, I strongly suggest grinding up some soaked and dehydrated sunflower seeds, as well as ground flax. Mmm :) I think it tastes better than parmesan ever did as a kid.




So that's it :). Now, just a note for everyone which I think is important; I don't know if it is that zucchini is high in fiber or if it is the high water content of the vegetable and the sauce, but this pasta has without fail brought tummy and bowels joy. If you're eating raw, you definitely know what I mean, but if not, you will soon :)




 This is the basil plant on my balcony I get my basil from :)


And please excuse the highly amateur placement and arrangement of the photos. :) I'll get better at it.
Blessings

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Dragon Fruit

I am sitting at my dining table, slightly bummed, as I had written a whole post and completed it, only to click the back or refresh or erase button as I was putting my camera card into the laptop to upload a picture. :/ This version of the post will be significantly more succint. :)

It is a beautiful autumn day in south Florida. Bright sun, and a constant cool breeze. I feel quite erudite sitting here drinking a cup of home brewed strawberry kombucha reviewing my notes; this morning I had my first taste of the rare Dragon Fruit, and gift from a family of cacti native to central and south America, and harvested all throughout Asia, according to Wikipedia.
I come across the fruit at the supermarket while I was stopping in to pick up some avocados. I saw it, and without needing to see its name, knew I should get a couple. I saw no price, but figured they wouldn't be too expensive. Turns out even the cashier was surprised at the whopping four dollars per slightly-smaller-than-fist-sized fruit. These have to be good, I thought. :)

A brief description of the fruit: Its skin is waxy and deep pink or red, there are varieties that are yellow. Along its surface it has green extended fleshy protusions which resemble, quite honesly, scales. Thus, the aptly named Dragon fruit.
So this morning I cut one in half, being that it was now soft and the "scales" had become dry. The flesh is white, and it has dark brown/black kiwi sized seeds haphazardly placed, without symmetry. I sliced along a side and peeled the skin from there. I cut a couple small pieces and tried them and thought it a good idea to take some notes on the strange fruit.

- Almost absent of flavor - quite bland.
- Rreminiscent of a not-too-ripe pear in flavor and texture, with a slight taste of cactus (aloe, maybe?) juice.
- Once at the center, there is more taste; a potential pungeance that is appealing yet far too subtle, leaving me wanting more of the new found almost-juiciness after it was gone.







I know it's short, but that was pretty much it. I only ate half the fruit, as the other half is waiting for my beautiful partner Maria to arrive and taste before we go to a park to enjoy this lovely day, but I did most certainly want more after I finished that half. I don't know its nutritional value, but it feels like a very healing fruit. Those notes were taken before I looked anything up on the fruit, so I was surprised to find that it actually came from a cactus after I had written that it tasted as such.
I will at some point post something that will include the nut. value of this delicately flavorless fruit, but until then, I believe this will suffice as an Ode to the Fruit of the Dragon.
Blessings :)