In my last blog post I promised to show yall a cool little kitchen tool you're going to love. It's called a 'spiral cutter' -yeah... real crafty with the name, huh?- and it works like a pencil sharpener for your veggies. Instead of fibrous yellow-painted cedar shavings you get fun curly edible ribbons. In honor of Leonard Nimoy or Mr. Spock who recently passed, I made a batch of 'Not' Noodles... are they logically pasta? Are they a fascinating side dish? The universe may never know!
Way back in 2013 I joined the Raw Vegan club, loading my Youtube history with superfluous Fully Raw Kristina, Freelee the Banana Girl, and Megan Elizabeth channels just dreaming of owning a Vitamix blender or spiralizer to make zucchini spaghetti. Gone are the days when my kitchen countertops were adorned with unearthly fruits and vegetation to be sliced for a snack or monomeal. I was raw for a good year until my body gave me some rather smelly sound- I mean side- effects that lead me to look away from Dr. Doug Graham's 80/10/10 diet and more towards Dr. McDougall's Starch Solution type diet. I'm not demoting 80/10/10 by any means-- it just was not the right route for me.
There is a misconception out there among non-vegans that all vegans eat the same dietary guidelines. That's ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE!! Check out raw veganism, High Carb Low Fat vegans, ketogenic (Atkins) vegans, Paleo vegan, Gluten-free vegan, fruitarian, starchivore...
There is a misconception out there among non-vegans that all vegans eat the same dietary guidelines. That's ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE!! Check out raw veganism, High Carb Low Fat vegans, ketogenic (Atkins) vegans, Paleo vegan, Gluten-free vegan, fruitarian, starchivore...
Back to the spiralizer story! I never stuck with raw vegan long enough to actually get a spiralizer but I was exploring our small town's refurbished Bed Bath and Beyond to find a teeny tiny version for about $15! no, it's not super cheap, but a few bucks adds lots of variety to your meals! Alas I bought the thing to see if it was useful or undeniably useless. IMPULSE BUY!
The verdict? Worth the money! I found that you have to have a little muscle and push the vegetables hard while twisting to get a good cut, then keep the veggie ribbons coming out on a cutting board surface to keep them long. Once you get the technique rolling, you've got yourself some noooodles! Also, harder vegetables like parsnips make shorter ribbons whereas softer carrot-like veggies make great long curls. HAH- I had way too much fun with this thing!
What you need:
main dish
vegetables/fruit, washed and free of leaves or stems
fresh cooked rice
tomato pasts sauce topping
1/4 cup tomato sauce
pepper
1/8 tsp garlic or onion powder
1/2 tsp Italian herbs like rosemary or basil
dash of hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes
main dish
vegetables/fruit, washed and free of leaves or stems
fresh cooked rice
tomato pasts sauce topping
1/4 cup tomato sauce
pepper
1/8 tsp garlic or onion powder
1/2 tsp Italian herbs like rosemary or basil
dash of hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes
The neat thing about the spiral cutter is you can use it with fruits like cucumbers and vegetables, raw or cooked! There's no way you can be too picky for it. Here I made a simple 'not' noodle and rice bowl out of carrot and parsnip ribbons on top of sticky rice. You can use zucchini, cucumber, broccoli stems, small sweet potatoes, anything that fits and has a solid base to it. After spiraling I tossed the ribbons into boiling water with salt and garlic about 10 minutes for a quick blanch. Drain in a colander, top with warmed tomato pasta sauce and enjoy! Oh and of course, Live Long and Prosper!