Vegan MoFo Day 18: Parsley Pesto & a Magic Bullet Scare

Another weird day in cleanseland wherein I wasn't at all hungry until the afternoon, when I finally finished the last bit of green apple with almond butter.  Yep, still gross; I won't be buying these again.

Due to a subsequent combination of minor nausea and lack of hunger, that was all I needed until dinner-  when I revisited the spiralizer!  In anticipation of the lentil walnut pate, I'd overbought parsley.  I picked some up from the supermarket and then came across an infinitely superior bunch at the health food store that I couldn't pass up.  Bet you can't tell which is which:

With all that parsley to use up and itching to resume spiralizing, I googled parsley pesto and was happy to see that it does in fact exist.  I threw together this recipe for 5 medium sized zucchini:

2 cups parsley leaves
4 tbsp lemon juice
10 tbsp water
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp EVOO
1/2 cup toasted almonds (I reserve pine nuts for pignoli cookies)
1 tbsp nooch
1 tsp sea salt 

There was a bit of a scare with my Magic Bullet when it began to sound strained, but then it powered back up again.  This has happened every once in a while for the last couple of years, so much so that I have a brand new back up at the ready just in case; I don't want to find myself Magic Bullet-less.  And then it really sputtered and...stopped.  I thought that was it.  When I removed the large cup I realized that one of the tabs had broken off, rendering it incapable of the the tri-pressure necessary to power the bullet.  Gasp!

No worries, I simply transferred the contents to a mug and was on my way.  My Magic Bullet is about 15 years old and still going strong.  Parsley Pesto:

More zucchini spiralizing:

Building the main event course, zucchini spaghetti:

...with pesto:

...garnished with diced tomatoes and red onion:

The spiralizer just doesn't get old; the dinner was great.  

But I did have my eye on this treat.  In the save pile!

Vegan MoFo Day 9: Raw Zucchini Spaghetti with Pepper Marinara

No breakfast or lunch yesterday (Yom Kippur), but an epic dinner:

With lots of peppers left over from last week's supermarket haul, I recalled a raw marinara sauce that I'd learned from a class with Rochelle Blank and I got to chopping. 

I peeled my zucchini,

pruned my basil plant,

and finally unwrapped my SPIRALIZER!

This thing is so cool that you can probably feel the chill from wherever you are.  In seconds I had zucchini spaghetti!

One sheet of directions with pictures, no learning curve, awesome results.

I whirred up the raw marinara in two simple Magic Bullet batches.

Raw Zucchini Spaghetti with Red Pepper Marinara

serves 3

5 small zucchini, spiralized
2 1/2 cups chopped sweet pepper, divided (1/2 cup is for garnish)
1/2 red onion, chopped (save a few pieces for garnish)
handful of fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup EVOO
few squirts of Bragg's
1 tsp lemon juice
few shakes of oregano
few shakes of thyme
lots of freshly ground pepper

Set 1/2 cup chopped pepper and a sprinkling of chopped onion aside, then combine all ingredients except the zucchini in the Magic Bullet.  Plate and enjoy immediately (why wouldn't you?).

before                                                after

Plated with panache.

But wait, there's more (I like infomercials)!  Leftover asparagus in the fridge = edible garnish.

In case you're wondering, those sticks in the background (above) are the spiralizer "leftovers", but they're edible.

Although I must admit I didn't eat them.  Too weird.  Out for the rabbits!

This is what it looked like all mixed up and ready to be eaten. It was DELICIOUS!  Soft with a crunch and definitely the mouth feel of spaghetti; I can't wait to try more raw sauces and spiralize just about everything.

I can't recommend a spiralizer enough; this is the most fun I've had since starting the cleanse.

Spiralizer: 1
Juicer: -3