Food: Vegan Organic Delicious New Kitchen Toy

 
I haven't done a food post in a while! My cousin Debra sent me this recipe via face book,  (http://www.insonnetskitchen.com/zucchini-spaghetti-with-easy-lentil-marinara/ and I decided to try it. It's called Zucchini Spaghetti.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Easy Lentil Marinara

Author: Sonnet

Recipe type: Entree

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 50 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried french lentils
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2-15 oz cans organic tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 6 medium zucchini, spiralized into pasta
• salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Add lentils and 2 cups of water to a medium pot. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender and liquid is evaporated, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic cloves and saute for an additional minute, until fragrant.
3. Add the tomato sauce, basil, oregano, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
4. When lentils are done cooking, add them to the sauce and simmer for an additional 5 – 10 minutes.
5. In a separate pan, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and saute the zucchini pasta for 5 – 10 minutes, until desired tenderness is achieved.
6. Divide the pasta among four plates and top with lentil marinara. Serve hot.

Notes

Fresh zucchini will often lose moisture as the zucchini pasta cooks so be sure to drain any liquid that has built up in the pan. The recipe holds well as leftovers, but the zucchini does tend to release extra moisture as it sits so be sure to drain pasta before serving.

[I made this just for myself so I cut the recipe in half, worked and  fine made three meals, sauce extended to make two more meals, just needed another zucchini] Lynn

I needed one of two suggested tools. One is called a Spiralizer! You have one of those? It's a small machine that cuts veggies, including potatoes into spirals! Makes zucchini look like pasta. I'm not eating pasta in my vegan way of eating. But I'd have to order it on Amazon (couldn't find one in town) and I wanted to eat  this NOW. So instead I bought the second choice: a julienne slicer. I got a NorPro with Gripez, as shown in my top picture. (I am not supporting any companies, just telling you what I found at the Ace Hardware store locally. Around $7. The Spiralizer on Amazon is around $34.

Watch your fingers as you do this. One brush with the peeler gives you a row of thin slices of vegetable.

And when you put it in a skillet with a little extra virgin olive oil to cook for five minutes it gets soft and  curly like pasta.

Then you make the sauce. Actually its best to make the sauce first, which I did, but I loaded my photos differently. I cooked the lentils in water for 20 minutes until slightly soft. I like a little crunch to mine.

Then I added them to the sauce made from sauted onion, garlic, canned tomato sauce, herbs (all organic of course) olive oil...

 

Finally you  pour some lentil sauce over the braised zucchini and you have

 a delicious feast of Zucchini Spaghetti...all organic, and very vegan! It was so good I had some for lunch, more for dinner and then the next day for lunch again! I could eat this all day, and did!!!

I've been doing this vegan thing (with a very few exceptions: Salmon a few times a month, I did have some ice cream on a vacation in July, but not planning on doing that again anytime soon. Otherwise, strict vegan: veggies, grains, non-dairy products, nuts, seeds, fruit.

My progress today.

Began end of April 2013
Now August 16, 2013

Beginning weight: 148 lbs
Today's weight: 135 lbs
loss of 13 pounds

Beginning tummy measurement: 41"
Today's tummy measurement: 37 3/4"
loss of 3 3/4 inches

Beginning waist measurement: 37"
Today's waist measurement: 36" oops, correction: 31.5" Thanks Diane!
loss of one inch

 

 

Exercise: 4-5 days a week

 

20-30 minutes on treadmill, intervals 2.6 mph- 3.0 mph

 

10 minutes floor exercises, crunches (40)

 

every other day, 5 pound weights for biceps/triceps

 Feel great!