Zucchini can be a main dish too!

🥒Zucchinis have an assortment of names including Marrow by the British and Courgette by the French

🥒Zucchinis can range from 4 inches to the size of a baseball bat.

🥒They taste best when they are 5-8 inches long

🥒Most squash have seed and there is no exception with the zucchini they have large, tough seeds that should be removed unless prefered otherwise.

🥒You can eat zucchinis in a variety of ways, you can eat them raw in salads, marinated, stir-fried, baked in the oven and even shredded into zoodles.

🥒There are more than 15 different kinds of zucchinis including the Black Beauty. It is an heirloom and one of the most common zucchinis to be found in your garden or local store, it was introduced to united states gardeners in the 1920’s. There is also the Golden or Gold Bar which is a bright yellow squash that grows straight and narrow. Among the many different types of zucchinis they all have similar yet unique tastes.

🥒This particular squash has most of its antioxidants and fiber in its skin so it's best to keep the skin when serving in a dish. Zucchini is also a wonderful source of potassium, a heart-friendly nutrient that helps moderate your blood pressure levels and counters the effects of too much sodium.

🥒This week I’m trying a new addition to my blog, for the first time I will be sharing a family favorite, Zoodles with Creamy Tomato Sauce.  All credits go to Real Plans

For the Sauce:

• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cups tomato sauce
• 1 cup vegetable stock, or filtered water
• 1 cup heavy cream, or coconut milk
• Coarse sea salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Coarse sea salt, to taste
• Ground black pepper, to taste

For the Zoodles:

• 8 regular sized zucchinis
• Coarse sea salt, to taste
• 1 ounce parmesan cheese, for garnish
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, for garnish

Step 1
For the sauce: Coarsely chop onions, carrots, and celery. Mince garlic. Zest lemon
Step 2
IN your food processor with the s-blade, combine onion, carrots, and celery. Process until minced. Transfer to saucepan or slow cooker
Step 3
Stove Top(if you don’t mind sparking up the stove during the summer this will save you time): Saute the veggies in the olive oil until onion is translucent. Add the lemon zest, garlic, tomato sauce, and sauce to the slow cooker. (I would do it this way)
Step 4
OR, in a slow cooker: Add the uncooked veggies to the slow cooker with olive oil, lemon zest, and garlic. Add tomato sauce and stock. Cook on high for 2-3 hours.
Step 5
Stir in cream or coconut milk and honey. Adjust seasoning with salt and fresh ground pepper. Turn tp warm until ready to serve.
Step 6
For the zoodles: Meanwhile, to make zucchini noodles, either use a julienne peeler or a spiral cutter, OR simply use a sharp knife to cut the zucchini first lengthwise into strips, then slice those strips as finely as possible into spaghetti-like pieces.
Step 7
Sprinkle some sea salt over the zoodles and let them sit for 25 minutes in the sink to sweat out excess water. After the 25 minutes, rinse well and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Step 8
Meanwhile, grate parmesan cheese and chop basil.
Step 9
Cook zoodles in a large pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes, to allow the zoodles to soften slightly. Remove from heat.
Step 10
Serve zoodles with tomato sauce and garnished with parmesan cheese and basil.

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Please leave a comment below on how your meal went.  Or share your favorite recipe!