Month: May 2014

Zucchini Pasta with Avocado-Pepita Pesto

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These days I pretty much only want to talk about vegetables.  As I mentioned last time, I’ve been over doing it with desserts/sweets recently so I’m going to get super excited about vegetables and tell you about my most recent vegetable-filled discovery: Zucchini Pasta.

I’m not the biggest fan of pasta and I’m partially convinced that I’ve talked myself into not liking it, because I just don’t feel like it’s amazing enough for the calories.  Bread, on the other hand, I’m happy to eat tons of bread, regardless of calories.  Pasta… I’m meh about pasta.  That said, I’m a huge fan of eating things in the shape of long stringy pasta.  I love spaghetti squash and when my co-worker gave me an extra spiralizer that she had, I was ecstatic.

Since then my brain has been churning with awesome zucchini noodle ideas.

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The inspiration for this recipe came from a raw, vegan cooking demonstration I went to a few weeks ago.  They served us zucchini noodles with pesto. So from there, I decided to make my own version with ingredients I had on-hand at home.  It was a complete success. zucchinipasta1

Zucchini Pasta with Avocado-Pepita Pesto

5 small zucchini squash, spiralized or julienned
1 small avocado
1/4 cup pepitas
1 cup fresh basil
juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp water
salt and pepper to taste
1 tomato, diced

Place avocado, pepitas, basil, lemon juice in food processor (or vitamix).  Pulse.  Stream in olive oil and water and continue to blend until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Toss zucchini noodles with some of the pesto, you can add more or less to your liking.

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Please note, this recipe will make more than enough pesto for 5 zucchini.  You can refrigerate the rest for another day (it’ll start to turn brown after 2-3 days). zucchinipasta3

 

What I loved about this dish was:
1. how easy it is to make.
2. how well it tastes the next day and
3. the fact that it doesn’t require you to turn on the stove or oven, with our recent heat wave and summer just around the corner, that was essential.

I’ll definitely be making this again.   I’m consistently surprised at how much I like raw zucchini.  It’s definitely an underrated vegetable.

 Do you have a spiralizer?  Any ideas on what I should try to spiralize next?

 

P.S. Don’t forget to enter the Peanut Butter and Co. Bee’s Knees Giveaway to win two free jars of Peanut Butter!

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Honey Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Peanut Butter & Co.’s Bee’s Knees

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Desserts are my weakness in life.  I wish I knew how to stop eating dessert on a daily basis.  But I don’t.

For the most part, I live on the moderation train.  I’ll eat anything but in moderation.  Sometimes when I overdo it (as I have been recently), I impose the “homemade” rule on myself.  I hate food rules but this one has worked for me.

The homemade rule is: I won’t eat a dessert (or other high calorie food) unless I make it myself.

If I want a cookie, I don’t need to go buy a pack of Chips Ahoy.  I can pull out all the ingredients and make it myself.

If I want mac and cheese, I’m buying pasta, milk, cheese and making my own cheese sauce.  None of that powder stuff.

If I want ice cream, I’m going to buy some milk and cream and pull out the ice cream maker.

It’s a good rule to have, because it makes me wait.  We’re used to instant gratification, having things exactly when we want them.  But with a lot of high calorie treats, that’s not really how it should be.  So my “homemade” rule is one of the better food rules, in my opinion.  It makes me slow down.

It’s time for me to impose my “homemade” rule, because yesterday I ate Costco frozen yogurt and I just finished a store-bought Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.  While homemade foods still have calories and fat, I feel better knowing that I’m not adding chemicals to my foods.  Not to mention, I can control the amount of fat, sugar and salt.  It’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction.

I pretty much always want ice cream, so when Peanut Butter & Co. sent me their The Bee’s Knees Peanut Butter to try out, I decided ice cream was the perfect creation.

HoneyPBIceCream1

Honey Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1/2 cup honey
2 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cup milk (I used non-fat)
1 cup The Bee’s Knees Peanut Butter

Beat together honey and egg yolks until slightly fluffy.  Beat in heavy cream and milk.  Pour into a medium sauce pan.  Turn on heat to medium.  Stirring occasionally until it starts to thicken slightly (about 10 minutes).  Once the mixture starts to get a bit thick, mix in peanut butter.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely, then chill.  Pour into ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s ingredients.

Freeze for a few hours to set.  Serve and enjoy! HoneyPBIceCream2

I melted some extra Bee’s Knee’s Peanut Butter and drizzled it on top.  It was pretty much amazing.

Next time I want to try to make this without the added honey.  I think The Bee’s Knees can hold the honey-peanut butter flavor on its own without the extra sweetener.

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Want to try making this ice cream on your own?  How about winning two free jars of The Bee’s Knees?  Peanut Butter and Co. is being awesome and giving away two jars of The Bee’s Knees to one Foodologie reader!

 

To enter the giveaway, head over to my Facebook Page.  Click the “Giveaway” tab and follow the module to enter.

 

You can enter by:

Leaving a comment on this blog post telling me what your favorite ice cream flavor is

Liking Foodologie on Facebook

Following me on Twitter

Tweeting about the giveaway.

 

The giveaway ends May 28th at midnight. Winner we be announced May 28th. Entry open to US residents only.

Disclaimer: As a member of Peanut Butter & Co.’s Yum Squad food blogger club, I received product in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?  I am a little bit in love with pistachio.