Hello everyone! Welcome back to the blog. This summer, I have been trying to experience new things. Old Towne Orange might seem small, but there truly is something new to explore or try every time you visit. I tried the dirty chai latte from The Aussie Bean for the first time (and now it is one of my new favs), explored artwork around Old Towne I never knew existed, and even got to interview some friends about how Old Towne Orange has changed through the years. And this week is no different, as I tried something I have always wanted to try: zoodles or, zucchini noodles!
Zucchini noodles are the low-carb and equally delicious pasta alternative to satisfy your carbo-craving but leave you feeling full and satisfied! And this week, I am sharing how my first ever zoodle experience went. Of course, I picked up over half of the ingredients on Saturday from Orange Home Grown Farmers and Artisans Market and just needed to grab a few things from the store. I am making vegan avocado pesto zucchini noodles! National Avocado Day was this week – so this recipe sounded perfect!
Let’s get started!
Saturday was the perfect day to visit the farmers market. It was sunny and warm and the free samples were abundant. I grabbed 4 perfect zucchini for the noodles and a clove of garlic, 2 avocados, and a bundle of basil for the pesto (all of this for only about $10). Then I just ran by the store to grab the remaining ingredients for the pesto that I couldn’t find at the market: one lemon and pine nuts for about $6 total (pine nuts can be expensive, but you only need ¼ cup for this recipe, and you can substitute another type of nut if you have them on hand).
First, I washed our veggies and used a spiralizer to create our noodles! The one I used was very similar to this one and is only $5.50 on Amazon (a great investment).
Then I cooked down the noodles in a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan to make the noodles a bit more tender! (TIP: Drain the noodles of the water that will cook out of the noodles so when you add the sauce, it is not too watery).
While the noodles were cooking, I started making the pesto sauce! To a food processor or blender (I used a Nutribullet), add the basil, avocado, garlic, lemon juice, pine nuts, salt, and pepper. Process this until it’s the consistency of your choice! What’s great about this recipe is that it’s an oil-free pesto because you are getting a lot of natural oil from the avocado. However, you can always add oil or water if you want a more creamy pesto. I added water!
After the pesto was mixed, I combined the tender noodles with the sauce, and it was ready to serve. Serve with grilled chicken, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese, or whatever you like.
And that was it! The pesto zoodles were so delicious and creamy, I started to forget my noodles were just zucchini. And on top of how good they tasted, it felt so great to support local farmers and eat a meal that was essentially grown right in our backyards. The recipe I followed can be found here! Thanks to Simply Quinoa for the recipe.
Visit Orange Home Grown this Saturday to get the ingredients to try this fresh summer meal for yourself. Have a great weekend everyone and we will see you around towne!