I immediately went home and made a big, lovely pile of....zucchini noodles! OMG, I love this gadget!
A little E/V olive oil, a minced clove of garlic, little chopped sweet onion, slurp of chicken broth and I have dinner. I love this little spiral doodad because there are no moving parts to break, it is small and easy to clean. It comes with its own little brush. LOVE it.
I got out and picked two quarts of red currants. Hours later, I was musing about how almost everything takes more than one step. Take currants - you have to harvest them by clipping off the supporting stem with berries. Then you have to take the berries off the stems. Then you have to rinse them. Then you have to semi-crush them, add a little water and simmer until they are soft. Then you have to put them in a jelly bag and let the juice drain. Then you have to add sugar and pectin and boil it to make jelly. Holey cow. Good thing I like this lifestyle. If I didn't, it would wear me to a jelly spot just thinking about it.
I also got a really great deal on two gallons of raw, local honey. The only catch was that it hadn't been filtered. That was a great, sticky mess, but so worth it.
Next post is a garden update. I actually took pix. Don't all fall over in a faint.
16 comments:
What is the little zucchini noodle thing again?
I have a zuke noodle maker, too...and just LOVE it. I grew 5 zucchini plants to just keep me in noodles! I made a bunch and froze them...hope it works, would just love having them this winter with butter, garlic and Parmesan cheese.
Susan,
I've never heard of this Spirolife, it sounds cool!!! Basically, you're making your own noodles out of the fresh vegetable. Your meal sounded really delicious, we all love fresh zucchini in this house. My zucchini is terrible in the garden, it was hit with all kinds of rain, then squash bugs, now the plants are wilting. Grrrrr.......
Other than that, life is good.
Hugs,
Sandy
I just strip the currants off the stems and freeze them! Then I use them in currant pie; easy-peasy and delicious. If you have a gluten-free crust recipe, I can send you the filling recipe. Yum!
Where does one get one of those---and can you use it on other veggies???
I'm thinking cukes for on salads, etc.
I blew an entire morning yesterday between picking and cleaning and blanching and packing , etc. And you're so right---it's a "lifestyle" choice --one I'm sure we're all glad we make. Cuz it sure beats the heck outta eating grocery store food!!
Have a great , harvesting week!
:)
i have one of those too. i love it for carrots. i leave the stems on the currents when making jelly. they come out in the strainer. i also don't use pectin, just lemon and sugar and my jelly jells.
Before I left my currant bushes at the old house I would cut of all the branches with currants to harvest then sit down and pick off the currants. I read somewhere years ago this is the perfect way to prune them. It worked great and the bushes did well. I had black currants but your red ones are like jewels!
Fiona, it's a SpiroLife - I got it on Amazon.com. I wanted something small, easy to use (no moving - ie breakable parts), easy to clean and not expensive. This was perfect.
Lynda - I think I will try that, too! It is now my favorite way to eat zucchini.
Sandy - Honestly, I think this is the Year of the Garden Insects! I've been innundated with beetles, moths, bugs - you name it. I may never have regular pasta again. Until winter... :)
Michelle - I would love the recipe because, while this batch is destined for jelly, I have last year's batch in the freezer!
Jaz - I do admit that not all stems came off. I will try a batch without pectin, although I am always a little worried that the jelly won't set without it.
Erika - What a great idea, as I am always forgetting to prune the bushes. I have to work under netting, as it's the only way I can keep any fruit for myself. I will make a note and try this next year.
Our lifestyle? And cooking from scratch? Growing our own and all that? We do it because it's the only way to go if you want to properly nourish your body and keep it healthy. If you don't have that, nothing. else. matters. But have you noticed it's all hard work? (Insert hysterical laughter.)
My very healthy, big zucchini plant refuses to produce blossoms. What's with that?
Count me as another person who hasn't heard of a Spirolife. Must investigate!
I love the idea of zucchini noodles! And the currents look fantastic. We're too hot here for currents, so I can only dream.
Looks good! I gave up on zucchini here, takes up too much space. I make chokecherry jelly, a similar process, but great!
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