Zucchini, zucchini, everywhere!

I love zucchini, I really do.  It's so versatile, there's so many things you can do with it... except, what else can I do with it??  I think it's about that point in the summer when you might be wondering what to do with ALL of that zucchini.

Fortunately for you, I've discovered two MORE things you can do with all your zucchini.

First, my experimental recipe.  I stumbled across this magazine at the check-out, Vegetarian Times.  I've never seen it before, but it's pretty awesome.

That yummy pasta on the cover caught my eye.

It's full of easy and healthy recipes.  And I mean easy, like, 5-ingredient recipes.  Nice! I'm not a vegetarian, but I try to eat my veggies, and always need help doing this creatively.

Anyway, based on what we had in the house, we combined two of the recipes in this magazine to create our own creamy zucchini pasta. (That just sounds poetic, doesn't it?  It's the assonance: food poetry.)

Here's what you need:
3 or 4 small zucchini (we used 2, and it wasn't enough)
pasta (we used penne, but linguine or casareccia would be lovely, too)
fresh parsley
a lemon (juice it, and save the rind for zesting)
a block of cream cheese (go light if you wish)
2 Tbs. olive oil

1. Julienne the zucchini (julienne = cut it into long thin strips).  I swear this is the hardest part.
2. Boil the pasta.  Use a large pot, because you'll need room in it for the zucchini!  Wait until the pasta is almost done, and then toss the zucchini in for the last minute of cooking.
3. While the pasta is boiling, in a smaller pot melt the cream cheese with the oil and lemon juice (go easy on the juice, it can get strong, fast!).
4. Strain the pasta and zucchini, then toss in your creamy cheese sauce.  Sprinkle on your parsley and lemon zest.  It's ready to go!  (I told you it was super easy!)

My picture doesn't really do it justice, because I started eating it before I remembered to take a picture.  Imagine this looking prettier with parsley and lemon zest!

It was like alfredo, but without all the work, butter, and cream.  I want to try this with other veggie combinations, too.  


Secondly, here's a recipe for Cheesy Zucchini Pizza that I found on one of my new favorite blogs,  Eat, Live, Run.  I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds good.  And check out her site for other yummy food ideas. 

Now go enjoy that zucchini again :)