Zucchini "Pasta"

Summer is right around the corner, and I have beach trips planned!  With the nights getting warmer and the trips to get ice cream becoming (much) more frequent, I seem to be substituting out my warm pasta dinners for cold, refreshing sweets. 

Last week, I came across a recipe for "Zucchini Pasta" and decided to put my own spin on it.  It's a healthy alternative to carb-filled noodles and still left me feeling satisfied.

You'll need:
3 medium zucchini or yellow squash (mix and match)
8 oz. grape tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese to taste
Serves 2

First, mix a bowl of two tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon balsamic vinegar.  Add in the grape tomatoes and salt and pepper, stir and let sit while cooking the zucchini. 

Use a vegetable peeler to get thin "noodles" of the zucchini. Peel around the vegetable and stop once you reach the core.  Heat a medium sized saucepan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the zucchini, stirring gently for three minutes (be careful so that it doesn't get too translucent or overcooked!).  Mix the zucchini with the olive oiil/tomatoes and drizzle the balsamic vinegar.  Add parmesan cheese to taste  and serve with a side of quinoa - voila!

xx
Laura

Kale Chips

I'm Laura, the youngest of the three sisters. I moved to New York City in August, 2011 and have since found myself cooking much more than before.  Maybe it's that whole "adulthood" thing.  For the most part, I am open to all different types of food.  However, I have found myself eating primarily vegetarian since I moved to the city.  I credit that to the fact that I'm normally cooking for one and it can be difficult to make embellished meat and poultry dishes for myself.  Occasionally, when I have the time, I'll venture out of my normal routine and try a new recipe with meat, poultry, or fish. 

I also have a serious sweet tooth and love to bake.  Cupcakes, cookies, cakes, you name it. It's a weakness. Most of my posts will be of quick and easy snack foods, desserts, and dinners.  I'll start with a snack: Kale Chips.

My roommate and I were talking about Kale Chips last week and I quickly shut them down at the thought.  "What a tease" I thought to myself, tricking my mind into eating kale and thinking I was satisfying my salty-chip craving.  Skepticism aside,  I decided to give them a try. To my surprise, the chips turned out great.  They really are tasty and are a great, healthy alternative to a regular potato chip.  Below is a quick, 15 minute recipe for Kale Chips:

- Preheat the oven to  350 degrees F
- Clean one bunch of kale and break off the kale from the stems in "chip-size" pieces
- Add two tables spoons of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a large bowl
- Add the kale to the bowl and mix, coating each piece with a little bit of olive oil
- Spread the kale on a cookie sheet and put in the oven for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, take the kale out and flip over, add a few sprinkles of salt
- Place in the oven for 4 more minutes, take out and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, put them back in the oven for 2 minutes for the parmesan cheese to coat the kale

Serve alone and enjoy!