Chew on This | Pesto Zucchini Spaghetti

My grandparents lived a mere 10 minutes away from our house when I was a kid. We spent lots of time with them and I can honestly say that I can't recall ever being bored during any visit. It was never a bother to go and visit them but always something I looked forward to doing. While there, if my sister and I weren't listening to the adults talk, we were playing in the back yard, down in the basement on my grandpa's organ, playing bumper pool, luring the neighbor's cat to come over and ignore us, or sneaking repeatedly into the bathroom to powder ourselves with my grandma's rose scented powder, or spraying her Evian facial mist onto our sweaty kid faces.

My grandparents backyard was not huge but was perfect for their needs. In the far left corner they had a small garden growing during the summer. When we were young, they had a marvelous screened in porch, where many a celebration were held. From the porch you walked out to their small patio. Growing along the fence, next to the patio was a huge, beautiful, old yellow cottage rose bush, and it smelled like heaven. And, in the far right hand corner of the yard was an area that was umbrellaed by trees, creating a special little alcove my sister and I claimed for playing. 

My grandma was hard-pressed to grow something, anything, in this corner. Hostas, impatiens, pachysandra…none of it would thrive. There was not much sun light and it was a bit damp. And truly, while we were young, I think she didn't try too hard to grow anything because she knew that my sister and I liked to play there. It was a place fairies came to visit, where mud pies were made, where little girls could lie back and dream while staring up through the branches.

Today I felt the strong pull of those childhood memories. I wanted to smell those creamy yellow roses. I wanted to introduce myself to the fairies living under the toadstools. If only.

Cares

Here's our recipe:

Summer's bounty is begging to be turned into this delicious dish. It could certainly be served raw, however, if you want to warm the 'noodles' in a skillet with the pesto sauce - go for it! It's amazing either way. Enjoy!!

Pesto Zucchini Spaghetti

2 small zucchini, sliced into thin spaghetti noodles (use a spiral slicer or cut by hand)

1/2 C chick peas

2 small tomatoes, large dice

1 yellow sweet bell pepper

1/3 C pesto sauce, or more, if needed (use this recipe)

In a large bowl, toss all ingredients to coat completely with pesto sauce. Plate and enjoy!

If you'd like to warm your zucchini noodles, place pesto sauce and noodles into a skillet over medium-low heat. Once noodles and sauce are warm, add in your other ingredients. Toss, toss, toss until everything is coated. Plate and enjoy!!