a fresh twist

I love taking a classic dish and putting a fresh spin on it. First of all, reinventing a classic is always fun. When a dish is a classic, made over and over again, it is exciting to give it a little flair of something new, a fresh new twist. Plus as you all know, I love cooking with fresh ingredients. This dish is definitely a mix of both. During the summer, so much fresh and local produce is available for cooking with. Summertime produce is simply so fresh and delicious. I love how juicy cherry tomatoes are, how sweet yellow corn is, and how crunchy sugar snap peas are during the summer. In the summer, I love using raw ingredients in their pure form, not only because my small, little apartment gets insanely hot when I turn on my oven, but because their flavors are just so amazing.

The other night two of my good friends came over for dinner. I wanted to make something filling and delicious, but after multiple days of what seemed like an unrelenting 90 degree+ heat wave, I was not so keen about turning on my oven. Checking out my fridge stocked with local produce from the farmer's market last weekend, I knew what I wanted to make. Fresh summer squash is everywhere these days- it comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but any way you slice it, it is incredibly delicious. Slightly sweet with a nice crunch to it, squash and zucchini are incredible in their raw form. So for dinner, I decided to put a twist on an old classic- instead of making spaghetti with marinara sauce or butter, I took a slightly different route. Pasta is an easy dish to make when having people over, but pasta can get boring from time to time. With this recipe, you'll definitely throw a curve ball to your dinner guests.

 Brown Rice Spaghetti with Zucchini Ribbons

8 oz brown rice spaghetti (whole wheat pasta would work great here too!)
2 large zucchini squash shredded into ribbons (stop shredding when you get to the seeds)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 good sprinkle sea salt (I used rosemary sea salt here)
1 good sprinkle garlic powder

yum

Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium-high heat, seasoning the water with a splash of olive oil (so that the pasta doesn't stick together) and salt to taste
Once the pasta has cooked, drain and toss with the zucchini ribbons
Season with olive oil, salt, and garlic powder
Toss to combine and enjoy!

dinner!