Zucchini Spaghetti

Yes, you read that right.

The last few months have been... what's the most tasteful way I can put this?... more painful than wiping one's ass with sandpaper that's been marinating in hydrochloric acid. (Yeah, that works.) But with that has come an opportunity for legitimate healing, and for that, I am beyond grateful.

And that's as much of that as we need to get into. Onto the yummies!

I have a new cohort in my Adventures: my roommate, Tom, who is already an "adventurous" cook and foodie. This arrangement has lead to several cooking experiments in the last few weeks, all of which were gobbled up without hesitation. I mean, it's lucky we didn't eat the plates and forks, that's how good everything has been.

The Most Delightful Surprise Category is dominated by our experiment with Zucchini Spaghetti: it's far easier to prepare and cook than spaghetti squash, it's an excellent base for other flavors, and it has very little (if any) starch. What made it so surprising was how "buttery" it tasted with absolutely no butter at all; the noodles absorbed the olive oil and spices very well, giving it a rich taste without needing a drop of dairy.

It's. So. SIMPLE!

Zucchini Spaghetti:

• 1-2 large zucchini-- shouldn't be hard to find large zucchini this time of year
• a julienne peeler-- better than a magic wand for making perfect, evenly-shaped noodles
• olive oil
• Kosher salt
• black pepper
• garlic salt

Directions:

1. Remove the ends of the zucchini and slice off an extremely thin section so that it can lay flat on a cutting board
2. Use the peeler until your heart's content, turning the zucchini as needed to get the best noodles and stopping when you get down to the seeds
3. In a large, nonstick pan, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil-- a little will get you a long way, as the zucchini will release water while it's cooking
4. Once the oil is hot enough, pour in the noodles and flavor with salt, pepper, and garlic pepper to taste-- again, you won't need much, as the zucchini will absorb flavor incredibly well
5. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, keeping the noodles slightly crunchy

Homemade Meatballs:

For the length of this dinner, there was
nothing wrong in my world.

• 1 pound grassfed ground spicy Italian sausage
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• savory spice
• 1 egg
• coconut flour
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
• 1-2 garlic cloves, finely diced
• cooking sheet and parchment paper

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine ground sausage with mustard, W-sauce, onion, garlic, and savory spice
2. Add egg
3. While mixing, add coconut flour until the meat starts to bind together into the shape you want
4. Once the texture is right, ball together to about "golf ball" size and spread on parchment paper-- should make for about 15-16 decent sized meatballs
5. Bake at 375 for ten minutes on one side, flip, and put back in for another ten minute to brown evenly-- you may want to cut into one to check if they're ready
6. Mix with homemade marinara until coated and top your zucchini spaghetti with the delicious yumminess

For the side, it was baby spinach tossed with homemade mayonnaise mixed with fresh parsley and balsamic vinegar. A glass of Australian Shiraz and MST3K's "Space Mutiny"...

Yeah. Freakin' AMAZING.