Zoodles

Zoodles with diced fresh tomatoes and turkey meat balls, so good! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Zoodles

When we lived in southern Illinois, our farming neighbors would bring my mother their extra zucchini. And for a good reason. My mother made THE best zucchini bread with walnuts. But soon the zucchini bread’s charm would run out and we would freeze the extras to enjoy later during a cold winter weekend.

So what to do with that extra zucchini in the meantime?

Zucchini is actually a versatile fruit that can be used in a variety of ways. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

We may think of zucchini as a vegetable but on the vine where it grows it’s actually a fruit. It belongs to the same plant family as cucumbers and gourds. It is better categorized as a type of summer squash. It's also totally edible; the skin, seeds, and flesh are all full of phytonutrients. In terms of color, it can range from a dark, emerald green to a yellowish hue.

If you haven’t tried a zucchini, it has a mild flavor. What’s better yet is that it takes on the flavors of what are added. Sautee in olive oil with a little garlic and you’ll taste the garlic. Purée it and add it to muffins, and it becomes a sweet addition to the batter. The summer squash adds to a dish and never overpowers the other flavors. That's why it's such an easy and nutritious addition to so many foods.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy zuchini is to make zoodles, or zucchini noodles. Why yes, I was immediately attracted to this zucchini version because of the name, I mean who doesn’t get a smile just saying zoodles?

Now there all all sorts of little kitchen gadgets you can get to make a variety of zucchini noodles to substitute for the various pasta noodles.

I just used what I had in my kitchen to get a plate of zoodles to taste test.

This plate of zoodles must have taken maybe 5 minutes to make. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Depending on how much work you want to do for your meal, you can serve zoodles as is. I enjoyed the zoodles with fresh diced tomatoes and pre-made turkey meat balls.

Baked Zoodles

If you want your zoodles cooked, here’s how to bake them.

Once shredded, spread them out on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes to get them al dente as you would pasta.

Stir Fried Zoodles

I also tried zoodles stir fried in olive oil. Don’t recommend it or the zoodles will get mushy.

Before stir frying, place the zoodles in a colander sprinkled with salt and let sit for half an hour.

Wash the zoodles and press with a kitchen towel or paper towel to remove moisture.

Then you can add to a pan with oil, mixing for 3-4 minutes while stirring all of the time.

Since this is a dish for summer consumption, I will probably stick with the basic, uncooked zoodles. Nice to have a quick dish I can throw together with garden produce and not just have garden dreams about it!

Charlotte