An awesome thing about being at home with my girl all day is the fact that I actually have time to make nice breakfasts and lunches now. "Nice" meaning something other than peanut butter toast or a breakfast shake. Here's what I had for lunch a few days ago, near the beginning of my attempt to eat a more plant-based diet. It was ready in under 15 minutes!
Zucchini Ribbons and Tomato Sauce
1 zucchini or other summer squash
Olive oil
Garlic
S&P
1/4 - 1/2 cup tomato sauce, depending on how saucy you like it (this one or the jarred stuff)
Parmesan cheese, for serving
Using a vegetable peeler, peel the well-washed zucchini lengthwise into thin strips. To add body to the dish, cut each zucchini strip in half lengthwise with a sharp paring knife.
In a frying pan, sauté zucchini over medium heat with olive oil, garlic and S&P until zucchini ribbons are tender and lightly browned, between five and ten minutes.
Add the tomato sauce to the pan and continue to cook until sauce is warm, around three minutes.
Serve topped with Parmesan cheese and voila! A beautiful, nutritious, EASY lunch for you.
NOTE: This recipe only makes enough for one serving. To stretch the recipe into a dinner for the family, next time I plan to add some cooked pasta to the zucchini ribbons. Something long and stringy like spaghetti or linguine would toss together nicely with the squash. And instead of spaghetti sauce I'd like to try some roasted tomatoes. Or fresh! Mmmm. I love summer produce.