Pesto Zoodles with Fresh Peas & Bacon

Update: I added new pictures to this post on 5/11/2018. The recipe is the same :) So yummy! 

Around this time of the year, every year, I go on a pesto rampage. Last year it was this cheesy pesto scramble and this pesto chicken salad. This year it's pesto zoodles with fresh peas and bacon. 

And it's the best thing I’ve eaten all month. 

Is there anything not to love about long, slurpy noodles coated in pesto? Crunchy bits of bacon and starchy peas? This is the best thing I’ve eaten all month, and I’m not exaggerating. 

Normally, noodles drenched in this much pesto and served with generous amounts of bacon would be quite a heavy dish, but this is where the zoodles come in: hellooooo zoodles! (Have you noticed I love zoodles yet?) Since zoodles are made of zucchini, you can smother them in pesto and toss in the bacon and still end your meal without that heavy I-just-ate-is-it-nap-time-now feeling. 

Jump into pesto season with me while it's here! 

Pesto Zoodles with Fresh Peas & Bacon

Published June 22, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 3 medium zucchini
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/4 cup pesto sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 1 cup green peas (frozen or fresh)
• 8 ounces bacon, cooked and crumbled into bite sized pieces

Directions:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil glistens, add the peas, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bright green.
2. Spiralize the zucchini into zoodles with a spiralizer. Pile the zucchini noodles into a skillet and place the lid on (they will cook down). Cook for 5 minutes, and then add the pesto, stirring and turning the noodles to coat them in pesto. Top with bacon, and toss everything one more time to combine.
3. Serve hot (leftovers are also good cold!)

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Spicy Barbecue Shrimp & Pineapple Skewers

It is 8pm, and I am laying side ways across my bed, soaking up the fact that I have nowhere to be and no reason to go to bed early or to say up late. The last week in Ecuador has been nothing short of amazing, but to get all of that goodness into 4 days, you must go go go!

The last week I have been eating my fair share of seafood, while I can: Ceviche de Camarones, Tilapia Frito, Crovina Asado. Mejillones, almejas, y pargo. (Shrimp ceviche, fried tilapia, grilled sea bass. Mussels, clams, and red snapper). One would think I'd be done with it by now, ready for a hot burger or a sizzling chicken breast but I am not. Bring on the fresh shellfish! How lucky am I to travel all this way to dine like this? 

And it's not just seafood of course: it's fruit too. We ate a grapefruit straight from a tree, and munched on fresh cacao fruit from a purple-ish red pod. We sipped coconut water, ate passion fruit and passed field after field of pineapples.

This dish has a bit of everything going for it: the best of both worlds. The two ingredients I saw the most of the last week: succulent shrimp and sweet pineapple. Slathered in BBQ sauce for a North American twist. A splash of hot sauce--ají- to give it some zip.

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Spicy Barbecue Shrimp & Pineapple Skewers

Published June 13, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Spicy barbecue sauce is the perfect compliment to sweet pineapple! Perfect for the grill, but can be cooked in your oven, too.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound raw shrimp, shelled and deveined 
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce of choice
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1-2 teaspoons hot sauce (depending on spice preferences)
• 1 cup fresh pineapple, cubed into bite-sized pieces 
• Metal or wooden skewers

Directions:

1. Mix together melted coconut oil, barbecue sauce, and hot sauce in a small bowl.
2. In the morning, place shrimp in a ziplock bag for marinating. Pour 1/2 of barbecue sauce mixture into bag over shrimp, and toss the shrimp to coat them in the sauce. Close the bag, and place in fridge for 4-6 hours, or until ready to cook. Reserve the rest of the sauce for using after cooking.
3. Assemble: use metal skewers or wooden kabob sticks and skewer shrimp and cubes of fresh pineapple in an alternating pattern.
4. Turn your oven to the Broil setting and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes, until shrimp are opaque and pink, and starting to brown on the edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before serving. Note: You may also cook the skewers on a grill. Light your grill and bring it to high heat. Cook skewers for 2 minutes and the flip, cooking for 2 additional minutes or until shrimp are opaque and starting to char.
5. Serve over a bead of rice or cauliflower rice.

20-Minute Marinara Sauce

Avoiding marinara sauce was a skill I had perfected by the time I made it to college.  Pizza? Only pesto or olive oil please. Pasta? There are so many options, don't you dare put that store bought tomato sauce in front of me.

My tomato sauce radar reaches far and wide, extending to tomato paste and ketchup. Pretty much anything tomato sauce would have me turning up my nose. (I speak in past tense here, but I still avoid tomato paste and ketchup regularly).

But then a wrench was thrown into my tomato-avoiding scheme: I intended to cook dinner for someone, and they told me tragically that their favorite food in the world was spaghetti with marinara. Sure, I could've taken a pass and made something completely different, but this ignited a fire in me. It made me think twice about tomato sauce. Good enough to be a favorite? Who would've thunk. But I had to see for myself so I gave it a try, the right way: no store bought crap. 

I sliced onions, minced garlic, and added a touch of wine. I was overly cautious about letting it get to sweet, and added plenty (and I mean plenty!) of salt. Fresh basil was stirred in at the last moment. I took a bite, right there, standing at the white electric stove in my first apartment. And then another. Ok, this stuff is good. Suddenly I knew what all the fuss was about.

How had I spent so many years thinking all marinara sauce was created equal when there is clearly a divide between the stuff you pour from a jar and the stuff you stir with a wooden spoon? 

Homemade marinara sauce can be used just like any marinara sauce: on a pizza (puree it smooth), over pasta (leave it chunky, add some sausage or meatballs), in chicken parmesan, even Shakshuka. The list goes on a and on. What is your favorite way to use Marinara sauce? 

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20-Minute Marinara Sauce

Published May 2, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Marinara sauce any time of the year, from your own kitchen. It’s better than store bought.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil (coconut, avocado, or olive)
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 24-ounce can diced tomatoes (you can use fresh too, but you’ll need to cook the sauce longer)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (fresh works too!)
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme (fresh works too!)
• 1/4 cup minced basil
• Salt & pepper
• Optional: red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Heat oil in the bottom of a medium sized sauce pan. Dice onion, and when the oil it hot, add to pan along with the minced garlic. Sauté until the onion is translucent and starting to brown. Pour wine into pot, scraping the sides and bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula to release any brown bits from the bottom. Allow wine to reduce to about 2 tablespoons.
2. Pour tomatoes into pot, and stir. Bring to a simmer. Stir in oregano and thyme. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add half of the basil, and then use an immersion blender to puree sauce until it reaches your desired consistency. I like mine slightly chunky. (You can do this with out an immersion blender, just use a label to transfer the sauce to a regular blender and pulse until desired consistency is reach. Then return sauce to pan).
3. Allow sauce to simmer for 5 more minutes. This helps some of the extra water steam off, which results in a thicker, more flavorful sauce. Finally, stir in last of the basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. If you like a spicy marinara, add red pepper flakes to taste. Serve hot, use on pizzas, or store in an air-tight jar in the fridge.

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