Another weekend went by way too fast, mentally prepping myself for another work week is more challenging than usual after a crazy week. But I’m trying to be optimistic, this week could be much better – right? I caught up on about 6 loads of laundry today getting ready for the week, including washing the dog blankets and beds and Leela was quick to claim the soft and warm couch blanket as soon as it came out of the dryer.
Leaving Miko to pout about all his beds and toys being in the wash while trying to steel warm sunlight from Smokey.
Lucky for him his favorite toy was ready shortly after.
Friday night we headed to one of our favorite local French restaurants for dinner where I got this wonderful vegan creation of black bean and quinoa cakes topped with marinated tomatoes served with a side of sauteed veggie noodles.
The veggie noodle side dish was so good, it prompted me to dig out a kitchen tool I haven’t used in awhile – the OXO Julienne Peeler.
This fun little tool is like the faster and easier-to-clean version of the spiral slicer that works great on zucchini, carrots, jicama, and many other veggies. It creates shorter, straight veggies noodles.
Saturday I used it to create a huge salad of julienned jicama, zuchini, and carrots dressed with Avocado Ginger Dressing which ended up being a huge salad!
I topped one serving with sunflower seeds and dulse flakes for lunch.
Then had another serving for dinner topped with Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning blend served with spicy baked potato fries hubby created.
And finally I had another serving for lunch today topped with nutritional yeast and pumpkin seeds.
It was nice putting time and effort into creating one large salad that provided so many simple meals this weekend. And the julienned veggies made a fun way to enjoy the raw veggies, it was more like a chilled tangy noodle salad.
Since my fridge was overflowing with zucchini still, I decided to experiment with a cooked julienned zucchini tempeh Thai themed dish for dinner but stir frying chopped tempeh in a little sesame oil, soy sauce, minced garlic, and hot sauce until golden and crispy.
Then I added julienned zucchini and chopped tomatoes to briefly stir fry and coat with the seasonings.
The result was a fun savory and spicy noodle dish missing the excessive carbs of pasta and packing more veggies.
The zucchini held up nicely to being cooked, it didn’t get too mushy and the tomatoes held their crispness and flavor after only being cooked very briefly to combine the flavors.
So I’m having a minor love affair with my OXO Julienne Peeler currently really liking what it does for the texture of cooked and raw veggies while being easier to clean and use than bringing out my huge spiral slicer. I can see using this a lot more over the summer on huge zucchinis from the farmer’s market.
What kitchen tools are you currently obsessed with?
I have one of those peelers! I bought it right around the same time I bought my spiralizer but haven’t used it much (maybe once?) b/c I didn’t get “clean cuts”…it would puncture the veggies but not actually make slices. Maybe I wasn’t pressing firmly enough. Need to dust it off and try again!
Julienne vegetables are my favourite way of eating raw veggis! so tasty in the form of noodles, salads etc.. love this post!
Ah, I have that peeler– but I always forget about it!! I need to pull it out more often!
as usual i need to hire yo has my personal chef! if i win the lotto will you and your family move down to me and will you cook for us all the time? glad you got a to of stuff down. that always helps with the busy week ahead. i will be hoping you have a better week than last. hang in there girl!
Awe, thanks! :-) June is still crazy here, but it’s almost over!