Zucchini Spaghetti with Red Pesto! GF, V, SCD!

Pssst….I have a secret….

Lean in so you can hear…

I’M IN NEW YORK CITY!!!!

Yes! It’s true! I’m in the City that Never Sleeps! Gotham! The Concrete Jungle! The Big Apple! Home!!

This is such a huge moment. A culmination of the past 11 months. My Ulcerative Colitis started flaring last September when I was in a show in NYC. I had to move home to Cincinnati for treatment, and after a long, frustrating recovery (my body rejected all medications), my body is finally healed enough to return to the City I Love. I’m not 100% better – only about 85%, but that’s a far cry from where I was about 5 months ago.

Flying over the city today, my heart started fluttering seeing the glittering water and impressive island of high rises and skyscrapers. Getting into a brazen cab, greeted by jarring brakes and impatient honks, I got choked up. You know when you get that burning lump in your throat as you fight back tears? Yep, that was me — tearful from a tough and grimy cab ride through gorgeous Manhattan. I smiled as we drove past New Yorkers, in-the-zone power walking to their destinations, cell phone and designer hand bag in tow. Gritty corner grocers and finally cozy brownstones with tree-lined streets. I’ve finally come full circle. And I can’t wait for the adventure we have in store!

the basil adds wonderful freshness!

So as you can imagine, being gone for a year, there’s a lot of “stuff” to be done. So, tonight, I’m sharing with you the final meal I had at home. It was bittersweet, but lingering over delicious food overlooking the sunset, my parents and I were able to reflect over the past year, and hopes for the future. It was great.

And the food was wonderful too. I made comfort food to the max. Zucchini Spaghetti with a hybrid sauce of Marinara and Pesto! It was SO incredibly delicious!

yum yum yum!

And it’s Gluten Free, Vegan, and Specific Carb Diet Friendly!

Here’s what you need: (Serves 2)

2 (or 3) zucchini – depending on size

Sauce:

2 tomatoes with their juice
1 carrot, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup frozen broccoli
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil and oregano
salt and pepper
1 cup fresh basil
fresh basil, chopped (garnish)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. After you “noodlize” your zucchini, using either a peeler, mandolin, or spiralizer, squeeze them in a paper towel, and then put your noodles onto an olive-oil-sprayed baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put them in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they become vibrant green.

Meanwhile, on the stove, saute your onion in 1 tsp EVOO, with salt, pepper, dried oregano and basil. Add your carrot and broccoli, and let it soften, about 6 minutes. Finally, add in your tomatoes and garlic. Let them cook for about 3 minutes. Put in the food processor along with the basil, and process until you get a fabulously delicious, chunky sauce!

Either top your “noodles” with the sauce, or toss your “noodles” with the sauce. Garnish with fresh basil and enjoy!

such chunky and amazing sauce!

This meal was fabulous! The texture of the zucchini pasta was so satisfying and spaghetti-like! Chewy and “slurpable” – just perfect! You could actually wind the “noodles” around your fork! I felt like a true Italian:)

so slurpy and delicious!

And it was BURSTING with flavor! Completely outrageous. It was juicy from the tomatoes, with a bright fresh accent from the basil! The carrot added just the perfect sweetness to off-set the tomatoes’ acidity. (The carrot makes it so you don’t have to use sugar!) And the fresh basil finished it off just beautifully! Not to mention, adding a bright pop of green!

what a plate!

And for my BED-er’s, use this sauce. It’s a roasted red pepper sauce that’s wonderful!

Alright, more to report tomorrow! I’ll be falling asleep to horns and garbage trucks — ahh, home:)

Have you ever visited NYC? What was you favorite thing you did?

See ya tomorrow!

Need a food processor or a spiralizer? Here's the ones I love: