Several weeks ago, when my friend Sarah suggested that I start a blog, it was with the intention of sharing some of the recipes that I was alluding to on Facebook. Little did she know that I would deviate from that mission immediately and not share any recipes at all...until today. I do not consider myself to be an unusually talented cook or someone with chef-like aspirations at all and in fact, I'm a little bit lazy in the kitchen. I tend to gravitate to recipes that have just a few ingredients and even fewer steps. If the end result is delicious then, "Yay!" If not, at least I tried something different and hopefully figured out along the way why it didn't succeed.
Today, I'm sharing the Shaved Zucchini and Parmesan Salad recipe that I tried a few nights ago that turned out to be a winner. When I'm on the hunt for a new recipe, I generally search one or two websites that have worked for me in the past. If you read my recent post on zucchinis, you would have noticed that I had a whole lot of them jammed into my refrigerator, waiting to be unleashed. When I searched for zucchini recipes, not surprisingly, I found a ton of them. Here is the original recipe that I sourced from Epicurious, an excellent website for fellow foodies because it includes numerous reviews for most recipes and more importantly, the modifications that people have made to them.
As with most things that I prepare in the kitchen, I switched up some of the ingredients to suit what I had kicking around the pantry. Instead of pine nuts, I used roasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds, which are starting to appear in many of my summer salads. I also added organic grape tomatoes and red onions. The beautiful combination of colours really enhanced the visual appeal of this salad. I used less of the fresh basil, simply because I didn't have very much on hand at the time and the basil that was at the grocery store didn't look very fresh. Since I can't imagine a fabulous salad dressing without at least a hint of balsamic vinegar, I added a splash to the lemon juice and olive oil. As for quantities, I used two zucchinis and for the rest of the ingredients, I just eyeballed them, which is my typical way of measuring. This is the number one reason why I do not bake. Ever.
I hope you try this lovely seasonal salad and incorporate your own variations. If you stumble upon something yummy and noteworthy, please feel free to share your recipe on my blog. By the way, it is now much easier to post comments, so please don't be shy. Happy summer feasting!
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