Spiral Cut Vegetable "Spaghetti"

2 med.-lg. beets

3 med. zucchini

3 sm. sweet potatoes

2T solid coconut "oil"

2T white Balsamic vinegar

2 lg. red potatoes

1 lg. clove elephant garlic

1 med. white or sweet onion

1 bunch beet greens

1/2c chopped cilantro

1c chopped nuts or seeds - optional

fresh ground pepper and salt

flavored Japanese panco bread crumbs

fresh grated Parmesan cheese

* other ideas below

Using a spiral slicer, spiral cut the first three ingredients into a big pot.  Add coconut oil, stir over low-medium heat until oil melts and the liquid starts pulling out of the vegetables.  Add vinegar, cover and simmer on low 10 minutes.  Add spiralized red potatoes, finely minced garlic, finely chopped onion, stir then cover again, simmering for another 15 minutes or so.  Be sure there is liquid in the bottom of the pot, adding a little water or chicken stock, if needed.  When the vegetables are partially cooked yet still crips, sprinkle with the chopped cilantro, seeds or nuts - if you're using them and add seasonings.  Serve as a side or main dish.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs and fresh grated cheese.

*Another idea would be to top the vegetables with pesto, pinenuts and grated cheese.  Or for the last 15 minutes of cooking, add a 14oz. can of crushed tomatoes, Italian seasonings and Parmesan.  This is a great beginning to many ways of serving these wonderfully textured, spiralized vegetables.  As you can see, the red beets color everything.  This doesn't bother me since dark red beets are my favorites, however, to avoid this, use lighter or yellow beets.  Using the less colorful vegetables, serving them with an Alfredo sauce would also be great.  Experiment!  Have fun! . .Lin

Shape, Size and Texture!!! It just might be all about TEXTURE!

I've never given any conscious thought to how texture impacts the foods we cook.  Cubed cheese or grated?  Grated potatoes, as in hash browns, or cubed for American fries?  Ground lean steak, or cubes of that same steak, in your favorite chili recipe?  I'd never use lasagna noodles in my shrimp scampi, nor angel hair in a hearty stew. . .it's all the same ingredient, but in the end, the texture really matters.

Enter my new favorite kitchen toy in. . .well. . .years!!  My new spiral slicer arrived yesterday and I ran right to the grocery store to get some interesting vegetables to try it out.

This time it was celery root, zucchini, yellow and red beets, of course onion, and napa cabbage that didn't spiral well at all.  It shredded nicely however.  So I only used a little.

I was torn between a raw salad and a vegetable stir-fry, so I made both.  I broke up the spirals a little then tossed it all with olive oil, a dark fruity balsamic vinegar, fresh ground black pepper, Himalayan pink salt and ground rosemary, then added a few tiny tomatoes and half an avocado.  It's perfect!

The stir-fry started with a little coconut oil and butter, ground red and black pepper, ground rosemary and Himalayan pink salt.  After 5-10 minutes, transfer to a serving dish, top with bleu cheese crumbles and it's ready to serve now, or heat up later.  Side benefit, your kitchen will smell awesome with the scent of coconut oil, rosemary and all those lovely vegetables.

I realize, it's brand new, but already I give this slicer very high marks!  I'm sure I'll always have one in my kitchen! . . . Lin