Harvest Fest - MY HOUSE!!!

Went to the Chester Farm Market this morning and bought a few things - raw milk cheese from Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, organic heirloom "Lemony" tomatoes (lovely yellow aka "Limmony") and some red heirlooms along with a basket of sweet orangey colored cherry tomatoes. 

And I am very excited about this:

I grew up on a working family farm.  While I never milked Honey our Jersey cow (my older brothers had that chore morning and night!  Agh) I consumed a HUGE amount of her milk, cream and butter.  At least once a month, my amazing, hard working mother made and froze butter from cream that was thicker than vanilla ice cream.  It was BRIGHT buttery yellow.  Today Trinity Dairy Farm had butter that did not rival my childhood butter but is close.  I know in my heart that their cows must be fed grain but they ARE pastured also soooo...I stuck a finger full in my mouth and a wisp of nostalgia wafted thru my brain.  Cocobutter coffee - here I come!  (a post for another day)

My BFF Robin bought one of these suckers as a thank you gift for someone.  That is one huge peanut butter cupcake!!  (Brought to the farm market by Simon's Market!)

Hay House Flowers from Old Saybrook had these.  Breathtakingly beautiful!

 So, I am excited to indulge in my goodies today and mayyyyybeeee tomorrow if there is anything left...

Now - to get down to business - THIS is where I have caught a LOAD of JOY this summer.  On my birthday in June, a group of my BFFs took me to a restaurant called Six Main in Chester.  It is a vegetarian/vegan place and 3 out of the 4 of us order a dish made with zucchini linguine.

I WAS HOOKED!

And now - I am in love with this:

It is called a Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler.

As you may recall - the new lifestyle for Mrs. JOY catcher includes high good fats, moderate protein and low carbs with the exception of unlimited vegies.  That means PASTA is a thing of my past - a very rare occurrence on my plate.

HELLOOOOO zucchini linguine!!!

Who KNEW????  I am now able to enjoy my favorite sauces and more, over zucchini linguine.  I have not used traditional tomato sauce but branched out into alfredos and pestos and the other night I made Firecracker Shrimp over it.  Heaven.  

The other day BFF Robin brought me this and it was to DIE for.  I made a variation of it last night and swirled in some homemade pesto and extra lemon.  It was delicious.  AND you get to eat as much as you want!!!  My husband and I blow through THREE zucchinis in one meal and are wanting for more!

Raw Zucchini Alfredo with Basil and Cherry Tomatoes

For the pasta:

Spiralized or julienned zucchini noodles
Small chopped carrot
Sugar snap peas, cut in half (about 3/4 cup)
Baby tomatoes, halved (I used lots)
Fresh shredded basil
A small handful of chopped, sun-dried tomatoes

For the sauce:

1/3 cup cashew butter
1 tsp agave
1/3 cup lemon juice - Robin used much more
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp miso

water, if needed for consistency

Begin by turning the zucchini into pasta and tossing it with the veggies. To make the sauce, put the cashew butter in a bowl along with the agave, lemon juice, sea salt and miso. Blend until it looks thick and creamy. Drizzle water in until the sauce is totally smooth (if you’re using a food processor, you’ll have to stop and scrape sides occasionally) and the consistency you want. Toss the sauce with the veggies, and voila: you’ve got a creamy, delicious bowl that (at least in my mind) surpasses the original dish.

Robin put the tossed zucchini over a bed of spinach and then topped the dish with sauteed chicken tenders.

This is most definitely food JOY and my find for 2012.  What a great birthday present!!!  You have to give this a try!

One last thing...my peaches are coming!  My peaches are coming!  Stay tuned!

Till tomorrow...