RECIPE: simple noodle salad and the mandolin

A raw kitchen will likely have lots of little gadgets to help you get creative with your food. The problem with this is that it can run up the tab on your kitchen tools. I don’t know about you but I can hardly afford to have the nicest tools on the market, let alone all the tools on the market. So I’ve found ways to get creative, or simply use the cheap versions only to find they work just as well!

(the only exception is the Vitamix. It is, unequivocally, the best big purchase I’ve ever made. And they currently have an increased selection of reconditioned blenders for significantly less!)

I am often asked about what tools I use in order to create certain dishes. I’m fortunate enough to have a small collection of fancy gadgets in my kitchen, but I thought I’d introduce you to a few gadgets just in case you haven’t had the pleasure of using them for yourself, already.

Let me introduce you to the Mandolin. It is such a neat and affordable gadget that is easy to use and can be used in many different facets. I like to make noodles with it, sometimes, and also make slices when I’m layering fruit or making dehydrated chips. It allows you to quickly slice up your food without worrying about whether or not you’ve made even slices.

For this particular dish I was feeling drawn to the mandolin, as opposed to the usual spiralizer, and so I quickly sliced and shredded my veggies for this amazingly simple and delicious meal. I served it with a garlic-tahini-zucchini sauce and sprinkled nutritional yeast over it.

2 large zucchinis

1 large carrot

Using a mandolin (carefully) shred your veggies using the thinnest slots available. Below is the mandolin that I use in my kitchen and it works perfectly. Please be careful, we’ve had some mandolin accidents in our kitchen, so go slowly!

1 zucchini, chopped

2 T tahini

1/2 lemon, juiced

2-3 T nutritional yeast

1 clove garlic

 2-4 T water

Combine everything in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Pour over the noodles and mic until coated. Top the noodle with a little bit more nutritional yeast for some extra cheezy flavor!