Because curly food tastes better

Yep, I'm still off quilting on my retreat.  But in the meantime, I have to ask you: do you have a spiralizer?

If not, you're going to want one.

Trust me.  I'm a middle of the road sort of vegetable eater.  I like a lot of vegetables and managed quite comfortably as a vegetarian for a lot years in my 20's and 30's.  But let me tell you - this little gadget makes vegetables downright fun.

And heck, we could all use a bit more fun in our meals, don't you think?

I honestly don't remember how I became aware of the new fad of turning vegetable into beautifully long noodles and ribbons.  But I do remember standing in a fancy kitchen store a few months ago, looking at the various options and wondering which was best.  I went home empty-handed, but did some research online to try to figure out which was best.  And, based on that, I ordered a free-standing model by Paderno that was reasonably priced and got good user reviews.  It's the very one pictured above.

And gosh, it's been fun.  I think I've used it almost every day since I got it.  I started by spiralizing (ooh, I just love even saying "spiralizing") cucumbers into lovely curls that made a great refreshing salad with a few sprinkles of rice vinegar and a teaspoon or two of chopped peanuts.  Since then, I've moved onto spiralizing (there it is again!) zucchini and carrots.  Turning zucchini into spaghetti-like strands is my current obsession.  Delicious with peanut sauce and some diced chicken thrown in.  And, with a hot red sauce on top, you'd think you were eating actual spaghetti.

I'm still having fun with the basics, but I've been reading "Inspiralized," a blog devoted to uses of spiralized food, and there are some wonderful ideas there.  (Today's featured recipe there is "Cheddar Rosemary Spiralized Potato Pancakes.  Oh my.  Excuse me if I'm drooling.) And look here, there's spiralled cinnamon-sugar apples.  A perfect little taste of fall -- apple pie with out the pie part.  Go google 'spiralizer' on Pinterest and you'll come up with a bunch more recipes too.

I'm kind of astonished that this gadget really does work as well as various blogs and websites and ads say it does.