Raw Cucumber Spaghetti with Spinach Pesto and my new kitchen friend

Look at this beautiful, green pasta! Doesn't it look like "real" spaghetti with rich, creamy basil pesto? Don't run to the kitchen to turn on your stove or to get your pot filled with water. This pasta does not come from a box, but rather from your garden (or the produce section at your grocery store).......What a better, refreshing, low calorie fruit (or in the culinary world vegetable) can you imagine on a hot summer day? Nothing beats cucumbers! They are healthy, yummy, packed with water to hydrate your body, and they smell amazing! I love cucumber salad! I love adding cucumbers into my salads, or eat them plain. When I first started exploring the raw vegan diet, I kept hearing about raw pasta, mainly zucchini pasta. I used to make my raw zucchini and cucumber pasta by hand, using a vegetable peeler. What a time and labor consuming chore! And it looked more like linguini instead of spaghetti......Then I saw a video about making raw pasta using a really neat tool, a tri-blade spiral vegetable slicer (aka Spirooli). I read a few reviews and I had to have it! I am so happy that I got this since it makes my raw meals easy, fun and beautiful! Making raw spaghetti with this is a breeze! No need for electricity! Simply place cucumber, daikon radish, zucchini, sweet potato, carrot or other firm vegetable on prongs, and turn wheel while pushing base toward the blade (use the shredder "strip" blade) and in minutes (or rather seconds) you have a bowl of super long spaghetti.

This spiral vegetable slicer has three interchangeable blades to make everything from shredded cabbage, thin vegetable spaghetti, thicker vegetable noodles, vegetable slices, apple chips, curly fries and much more. So far I have been using it for raw spaghetti, thin potato slices, apple slices and shredded cabbage. I like the suction cup base that keeps my Spirooli tightly and safely locked in place while I am using it. I also like the self contained blade storage underneath the Spirooli so I don't lose the blade, plus they are safer there than laying around the kitchen. The blades are stainless steel and the whole tool is dishwasher safe, but I find it easily washable under warm water in the sink. Spirooli is light and easy to store. The durable plastic is well made and all the parts are designed very well, too. I love how easy it is to use and for some reason everytime I use it I get all excited about looking at the cool spaghetti that are coming out of the Spirooli. And to top it all, my World Cuisine Spirooli came with 1 year warranty. You can get yours on Amazon, it's on sale now :-)

I created a healthy, raw, vegan pesto recipe and I want to share it with you. This pesto goes well over raw cucumber pasta, or as a salad dressing.

Raw Cucumber Spaghetti with Spinach Pesto

2-3 large cucumbers, peeled if not organic

(or use zucchini if you like)

6 oz raw spinach leaves

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup water

6-8 fresh basil leaves

salt to taste

Turn cucumbers into raw noodles using a spiral vegetable slicer, knife, or a vegetable peeler. Drain the cucumbers of excess water before placing them into a large bowl.

In a blender or a food processor, chop pumpkin seeds until they turn into a fine powder. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the cucumber noodles) and blend until smooth, scraping the sides of the blender or food processor as needed.

Pour pesto over your raw pasta and mix well. Serve as a meal or a big side salad.

(This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cup pesto that will keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days)

I love my raaaaaaaaaaaw spaghetti!!!!

Stay tuned for my future raw and cooked culinary adventures with my new kitchen friend Spirooli.

Do you have Spirooli? What do you use it for?