Zucchini Tomato Fax

I have to share this recipe with you - it's perfect if you're overrun with zucchini and basil, and is a fast, healthy, and delicious summer meal. It's a favourite at our place!

Pasta with Grated Zucchini

Ingredients:

500g dry long pasta (linguine / curly strips / spaghetti etc)
1 cup olive oil (you can probably get away with a bit less than this, say 3/4 cup)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
600g zucchini, grated (about 4 large ones)
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted (~2 minutes in the microwave, in a heat-proof bowl, stirring frequently)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Cook pasta, until al dente. Drain, keep warm. It's best to do this first, as the sauce comes together very quickly.

Heat oil in large pan (I like to use a wok), add garlic and zucchini. Cook and stir until softened. Around 5-8 minutes.
Add pepper and basil. Mix well.

Stir zucchini sauce through the pasta. Serve topped with pine nuts and parmesan cheese. Yummy!!

This quantity serves around 6.

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Check out these little beauties - the first of my cherry tomato crop! The plants have got so big they've fallen over (I've tied them up in part now). More to come - nothing better than home-grown tomatoes.


I might have had a bit of a fight with my business fax machine ... in recent months the paper feed has stopped working, and then there was this little drama with the wretched fax film stuff ... I did try to roll it back on the rollers, honest, before my "Oh for fuck's sake" response kicked in:


I now have a multiple handset cordless phone (bliss), and will come up with different ways to survive without a fax machine (interactive PDFs, sending from my Mac, etc).

Trying to survive a record breaking hot day here - likely to go over 40ºC (104ºF). My annoying FIL has no air con at his place, so we're doing the right thing, and having him here all day. Mainly as a service to the local hospital - I'm quite sure they'll have enough demands from people with heat stress without adding FIL to their woes. And here's hoping for a cooler night and more sleep - 4 hours isn't really cutting it for me at the moment :/

On a more serious note - I had my first mammogram a week ago - it was a 'diagnostic with ultrasound' scan (not just a plain screening), which was worrying. The experience was much less awful than I'd been expecting (being gifted in the bustal region seems to help), and thankfully all is well. Phew bloody phew.

I just have non-cyclical mastalgia (probably a peri-menopausal thing). Not pleasant, but not cancer. If you're getting on (I'm mid-40s), have any breast cancer in the family (my maternal aunt), and have any changes, please please don't wait before seeing your GP. It's so much better to check it out sooner rather than later. Mostly it's fine, and it's better to know!