Less Pasta, More Salad

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When I think of pasta salad, I typically think of cold spiral noodles with veggies tossed in an Italian dressing or other vinaigrette dressing. However, I used to frequently order pasta salad as my side at a restaurant that closed several years ago. Everyone was crazy over their pasta salad and I think it had to do with the mayo + mustard based dressing. It was so different!

I tried to make this pasta salad taste similar to the one from the restaurant and I think I got really close! I can’t remember all the vegetables it had but I think I got close with that too.

The obvious difference is my choice in noodles. I went with zoodles (spiralized zucchini) mostly because I think they’re pretty but also because they’re probably the most affordable gluten-free noodle out there, which is a plus!

I used a “ribbon blade” on my spiralizer (it looks like just one long blade) but you can use whichever shape you prefer. If you don’t own a spiralizer, you can also make the noodles using a julienne peeler or by carefully slicing with just a knife. I bet a mandolin might work too.

Of course, you aren’t limited to zoodles and can always use another noodle of your choice. Just be sure to cook it to al dente. The zoodles are cooked a bit too but all they need is a quick sauté to get them to an al dente pasta texture.

That’s about all I have to say for the recipe because I have more important things to discuss – The new It movie. (Or if you’re just here for the recipe, click here to skip this section!)

I was actually really disappointed in the movie after looking forward to it for so long. Even if I had never seen the original It to compare it to and even if I had zero expectations for the movie, I still wouldn’t have liked it. I can tell they tried to make it more like a modern scary movie but it wasn’t scary at all. It didn’t even have any of those scares that might make the audience jump. Or make the audience worry they’re about to jump. And Pennywise was just awkward. Overall, it reminded me of one of those “scary” movies you might find on Netflix and maybe sit through the whole thing… or maybe not.

If you start to compare the new It to the original, it starts to get even more disappointing. For a 2+ hour movie that made my legs fall asleep multiple times, I would have expected way more backstory and character development. It’s almost as if the writers assumed everyone had seen the original or read the book. At one point, Pennywise quoted the classic line, “Beep beep, Richie!” when I don’t think it had even been said before that. That, or I was too bored to notice. I think anybody unfamiliar with the original were probably wondering what on earth that was supposed to mean.

The first It was also a long movie at over 3 hours but it spent that time telling each character’s story. I felt like this movie spent it’s extra time (granted, 1 hour shorter) stuffing itself with things they thought viewers would find scary. And failed. Meanwhile, I found myself viewing the main characters as a group of nameless kids rather than individual components of the larger story.

And I know I shouldn’t compare… the new Pennywise looked really creative and creepy. But what I liked about the original Pennywise was that he looked and spoke like a happy friendly clown. He used a real sounding voice as opposed to the fake, cartoony voice in the new movie. However, his more subtle, often changing features as (as well as the fact that he hung out in the sewers) were the only things that initially suggested something wasn’t quite right with him. It almost tricked you into letting your guard down.

Ugh, I could keep going but I’m cutting myself off here. The good news is that I saw some exciting previews before the movie! I love the Saw series so Jigsaw is definitely on my list of movies to see, although, whether or not it will live up to the rest of the series could go either way.

They’re also remaking Flatliners which I’m really excited about. Actually, if you want to watch something similar but more recent in the meantime, you should watch The Lazarus Effect on Netflix. Really good!

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Less Pasta, More Salad

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 3 mins
• Total Time: 23 mins
• Yield: 4 servings

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Ingredients

• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 carrot
• 2 zucchini, 3 if they are on the smaller side
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 C canned peas
• 1/3 C mayo, store bought or homemade
• 1 Tbsp yellow mustard
• 1/2 tsp pepper

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Instructions

1. Finely dice bell pepper and carrots. Spiralize the zucchini using a ribbon blade (alternatively, you can use a julienne peeler or a sharp knife to carefully slice into noodle sized strips.)
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, toss the zucchini and 1/4 tsp salt in the olive oil using tongs. Saute until zucchini is just barely softened (about 2 minutes) while using tongs to continually stir.
3. Transfer zucchini to a paper towel lined plate to drain any excess water/oil and cool a bit.
4. Stir together the bell pepper, carrots, peas, mayo, and mustard. Add zucchini and black pepper then use tongs to toss everything together until well-combined. Best served chilled.