Light & Fresh Summer "Pasta"

Hello There & Happy Summer! According to ayurvedic seasonal cycles, summer is considered to be “Pitta” season, where the energetic principles of fire & water are most prominent. Due to the strong properties of the sun & the body’s need to stay cool & release internal heat “agni” (the body’s digestive fire) is pulled to the extremities to keep the body cool. Therefore agni becomes compromised & our digestive capacity is weakened. Have you noticed that you are often less hungry & tend to eat less during the summer months? Listen to your body, it knows best! As the wisdom of Ayurveda is all about maintaining balance, & in order to stay cool & balanced in the warm summer “Pitta” months it is best to eat lighter & smaller meals. If you’d like to learn more about Ayurveda & how to keep cool & what to eat during the summer season, visit my lovely & amazing teacher Laura’s blog, she has so much wisdom, love & beautiful recipes.

Ayurveda also advocates eating fresh with the seasons, which is easy for me as I have been trying to follow this philosophy for quite some time. My last CSA delivery provided me with a bounty of summer’s local delights – basil, zucchini, beets, carrots, radish, lettuce, avocado & Roma tomatoes. Lunch for the past few days has been an abundant salad with shredded carrot & beets, sliced radish, & a sprinkle of pepitas tossed with a creamy parsley dressing. Dinner has been a light quinoa kitchari which I will share soon. I was home for lunch today, a rare occasion anymore & decided to make use of the basil, tomato & zucchini. I live for summer when I can make raw spiralized zucchini “pasta,” however a full dish of raw zucchini has not been sitting well in my belly lately. While Ayurveda definitely invites more raw foods into the diet during the summer months, it does caution against eating too much raw food. I had half a box of quinoa spaghetti on hand, so to balance out the raw & I tossed zucchini noodles & cooked quinoa pasta together, a trick I learned from my friend Katie.

LIGHT & FRESH SUMMER PASTA Author: Melissa, Honey Bee Vegan Recipe type: Pasta Cuisine: Vegan Serves: 2 INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium zucchini, spiralized

• 4 oz. quinoa spaghetti

• 1 Roma tomato, chopped

• A small handful of fresh basil, chiffonaded

• A generous drizzle of roasted garlic extra virgin olive oil

• A sprinkle of raw pepita parmesan, or vegan parmesan alternative of choice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain & cool.

2. Prepare zucchini noodles with a spiralizer or julienne peeler.

3. Toss the quinoa pasta & spiralized zucchini, then toss with chopped tomatoes, roasted garlic olive oil, & parmesan.

The quinoa pasta added just the right amount of “balance” & substance to the spiralized zucchini, & was wonderfully satisfying. The cool contrast of the raw zucchini lightened up the hearty pasta making this a perfect summer marriage. I topped the noodles with a generous drizzle of roasted garlic olive oil, fresh tomatoes & basil, & a light dusting of my homemade “pepita parmesan.” Delightful. Here’s to warm summer beach days, bike rides, mint iced tea, backyard BBQs with friends, fireworks, road trips, & delightful fresh summer meals. Enjoy!