Squid Fettuccine and play time for my inner child

Ingredients
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 serrano pepper, chopped (including seeds)
1 ½ cups julienned zucchini
1 cup julienned carrot
½ cup milk
½ cup white wine
⅓ cup grated Parmesan
Squid Fettuccine


One of the latest additions to my kitchen gadgets is a julienne slicer, and so far, I hadn’t really started using it. As you can imagine, my inner child on the other hand could hardly sit still because of all the giddiness and wanted to play with her new toy!

Experience has taught me that said inner child would not start nagging before she got her wish, and so play we did (I hope to remember this wisdom when I have children of my own). Oh and the fun we had, creating piles of beautiful strings of vegetables that looked stunning on the wooden cutting board, melting every veggie-lovers heart....

But what to do with all the colorful goodness, asked sternly my inner voice of reason? Have you been playing with precious food just for playing’s sake? So with her ponytail between her legs, my inner girl created the following dish.

In a heavy pan, I sauteed the serrano pepper and garlic in hot olive oil. After the garlic had turned golden, I added first the carrots and a couple of minutes later the more fragile zucchini, stirring from time to time to prevent burning. While the medley was still crunchy, I poured in the white wine and the milk and reduced the sauce by cooking it another five minutes and finally thickening it with the Parmesan.

Fortunately, I’ve had some squid ink fettuccine which had been sitting in my cupboard for a while already and which are just made for white, creamy sauces. To the utter delight of the Santoku master, they contrasted well with the colorful vegetable stripes. And my inner little girl is officially allowed to keep her new toy!

What's your favorite kitchen gadget right now?

Life is good!