Zucchini and Carrot Ribbon Salad

Most often when my family eats dinner we always make the same salad to go with it: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, balsamic vinegar. It has become a staple salad in our family with a couple of additions at times such as pickles, avocado, feta cheese or some leafy greens. However, for the most part, it stays the same and we all enjoy it.

Last week, I decided that I wanted to try and make something different, spice up our lives a little. I tried making this ribbon salad using our vegetable peeler and random ingredients I found in the fridge. The end result was a yummy salad but my ribbons did not turn out the way I had wanted. All of my ribbons turned out thin and without a border. Perhaps if I had been using a cheese grater or a vegetable thinner that was wider I could have made those beautiful zucchini ribbons with the dark fringes. Also, the ribbons were a little long which made me wish I had cut them down a little. Still, I was happy with the taste of the salad and I think I enjoyed it even more the next day when it was cold.

Zucchini and Carrot Ribbon Salad
Note: The listed quantities are all estimations except for the zucchini and carrots; I added the ingredients until it looked right in the salad.

• 2 medium zucchini
• 4 medium carrots
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup olives, chopped
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• Goat cheese or feta cheese chunks
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil

1. Using a vegetable peeler, cut the zucchini and carrots into long, thin ribbons and set aside. You can keep the cores to use later in something else.
2. In a large skillet, heat up some olive oil over high heat. Add the ribbons and reduce the heat to medium.
3. Toss the ribbons around in the olive oil and continue to heat until just tender, about 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper while heating.
4. Pour the contents of the skillet, oil included, into a salad bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients.