Keeping It Goode & Healthy: Paleo spaghetti and monkfish

B & I went to Seattle, WA in January for a wedding. We lucked out with the only days of sun WA will probably see all year... and in the winter at that. :) We stayed at The Arctic Club and were just a couple of blocks from the water and the Fish Market. On our last day we walked down to the Pike Street Market and bought a BUNCH of fresh fish to have shipped home for us. What we learned is they will pack it in dry ice for you in carry-on approved containers so you can fly with your fish! (Just an FYI for those of you who ever would be doing this.)

We had 1 fillet of monkfish (aka Poor Man's Lobster) left and still have a couple salmon steaks. We decided the monkfish would be an excellent lunch-time meal. I also had one Italian squash & one yellow squash in the house that had to be eaten soon or they would become bunny food (the blessings of having a big-over grown-desert-backyard is that all almost spoiled food can either go in a Vitamix or feed the wild animals). While B prepared the monkfish on the grill (cook on medium-high heat for about 15 minutes and squeeze about 1/2 of one lime on top and you are good to go), I prepared our side dish of pasta.

From the pasta:
Use your hand-dandy mandolin or peeler (I used my Oxo peeler to make the squash super thin.)

and then...

put the "noodles" in a bowl and heated in the microwave for 3 minutes. This helps get some of the extra moisture in the squash out. Once the noodles cool for just a moment, drain. I don't use a strainer since it involves more work (and clean up) than there is liquid that comes out. However, I have found that if you don't drain the noodles at all, there is way too much liquid in the meal that you prepared the noodles with. Since I have cut out grains and pastas, Italian squash has become my new best friend when it comes to wanting 'pasta'. Remember for those of you struggling with letting go of pasta; the flavor you taste from a pasta dish are the seasonings and sauces... most likely not the noodles themselves. I think you might be pleasantly surprised with how much better you feel by taking the pasta out of your dish... just sayin'.

I have an absolutely amazing friend who is a fantastic cook. She went to a local farmers market last week and got a TON of veggies for only $10. She gave B & me about half of what she received and we were stocked for over a week. One of the things she shared with me while we were loading the car with all the yummy goodies was how to make an easy 'from scratch' pasta sauce. She had actually just served us a meal for dinner that night using her homemade sauce so I was totally game for trying it out myself.

The sauce:

6-8 tomatoes, cut off the tops, slice in half and place face up in a baking dish.

Add a little salt & pepper over the top of all the tomatoes

Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes.

Dump in the Vitamix (or your food processor) and blend to desired consistency
I added 1 T Italian seasoning & 1 T of basil and blended for about 5 more seconds.
That's it. :) Once it cooled, I double-bagged it in a freezer safe gallon-size Ziploc plastic bag and stuck it in the freezer.