When I cook, it’s an event. It’s planned. The recipe is chosen a week in advance, the ingredients ready to be chopped days before it’s time. I ask the boyfriend to block of an evening, dedicated to my future masterpiece.

Last week I finally dug into a cookbook I received for my birthday, Food; Vegetarian Home Cooking by Mary McCartney. So far, I love this cookbook. Although I’m not a vegetarian, there are still some great, tasty ideas. Plus, there are pictures for each recipe which I’m a HUGE fan of.

I decided to go with the lemon zucchini pasta recipe, but also had the boyfriend pick up some lemon-y chicken from Whole Foods (pre-marinated because that’s how us lazy kids roll).

Here is what you need:

• Pasta
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 medium zucchini, thinkly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh sage, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese (plus extra for more deliciousness)
• 4 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

I wish I had some special instructions for you or things that I did differently that improved the recipe. But, alas. I’m not there yet in my cooking. I follow instructions to the T. One thing I couldn’t figure out though was how to finely chop garlic? Instead we ended up with pieces of garlic in the final product.

1. Open wine bottle
2. Pour wine glass
3. Cook the spaghetti according to your pasta box’s instructions (obviously)
4. Once the pasta is done, set it aside and drizzle some olive oil in there so it doesn’t get all sticky
5. Using the same pan, combine the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and zucchini and sauté for 4-5 minutes
6. Pour second glass of wine
7. Add in the garlic and herbs, mix well and sauté for a couple more minutes
8. Add in the cooked pasta and yea through, mix in the cheese and lemon zest.
9. Season with some salt and black pepper
10. Add more cheese. I love cheese.
11. Share wine bottle and food with friends

Below are some pics of my cooking process, in case it helps! I forgot to get a picture of the final product though, shame. My boyfriend and I loved this dish! It wasn’t creamy or heavy, so you leave the meal nice and full but with room for dessert. Enjoy 🙂