Lightly fried zucchini tossed with cheesy garlic pasta and fresh herbs

Load the fork with the best-tasting pasta bite EVER! After boiling the gluten-free pasta, sauté it in the garlic-infused EVOO to soak in all the juices. Combine Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, and tomatoes and you'll never prepare pasta any other way again. 

Sauté the zucchini in EVOO. 

After adding the pasta with cheese, add the zucchini back into the dish.

Add the bacon

Add the basil from the garden for freshness. 

Add the cherry tomatoes cut in half to release the flavor. 

Add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese

Use the tongs to add the pasta dish to the plate.

Load the fork with all the ingredients in the pasta dish. 

Use gluten-free pasta made of corn and rice flour. 

Have you ever heard the saying, "There's no such thing as an original idea?" This may or may not be true. Today, it's true. My dish was inspired by a handsome Italian man frying veggies. 

As I was scrolling through Instagram, I started watching the tall, dark stranger demonstrate techniques used by Italian cooks and speaking broken English. He was rubbing the garlic on the crusty bread. He was talking about pasta. And, he was frying zucchini in a bit of EVOO.  It was mesmerizing. I'm not a big fan of frying anything or nibbling on zucchini but seeing the Italian guy flipping the 1/4-inch slices of zucchini in hot olive oil motivated me to try it again. 

I had to make a quick trip to the market. I went to the local vegetable stand up the road and bought two medium-sized zucchini. Typically, I'll pass right by the green squash and onto the yellow squash. Not this time. It's all about trying all of summer's glorious harvest. If you haven't been to the local vegetable stand this summer, get over there. So much goodness. So much flavor. So much JOY!

Ingredients:
Two medium-size squash
4 T. of EVOO
2 cloves of garlic smashed and cut in half
1/2 lb. of gluten-free spaghetti
1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus enough to sprinkle on top 
Four slices of crispy bacon or a handful of real bacon in a packet
A handful of cherry tomatoes
Six large basil leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Follow the directions on the package to boil spaghetti. Be sure to add pasta to salty, boiling water. Take the pasta out of boiling water a minute or two before Al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. 

Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch slices. Add 4 T. of EVOO to sauté pan. Add the two cloves of garlic. Place the zucchini in the frying pan. Salt and pepper.  Fry on both sides for approximately two minutes on each side. Take the zucchini out of the oil and place it on a paper towel.

Take the garlic out of the EVOO and discard. Add the pasta to the EVOO and the 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water. Add 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Mix.  Add the zucchini back to the sauté pan. Fold into the pasta. Add the bacon. Add the fresh basil leaves. Add the tomatoes. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on the top of the pasta dish. 
​Serve.