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When I got a Paderno spiral slicer for Christmas, I knew exactly who was going to love this new gadget. My brother, the engineer who never met a machine he didn’t like.

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My brother is an engineer and is intrigued by all things mechanical. Even as a little boy, he loved figuring out how things work and made intricate drawings of machines and also of architecture. When he and my sister-in-law visited, I planned a collaborative cooking menu that would give my brother some quality time with the spiral slicer.

I decided to try it out with three different ingredients: potatoes, zucchini, and apples. We put in the spiral slicing disk and got to work. Two of the disks are stored in the housing of the machine and their sharp blades are protected; the other one is stored in the tall section and you do need to be a little careful. The slicing disk snaps in easily. The crank is also easy to install and all of the pieces separate for cleaning.

The peeled potatoes worked like a charm and we left the zucchini unpeeled to add some color. We found that the coring mechanism on the machine was too small for the apples, so we cored them first and then used the slicer. All came out in cute swirly spirals. The slicer has three different options and is marketed for its ability to produce pasta-like ribbons to use instead of wheat products in one’s recipes.

The cores from the machine look like mushrooms on steroids or perhaps they could provide an unexpected anatomy lesson for your children. They could also be a cause for some off-color jokes if your group has had enough wine. I knew what to expect after reading a review online, but was still tickled by the whole thing — that’s just me.

Once we had all the wonderful spiralized stuff, we needed to figure out what to do with it. We tossed everything together with seasonings and baked it at the same time as the pork roast. There is a lot of bulk with the spiral slicing, but actually only makes enough for four large servings or eight small servings — everyone will want two! At 230 calories a serving for one-fourth of the dish, it’s a win-win for the empty nest and a great collaborative cooking experience for a dinner party. We served it with a pork roast in a raspberry marinade and cranberry horseradish. The homemade apple chutney came all the way from Oxford, England, as a gift from friends.

If you decide to purchase a spiral slicer for yourself, I would appreciate it if you would buy through my Amazon Affiliate link. Affiliate purchases help to support my business! Paderno Spiral Slicer ($34.95)

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Spiral Baked Veggies with a Twist

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Number of servings: 8

Per Serving 115 calories

Fat 7 g

Carbs 10 g

Protein 5 g

8

The spiral slicer creates texture and interest in a mixture of savory and sweet vegetables, fruit, and seasonings.

Ingredients

• 3 zucchini
• 2 apples
• 2 teaspoons tarragon
• 2 teaspoons Tone's citrus grill seasoning
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup stock
• 3 tablespoons butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Peel the potatoes, but leave the apples and zucchini unpeeled.
3. Core the apples, but keep them round and whole.
4. Using the Paderno spiral slicer, slice the potatoes, apples, and zucchini.
5. After slicing the potatoes, apples, and zucchini, toss them together in a large casserole dish.
6. Add the seasonings and cheese and toss to mix through.
7. Pour in the stock.
8. Dot the butter over the top of the dish.
9. Sprinkle with a little more parmesan cheese.
10. Cover with aluminum foil for first 30 minutes of baking.
11. Remove aluminum foil for 20 minutes to crisp the top and boil off any excess liquid.
12. Bake at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes. Check frequently during last 10 minutes.

I hope you enjoyed today’s recipe and will try it out — you really don’t need the spiral slicer to make this recipe, but it was lots of fun! I’ll see you later this week with a new tablescape, a travel post, and then I’ll be back next Monday with a new recipe for the empty nest. Thanks for visiting!