Pan Fried Greek Zucchini "Pasta"

So I've been having a thing with zucchini this summer. I just love it so much. Here at the tail end of summer, there is still a lot of zucchini around in gardens and stores. So, here is one of my zucchini inventions!

Now, some people have a special machine that turns zucchini into "noodles." I don't have one of those things. It's partly philosophical: why spend money on a gadget when a knife will do the trick? And it's partly financial: I don't want to spend money on a zucchini pasta maker. If you have one of those things, I'm not criticizing you, however. I'm secretly a teensy bit jealous.

Anyhoo, you can make this dish with a zucchini pasta-maker thingie, or with a knife.

So, first, you gotta julienne that zucchini. Step one:

Cut your zucchini in half, then make 1/4 inch thick slices out of each half. Step two:

Make matchsticks by cutting each slice of zucchini lengthwise. Now, you can cut each slice, but to save time, I make little stacks of the slices, and then cut them into the matchsticks. The whole process takes 2 minutes, I promise. Much less time then digging out your zucchini cutter gadget anyway...

The other players: Italian herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram, savory, thyme, sage, rosemary), garlic, olive oil, kalamata olives, and parmesan cheese. You could omit the cheese if you're going for vegan here.

Now, I know this recipe is sorta Italian and sorta Greek. Let's think of it as Mediterranean. You could easily use feta cheese instead of parmesan here. Or put any other kinds of olives you like. This is what I had, so this is what I used!

In a medium skillet, heat 2 T. of the olive oil over medium high heat. Let it get nice and hot. Add the zucchini, 2 t. of the Italian herbs, and 1/2 t. of garlic powder.

Saute that for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. While you saute, go ahead and rough chop one large tomato. Cut a lemon in half while you're at it.

When the edges of the zucchini start to turn brown, add the tomato, 1/2 c. of the olives, and squeeze half the lemon in there:

Saute for 2-3 minutes more, just until the tomatoes get soft, but not until they are falling apart. I like the zucchini to not be mushy; it should still be slightly firm. You can add a dash of salt here, but the olives are pretty salty, and the parmesan also adds salt at the end, so I chose not to salt at this point.

And serve with parmesan cheese! (Sorry for my weird thumb on the side of this pic!) This made a lovely, light summer dinner for me. You could always serve it as a side dish with some baked chicken or fish as well. Enjoy, and let me know if you try this!