Zucchini Pasta and Herbed Yogurt Cheese

I'm a big fan of vegetables-as-pasta. Cutting eggplant or zucchini into fettucine-like strips and serving it tossed with real pasta just seems like a good idea to me. It's simple (except for the prepwork), fun, and tricks you into eating your veggies by enticing you with carbohydrates galore. Today's version was zucchini strips and a whole lot of garlic, sautéed with some white wine, and tossed with pasta and basil. Yum.

However, I am of the opinion that pasta and vegetables alone do not constitute dinner. For an appetizer, I baked Mark Bittman's ridiculously easy crackers, and tried my hand at a recipe from Sara Moulton Cooks at Home. My mom got me this cookbook (signed!!) when Sara was doing a demonstration at Sur La Table, and even managed to plug www.whatweate.com when chatting with her. That's now two Food Network chefs that know about our wonderful work here at the website! [I'm sure fame and fortune will come knockin' at my door soon enough.] The recipe I tried was for Herbed Yogurt Cheese, and the description suggested it as a healthier alternative to herbed Boursin. Now, I'm usually very much against "healthy alternatives," but this came out very delicious indeed. It's garlicky, herby, perfect on crackers, and easy to make. All you need to do is put 2 cups whole milk yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth; stick it in the fridge to drain overnight. The next day, add 1 Tb olive oil, salt and pepper, some minced garlic and shallot, and chopped herbs to taste. Sara recommends chives, parsley, tarragon, and thyme; I used parsley, rosemary, and a bit of sage.