There are so many different shapes of pasta and even though they all have the same ingredients, somehow the different shapes taste different! Well, at least that's what I remember from when I used to eat pasta, ha!

Well, I'm a visual person and like my food to look appealing. Here are some ways to cut and fill vegetables and fruits differently:

Rounds: Slice chunky rounds from a cucumber, zucchini or yellow squash. Scoop out a bit of each one’s center with a melon baller. Use the melon baller to top with a round scoop of stuffing recipe.

Boats: Slice cucumber or zucchini lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and fill with stuffing. Sprinkle colorful minced veges or herbs on top. A celery "toboggan" can be filled with stuffing too.

Tomato Cups: Slice off small or cherry tomato top and scoop out center; then fill with stuffing recipe and replace top after stuffing. The same thing can be done with little bell peppers.

Fruit Cups: A fruit salad can be put in an orange half that has been scooped out. Zigzag edges are extra work, but look fancy for special occasions. After the seeds have been removed from a pear half or peach half, it can be filled with a tasty stuffing like coconut or nuts.

Mushroom Caps: Remove stem. Fill cap with stuffing recipe. Sprinkle colorful minced veges or herbs on top of filling.

Julienne: Slice veges into sticks for dipping. Cut them shorter for matchstick size to top or toss with sauce.

Ribbons: Use a vegetable peeler to make thin ribbons of zucchini or other vegetable. Good for rolling up julienned veges or separating layers as in a lasagna.

Spiralized Vegetables: Use a spiralizer to make long, curly noodle shapes.

Macaroni Shapes: Peel a cucumber or yellow squash. Slice in half length-wise. Scoop out seeds. Cut wedge slices to make half-moon shapes.

Next, I'm on to garnishes!!!