Although I would consider myself an adventurous person when it comes to
eating, I would not necessarily use that term to describe me in
any other aspect of life.....I don't even like to call the pizza guy because I don't like "unpredictable" conversations....I know, I know....TYPE A (and maybe alittle crazy too)! But when it comes to eating, I can't get enough and I have given everything a try (and never met anything I didn't like--that is until I realized meat was once attatched to a face--my vegetarian beliefs require that I throw that in there :) ) Ben however, is adventurous in the opposite way. He will try anything in
life once, decide out of the blue he is going to stop going to grad school to be a professor (midway through I might add), and instead study for the L-SAT and go to Law School, and he knows he can do it, has total faith in himself and his abilities....but for some reason he is
not that way with food. Let me just take you on a little journey.....When Ben and I first started dating (8 years ago, WOW) he had never, and I repeat, NEVER TRIED A PIECE OF LETTUCE! What 18 year old male has never put a piece of lettuce in his mouth? Let me rephrase...what person has the faith and gumption in life to pay his way through school, apply/get into grad school, apply/get into law school but
CAAAANNNTTTT eat lettuce?? Say What!?!?! So our adventures together with food have been interesting to say the least and I give Ben MAJOR props, he has come a lonnnng way. He has tried many varieties of greens, veggies, legumes, fruits and even likes salad now! This "eating lettuce experiment" convinced him of what I've said all along, you cannot decide you "don't like" something if you have never tried it/don't have any clue what it tastes like (for the record I have tried calling the pizza guy and I didn't like it so I can say with confidence that I "don't like" calling), so now he is usually willing to give most things a try....but when it came to Tofu/Seitan/Tempah....he took one bite and decided it wasn't for him. So trying new and interesting vegan meals is challenging in terms of looking for new, fillilng recipes without meat! So last night I decided to make a twist on Pesto....if it tastes different then it is different right!?! This recipe calls for cilantro and sun dried tomatoes (and I snuck alittle Nutritional Yeast in there..SHHH!) red onion--kindof a twist on a classic. The kicker was that Ben actually picked this recipe out of our new cookbook
Veganomicon. Now if Ben will pick out a recipe that calls for ingredients like "spinach linguine" then you can try it too folks! Per usual I don't usually follow recipes, mostly look to them for inspiration and then make my versions of things. Thanks Veganomicon for providing a change in recipe that even this Type A couple could handle. And with all this change, maybe I will order the take out next time....wait, who are we kidding, no I won't....I digress...ENJOY!
Cilantro Pesto with Spinach Linguine (or if you are watching your calories, Spaghetti Squash) with a side of garlic bread and Polenta.....
Gather Up the Ingredients...
The original recipe called for 1cup Cilantro and 2cups Basil....I used about 2 1/2cups Basil to 1 Cup Cilantro....
2/3 Cups of almonds
3 Garlic Cloves...
The Juice of Two Lemons.....
about 1/2Cup Olive Oil
a dash of nutritional Yeast (or parmesean yeah yeah yeah...)
Whiz it in the Food processor until it lookos like this!
Now for the spaghetti Squash....cut it in half (it can be difficult so use a sharp knife!) and clean out all the seeds....
Fill a saute pan with about 1 inch of water, place the squash face down.....
Cover pan with lid and let it steam for approx 10-15 minutes....
I used this time to boil bens "spinach linguine" noodles
and make the extra Oomph (oooo-mm-f) for the pasta......1/2 red onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped...
1/4c Sundried tomatoes chopped...
Let simmer until veggies are soft and then add 2/3 cup of dry white wine or veggie stock....let reduce and simmer until your nooodles are cooked.
Ben was even willing to try Polenta! Polenta is basically just corn meal, we bought the pre-cooked kind.....
that you slice and saute until crispy and browned on both sides...kindof like a cornmeal cake!
we sliced bread too incase Ben did not like the polenta....after he tried it of course!
By this time, your spaghetti squash should be cooked.....use a fork to scrape out your "spahgetti"
should look like this.......
your noodles are cooked too...so add them to your veggie mixture (I reserved some to add to my squash)
Add a large spoonful of your pesto per serving, and VOILA! Spinach Linguine with Cilantro Pesto and Sun Dried Tomatoes!
Or Spaghetti Squash with Cilantro Pesto and Sun dried Tomatoes.....
We bent the rules and watched the Rangers while we ate.....oh and for the record, Ben loves polenta...try it, maybe you will too!
Cilantro Pesto
2 1/2c Loosely packed Fresh Basil
1c loosely packed fresh Cilantro
2 lemons juiced
3 garlic cloves
2/3c almonds
sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast (or parm)
1/2c olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Whiz all ingedients together in a food processor or blender until smoothe consistency is acheived. Serve over pasta, rice, or even black beans!!
Extra OOmph (oooo-mm-f) to the pasta
1/2 red onion diced
2 cloves garlic diced
1/4c sundried tomatoes diced
1/2 cup dry white wine or stock
Add onion, garlic and sun dried tomatoes to a pan over medium heat with 1tbs olive oil. Let saute until clear and add wine or stock. Let reduce approx 5 minutes. Add pasta to the mixture and Serve. This is very flavorful and could serve as your pasta sauce if you don't have the time/ingredients for the pesto.
*Side note* You can make pesto with any variety of herbs/nuts that you want, try new and different combinations and find out which ones you love the most! Same with the OOMPH (oooo-mm-f) sauce, whatever veggies you like, give them a try (mushrooms, squash, fresh tomatoes, asparagus...you get the idea)
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