Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Dreams Can Come True

I said yesterday that I was dreaming of making pesto with the vegan parm I made, so when I saw a basil plant on sale for two dollars it seemed like the universe agreed with me! I'm going to try to keep this plant alive, but we all know I have a black thumb so.....
I added some kale to the pesto and you can't even taste it. It's a great way to sneak in some extra greens and I swear no one will know! I tossed the pesto with some gluten free angel hair and had some garlic-y, nooch-y tofu on the side. I like making my own pesto because most store bought pesto usually isn't vegan, and even the few that are are usually so packed with oil. I'm not afraid of oil but I also like to use it in moderation. And pesto freezes beautifully so you can throw together a quick dish of pasta on days where you can't stand the thought of cooking!



11 comments:

  1. Oooh what a beautiful pesto! The dish as a whole looks seriously delicious, I love the color of the pesto too! Looks awesome!

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    1. Thank you! It really was delicious. I don't make pesto nearly enough.

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  2. Gadzooks, Hilary - you've done it again!

    I love that you make your pesto with cashews. I never thought of doing that. I usually buy one of those micro containers of pine nuts that costs a bloody fortune! I'll bet cashews are as good [or better] for pesto because they have that nice buttery/creamy consistency. I have four basil plants out back that are starting to get woody so I know how I'll be using them this weekend - cashew pesto for the freezer.

    Keep those recipe ideas coming...

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    1. The cashews worked out great! I usually use sunflower or pumpkin seeds because they're inexpensive but I just happened to have cashews in the freezer!
      Thank you!

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  3. Nice!!
    I have been through a few basil plants....actually bought a little one because it was cheaper than a bunch of basil! But somehow it became a fruit fly magnet and had to go :/
    The pesto and dinner sounds delicious!
    Ttrockwood

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    1. That's why I bought this basil plant! It was cheaper than a package. I'm trying my hardest to keep it alive. It's lived with me for two days so we're off to a great start!

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  4. Homemade pesto is definitely the besto. I agree with you, store bought ones are just too oily for me. We recently planted some basil, and it grew huge! So I made a big batch of pesto from the FOK cookbook that used silken tofu, which was nice. I love making pesto at home.

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    1. It's scary how much oil I see in the jars of pesto. I'm not afraid of a little oil but I also don't like excessive amounts. Pesto with silken tofu sounds amazing. Is it used as a nut replacer?

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    2. It still had pine nuts in it (but you could use another nut for something cheaper). I think it was to replace oil and make it a bit creamier and more protein maybe? Whatever the reason, it was good.

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  5. Hooray for finding the basil plant; your pesto bowl looks great!

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  6. Wonderful looking basil plant! Gotta LOVE pesto! YUM!

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