Presto, It's Pesto!

So I decided to make pesto tonight--my first time since turning vegan. I thought I would really miss the freshly-grated parmesan, but I honestly didn't. I boosted it with a few extra cloves of garlic and added a handful of cilantro per Veganomicon's suggestion. So aromatic and delicious! Ashton exclaimed several times during the meal that it was his "best dinner ever!" And, the tomatoes were the first from our patio tomato plant.

Saturday

B
Banana-pecan pancakes
Soysage patties and links

Sunday

L
Seitan, green and red pepper, and onion fajitas
Black bean soup
Chips and salsa
Homemade pico de gallo
Fresh limonada
Cantalope

D
Whole wheat capellini with basil-cilantro pesto
Spinach and baby greens salad with homegrown tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette
Fruit salad with strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and green grapes
Mini banana-nut pancakes with maple syrup and sliced bananas




The soup from lunch was so flavorful--thanks to my soup starter! More on that this week... And the mini pancakes were a little sweet treat after dinner since I had some batter leftover from Saturday's breakfast. I wanted to make round filled pancakes, but my new pan from Rachael was being finicky.

Round, stuffed pancakes I made recently--some filled with strawberry preserves and others filled with blueberries. Oh, yum.




Here is the basic, non-measured recipe for the pesto tonight:

1 cup loose-packed basil leaves
1/2 cup loose-packed cilantro leaves
4 garlic cloves
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup toasted pinenuts
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all in a chopper/food processor and blend until fine. Toss with hot pasta.

Oh, I hope to make vegan Philly cheesesteaks this week...stay tuned for the results!

You? Has anyone tried any of the Veganomicon recipes yet?