Tuesday, April 29, 2008

PESTO MANIA 2008

Years ago in Cambridge MA, I had a roommate who'd often make a pesto pasta salad with red onions, and I never understood how that could be appetizing. I still don't have interest in it, but I have warmed up to the idea and flavor of basil. Heck, I cherish fresh basil now, and almost truly like pesto. Whoa.
I respect it's consistency and simple flavors (and oodles of olive oil, though I cut back on that myself). I like it as a spread, in marinades, dotted on pizza, soup mix-ins, etc.

This weekend I made the Classic Pesto from Vegan with a Vengeance with fresh basil from the farmer's market. This recipe is also the first pesto I've ever made, and the first thing I ever made in my first food processor. So many firsts! I subbed toasted almonds and pine nuts for the walnuts. It took me long enough as an Italian to enjoy marinara sauce, so I suppose it was time for pesto.

Because I don't eat that much pesto, I froze some in cubes, along with
Sweet Maple Basil Pesto from Veganomican that I made a couple weeks ago and
somehow survived this long.

Baked Pesto Tofu (tamari, pesto, water, olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, oregano)
and a salad - a simple lunch at work.


Kettle chips and a spicy version of the Veganomican cheezy sauce.
Snack Attttttaccckkkkk.

This meal isn't as wicked as it seems - it's half a sandwich! And a very delicious one at that with Baked BBQ tofu and greens. The BBQ sauce is Trader Joe's - it's good! Oh, and cheap.
I really like making my own as well, but I am all about the extremely smooth consistency (who wants to send me a Vitamix?) that the storebought one has.

On the side are some more chips with cheeze and sesame kale.


Lastly, a tulip to hypnotize you to buy me a Vitamix.


What? I'm kidding.

21 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I absolutely adore pestos - especially basil or sundried-tomato varieties! Wow, that Sweet Maple Basil Pesto sounds so enticing - yum!

That tulip is BEYOND stunning!!

Anonymous said...

be super careful about washing out that ice cube tray! the last time i froze pesto in cubes, i had to wash the tray about 6 times before i got the garlic/basil smell out. and trust me- accidentally putting garlic-flavored ice in your drink is not very pleasant.

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

Veggiegirl - The Maple pesto is delish! Give it a try!

Anonymous - Thanks! Fortunately I have an ice maker and this tray was sitting in my cabinet for no true reason other than I don't throw things out.

Animal-Friendly said...

Nice way to use an ice cube tray! And the pesto tofu looks really great. Wonder why I never thought of that.....

JENNA said...

i'm a pesto maniac and have yet to notice the maple pesto in v'con! how could that be.

i need to borrow your tulip pic to mesermize someone into buying me a vitamix as well.

urban vegan said...

Pesto! I could not live without it. Makes me want to abandon city life just to have a plot to grow my own basil.


Isn;t Tj's BBQ sauce the best? I could drink it for breakfast, like a smoothie.

While it's at it, I hope the tulip persuades the gods to throw a Vitamix my way, too.

Taylor said...

Love basil...and pesto - just not pesto on pasta! I know that's how most enjoy it, but I prefer it as a spread.

Anonymous said...

I thought I had read 'nomicon cover to cover...how did I miss maple frickin pesto! Yay new project! ps if bbq isn't an aphrodisiac, i don't know what is!!! looks great!

Bianca said...

What a great idea for saving extra pesto! I never use it all either...I'll try that!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Dang, that tulip is amazing! I'm still not on the pesto train, but it sounds like I should give it a try!

bazu said...

must... buy... jess... a... vitamix.

what?

I love pesto. I especially love trying different kinds of greens- parsley, spinach, arugula, cilantro, and nuts- pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, ets. I love lentils tossed with a simple pesto- had it for dinner last night!

Liz Ranger (Bubble Tea for Dinner) said...

ooooooh... pink tulipey hypnographying.......

but more importantly - maple pesto on ripped up tofu bits sounds like lunch perfected, really. And those kettle chip blue chips are pure addiction, so any snack attacking is supposed to happen, pretty much. now you have me wanting nachos!

Wheeler's Frozen Dessert said...

That looks delicious! What a pretty flower ... I LOVE Spring.

Amey said...

Wow! That tulip picture is really awesome. The tulips were my favorite thing about living in the Northwest.

Also, congrats on your food processor. I inherited mine, and I LOVE it. I actually end up using it quite often for various things. Sorry I can't buy you a Vitamix though, I can't even afford one for myself!

:) Amey

Edward Juan said...

that pesto looks delicious. It looks like guacamole.

Anonymous said...

Great pictures! I feel so lucky that the people who owned this house before us planted tulips in the front yard! I love them!

Pesto ice cubes? Wow! Another pesto recipe that I really love is the two from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. I just basil their basil version this week!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE pesto!
And yay for your first ever food processor :D I've yet to get one--but after reading this post, I might finally be motivated to get one so I can make pesto as well! The sweet maple basil pesto sounds wonderful

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

hey guys, thanks for the comments!

just to clarify, don't get too excited, this was the first recipe I ever made in my first food processor - but if you check out the link I gave, that was over a year and a half ago...

Karla said...

you *almost* like pesto??? jess, your italian ancestors are rolling in their graves....good thing you decided to like tomato sauce a couple years ago....

i have a picture of kim scraping out the last of some pesto when we were in italy. if her face would've fit in the container, i'm pretty sure she would've licked it out....

Bee Roach said...

I was just googling the Vitamix today. There's no way I want to spend that kind of money on one, though. I don't know if I could justify getting one when I have a blender, two food processors, and an immersion blender. :)

Thanks for the Trader Joe's BBQ heads up; I've been looking for a good BBQ sauce.

Calimaryn said...

Oh that cheezy sauce. I love it! That lunch looks great. And that flower is hypnotizing!