Friday, October 19, 2012

Arugula Pesto


I made this pesto a few weeks ago, but I literally have no time to blog. Yesterday I worked from 9:30 am until 9:45 pm and I went to bed an hour after that. I've also made a few other really delicious things, some with friends, some by myself that I will post links to on the bottom of this page.


But back to this pesto. I found it on Pinterest like most things in my life these days and decided that it would probably taste just as good without the cheese.  It's from the blog One Hungry Mama.

Arugula Pesto

1/2 cup almonds (I used whole even though it called for sliced, it turned out fine, use what you have)
2 cups packed fresh arugula
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Simple right?
 
 

















1. Add the almonds into a food processor and roughly chop.
2. Then add in the arugula and garlic. Slowly drizzle in olive oil while it's blending. I think I used less than the recommended amount, I stopped as soon as it reached the right consistency.  I had to add the arugula in batches because I'm working with a tiny food processor.

For some color I just threw some heirloom cherry tomatoes in a frying pan with some oil until they split open and added them on top of the pasta.

I love this recipe because I crave pesto in the winter and basil only grows in the summer. Arugula is the perfect solution. Plus, pine nuts are so expensive it's nice to have a substitute.

Here are some other recipes that I have been doing lately that are definitely worth your time:
Vegetarian Pho
Refried Beans
Curried Cauliflower Soup

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Pumpkin "Cheesecake"

I've been wanting to try one of these raw "cheesecakes" for awhile, and when I saw the recipe for the pumpkin one while perusing the internet, I knew it was time. I have my doubts whenever I make something gluten free, because I've tried so many things that have failed. But for how few ingredients were in this, it turned out amazing. G thinks we should call it something other than cheesecake though, he's a bit of a cheesecake snob.


The crust is literally just dates and almonds. It called for a spring form pan, and I almost bought one, but then realized, this might fail and I'd be stuck with a pan that's meant for a food I can't eat. So, I used my Pyrex pie dish and surprisingly, it didn't stick to the bottom when I cut it, it came up slices intact. One hazard of gluten free food is that it crumbles. You can almost always count on dishing yourself up something that is going to crumble on it's way to your plate, not this guy though.

The only other adjustment I made was to used canned pumpkin instead of cooking one myself. I just didn't see the need to waste all that time on dessert, this time at least.

Here's the recipe: Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake

Sorry for the small slice, I just wasn't that hungry after cooking/eating all afternoon.