Broccoli Pesto

Sorry it's taken so long! My money situation is finally worked out, which means that I can afford groceries to make tasty things with, which means that I could renew my flickr, which means that I can get back in the swing of things, etc!

Since coming back from vacation in New York, I've been completely broke and living off whatever was left in my fridge and pantry--i.e. lots of pasta with tomato sauce and biscuits. Last week I did manage to buy a bunch of green beans and a giant zucchini at the local farmers market for $4, so I got a little green back into my diet. On the whole though, I've been eating terribly. Pasta, biscuits, and coffee. Not good for 50+ hour work weeks on top of class and homework.

I have to admit, as I was making the blog rounds today, I just realized that my favorite Canadian vegan nominated me for the Brilliante Weblog Premio 2008 award. (smile) In the interest of passing it along, I'd like to give it to Hannah at Bittersweet, Celine at Have Cake Will Travel, Shelly from Musings from the Fishbowl, Lori at Pleasantly Plump Vegan, Leigh at Raspberry Swirl (even though she already has it--double the love!), the vegan world's fave VeggieGirl, and Ashley Nicole at Vegan Invasion. You all inspire me in your cooking and baking!

I'm still working 50 hour weeks, so I'm going to leave you with a super fast and easy broccoli pesto recipe from Heidi over at 101 Cookbooks.

Broccoli Pesto

1 medium head of broccoli (about 3 cups), cut into very small florets
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 teaspoon + fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

To cook the broccoli, salt the boiling water and add the broccoli. Cook for just twelve seconds. Drain immediately and run cold water over the broccoli to stop the cooking. Reserve a few of the small broccoli trees and puree the rest in a food processor along with the walnuts, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Drizzle in the olive oil while still blending. Taste, adjust with more salt or lemon juice if needed.

Serve over pasta!

Pumpkin Ricotta Pasta

Our Monday Night Vegan Potlucks disappeared for a month or so due to me being out of town and everyone being busy. Last night we brought it back!

I'd planned on making pumpkin squares (from Veganomicon), but I realized that the savory food might be a bit lacking (like it usually is), so I threw together a creamy pumpkin sauce from leftovers in my fridge.

It's a lazy lady's sauce--required very little work, just add to a sauce pan and warm until creamy. If I had been feeling more creative, I'd have made a pasta bake out of it, layering pasta, sauce, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, and red and green peppers. However, I'm lazy and the dish had to fit in my messenger bag anyway.

The dish was a hit, even though the picture is not so swell--the tupperware was wiped clean with Phil's delicious bread. The creamy ricotta part mixed with the spicy pumpkin part was perfect. I still have some ricotta and pumpkin in my fridge--I think I'm going to have to make myself a batch!

Vegan Pumpkin Ricotta Pasta

1/2 c pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 c vegan ricotta
1 c soy milk
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt

Simmer the soy milk, pumpkin, and ricotta at medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add spices.

Serve over pasta.