Recipe Schmecipe

Here is one of the most annoying things about me.

I’m reluctant to say that, actually, because I don’t really consider myself to be all that annoying. Then again, who does really? It rarely occurs to us that the things we take for granted about ourselves might drive

someone else to distraction.

Also, I don’t believe in engaging in negative self-talk. So… I am quirky and I tend to wander off a bit. In a good way.

Here’s what I’m talking about…

I love to cook and I love to write about it—and recently, I’ve gotten into the habit of photographing my food. This can be inconvenient if I happen to be really hungry since I take the time to try to make my meal look good on a plate. I’ve been known to change plates half-way through. Better photo op.

                Then there’s the angle and the lighting and the conversation that takes place between my growling stomach and my right-side brain.

STOMACH:     Come on, already!

BRAIN:            Just one more shot. There was a shadow.

STOMACH:     It’s getting cold--!

BRAIN:            One more second is not going to kill you.

STOMACH:     It might. And then where will you be? Starved and irrelevant.

ME:                  Will you two knock it off?

Eventually, they settle down.

Where was I going with this? Sometimes it takes me a while to get to the point.

The other day I found in my inbox a recipe for garlic scape pesto roasted potatoes. Insert involuntary eye-roll here. So not the season for garlic scapes… Except. EXCEPT they store very well and I actually did have a huge bag of them in the bottom of my fridge. Go figure.

Maia, Maia… don’t be so judgmental. Judging someone doesn’t define them; it defines you as someone who needs to judge.

Practice gratitude. I’m grateful that I have all the ingredients I need to make Garlic Scape Almond Pesto (recipe to follow). Or so I thought. When it came time to add the 1/3 cup of parmesan, I had like, an eighth. What to do, what to do. Cheddar? No. Feta? Certainly not. Fresh mozzarella… why not?

So I oven-roasted some red potatoes and while they were nice and hot and a bit crispy on the edges, I tossed them into the Garlic Scape Almond Pesto. So yum.

For whatever reason—I’m not really sure why—I went back and read the recipe in my inbox. SO nothing like what I just did. First of all, that recipe was for vegan, nut-free pesto and secondly, those potatoes were coated with vegan, nut-free pesto before the roasting took place.

Oh, well. Mine was delicious—nuts and all.

P.S. Sorry, no photo-finish. Grumbly tummly won this round.

P.P.S. Here’s the recipe for my pesto. Feel free to muck it up any way you please—and forgive the out-of-seasoness of scapes.

Garlic Scape Almond Pesto

Get this:

8 to 10 garlic scapes, roughly chopped

1/3 (or so) C parmesan cheese

1/3 C almonds, also roughly chopped

½ C olive oil (organic, first cold-pressed)

Do this:

In a food processor, combine scapes, cheese, almonds and some of the olive oil. Zhuzzh it up and add the remaining oil. Keep blending until you get the texture you like. Feel free to add a little more cheese (I tend to). Salt to taste, and there you go.