Recipe Schmecipe
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.
I made this dish again and this time, coated the potatoes with the pesto prior to roasting. Totally different flavor--more mellow--really delicious.
ReplyDelete