Day 4: Super Green Pesto

Hello again!

I'm beginning to feel really hungry all the time, but I've managed to stay oil-free! The hardest part seems to be snacking, but I've gotten more used to eating peanut butter with bananas or fresh oranges as opposed to hummus and chips when I am low on time.

I have been eating more fruit, more raw food, and more sushi since the week began. I think I will add oil back into my diet starting this Friday, but I would like it to be for one meal a day, not all three. I feel energized and athletic!

Today, though, I was craving something really savory. I wanted hummus! Then I had a better idea: pesto! The last time I made pesto, I really hated it. I put silken tofu in it, and I think that's just a bad idea in general (but then again, maybe I'm just crazy). I don't like the way silken tofu tastes as a tip, and it seems that the best thing to do with tofu is cook it.

Anyway, so I made up a totally new recipe. Unfortunately I did not measure out the ingredients, but I want to post it anyway (use your judgement!)

1 C Walnuts
1/2-1C Vegetable Broth
5 Cloves of Garlic (roasted or raw)
1 Bunch Arugula
1 Bunch Basil
1 16 Oz Can White Beans
2T Nutritional Yeast (optional)
2t Cumin
1t Salt (I actually added a lot, so taste it!)

1. Soak the walnuts in warm water for anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour
2. Blend garlic
3. Add some vegetable broth, and blend to get a smooth cream
4. Add walnuts and blend until creamy. Add vegetable broth if it's having trouble.
   
5. Spoon out most of the walnut-garlic mixture into a bowl.
6. Add arugula to the blender with enough vegetable broth to blend
7. Blend for a smooth consistency
8. Add basil to the blender with enough vegetable broth to blend into a smooth consistency
9. Add the nut-garlic mixture back in.
10. Add White beans, blend
    
11. Add nutritional yeast, cumin, and salt.
12. Taste for salt
13. Serve! Over pasta or just on bread!
    

There are a couple of things I would like to say about this recipe, as it was a tester. The first thing is that I would really recommend cooking the garlic somehow. I used raw garlic because I didn't want to cook with oil, but raw garlic has a really strong bite to it. I would suggest roasting it in foil for about an hour while the nuts are soaking.

Secondly, pay attention to the consistency. I think I added too much vegetable broth, which was verified by Caitlin eating the pesto with a spoon like it was soup (I don't know whether to be pleased that she liked it or disgusted that she can eat so much pesto with a spoon).

My last note is about the greens: please wash arugula in a pot or bowl of water. It is almost always sandy, and you cannot rinse it by running water over it. Immerse the arugula in water, and then swish it around to get all that sand off.

-Chelsea

Spring Rolls

These were surprisingly simple (after conquering the difficulties posed by the sticky rice paper).
Ingredients:
Rice Paper Wrappers
Carrots
Spinach
Cabbage
Scallion
(or whatever veggies you might like)

Start by shredding the cabbage and carrots. Then slice the scallions and spinach into small pieces. Toss all the vegetables together in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Follow instructions on rice paper package to soften the wraps. For the wraps we used, it required that the wraps be emerged in boiling water for twenty seconds and dried on a towel. Be VERY careful to hold the wraps so that they will not stick to themselves.
Lay out the wraps on a clean surface (we used a cutting board). Put about a half a cup of filling in the wrapper by the edge, then careful roll it forward once. Fold the sides over the roll, and finish rolling forward (it's wrapped much in the way that a burrito is wrapped).
Bon appetite! We dipped ours in mango chutney and sweet chili sauce from Trader Joe's!

-Chelsea