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

Hummus Salad Dressing

I don't know how many of you are familiar with DC restaurants, but one
of my favorite places (possibly ever) is Sweetgreen, a minuscule salad bar with the best tart frozen yogurt I have ever tasted. Lucky for me, and my tastebuds, this fine establishment is a mere three blocks from my house in Georgetown, so needless to say I go there often.

My favorite salad from Sweetgreen, the Chic P, comes with a fantastic hummus dressing that I have yet to find in any salad bar in DC or New York. Experimenting with my lunch yesterday to prevent myself from spending $9 on another salad, I fooled around with some ingredients and came pretty darn close to replicating the dressing. It was close enough for me.

I used chili powder and red pepper flakes to flavor the dressing, but I suppose you could use herbs like thyme instead to give it a different flavor. The heat worked for this particular salad, which I also based on the Sweetgreen version. This a very rough recipe, so really you can change the proportions to your own taste. The amount of lemon juice needed also depends on the consistency of the dressing.

Hummus Dressing:

2 tbs or 1/4 cup hummus (I use Trader Joe's Original Tahini-Free)
A splash of white balsamic vinegar (about a tbs, you can experiment with different vinegars)
Chili powder
A few red pepper flakes
Juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste
Pinch of salt
A hefty pinch of ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk or use a fork to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chic P Salad Ingredients
(Use any combination of these, whatever you have available)

Romaine lettuce, mixed lettuce, or baby spinach
Roasted red peppers
Cucumbers
Chickpeas or black beans
Sun-dried tomatoes
Avocado
Feta cheese
Crushed pita chips

Enjoy!

~Caitlin

UPDATE:

I just tried this again for dinner but I used about a tsp of cumin instead. It was AMAZING! SO much closer to the chic p original. I omitted the red pepper flakes and chili powder.