Forker's Guide

To-the-Point Recipes & Meal Planning

Tag: vegetarian

  • How to Make Pesto Affordably with Cashews and Walnuts

    How to Make Pesto Affordably with Cashews and Walnuts

    Homemade pesto and pasta with an overly generous amount of shaved parmesan on top is one of the most reliably delicious dinners in existence. Coupled with a nice garden salad and a glass of wine, it’s undeniable. Kids devour it, too (the pesto, not the wine, duh).

    There are two downsides to making pesto: pine nuts are prohibitively expensive, and making it is a slightly involved task. This recipe eliminates one of those two negatives by swapping out pine nuts for cashews and walnuts. Please note, a food processor is required.

    Ingredients

    1. 2 cups of fresh basil (you can use less than 2 cups, but you will have less pesto)
    2. 1/3 cup of cashews and walnuts
    3. 2 cloves of garlic, each cut in half
    4. 3/4 cup of shaved parmesan (or, omit the cheese and this is a vegan meal)
    5. 1/2 cup of olive oil
    6. Salt and pepper
    7. Cooked pasta of your choice (use gluten-free pasta if needed)

    Instructions

    1. Pick only the basil leaves from the stems, and wash them. No stems allowed. I recommend using a salad spinner.Fresh-picked basil leaves in a salad spinner with the stems separated
    2. Measure out 1/3 of a cup of nuts. A good option is 70% cashews, 30% walnuts. If you have pine nuts, use 70% pine nuts and 30% walnuts.A 1/3 cup measuring cup with cashews inside of it and walnuts beside it
    3. At this point I usually start boiling the water to make the pasta.
    4. Put the basil leaves and 1/3 cup of nuts in the food processor, and run it for about 20 seconds, pulsing a few times.Basil, cashews, and walnuts blended together inside a food processor
    5. Add the 2 cut-in-half cloves of garlic and 3/4 cup of shaved parmesan to the food processor with the basil and nuts, and pulse again for 20 more seconds, stopping to scrape down larger bits from the sides with a rubber spatula.Shaved parmesan cheese and two peeled cloves of garlic on a wooden cutting board
    6. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the 1/2 cup of olive oil. This technique is called “emulsification,” and it makes pesto creamy. Turn off the food processor when finished pouring.
    7. Add some salt and pepper (I recommend grinding the pepper) and run the food processor for a second or two, then taste a little smudge of pesto. If it isn’t tasty enough, add another round of salt and pepper. Keep doing this until it tastes yummy.
    8. When your pasta is drained and ready, put the amount for a portion or two in a large bowl. Spoon in some pesto and mix it together with a fork, until all of the pasta is covered. It’s up to you how green you want to make it.
    9. Put the pasta with pesto on a plate, and add more freshly shaved parmesan on top. If you’re like me, you put lots of it on there. Enjoy!

  • “Oatmealia’s Foster” – Cooked Banana Oatmeal

    “Oatmealia’s Foster” – Cooked Banana Oatmeal

    This is a tasty twist on the classic oatmeal breakfast. It’s like basic oatmeal, except you slice up a banana and put it in the cold pot with the water before you apply heat. Then, as you boil the water, the banana gets cooked—like Bananas Foster in New Orleans, just missing the rum, banana liqueur, and dazzling tableside flambé.

    I got the idea for this recipe from Patrick Lemieux, husband of 2016 gold-medal triathlon champ Gwen Jorgensen. She mentioned this as her favorite breakfast in a live social-media event in 2017. I modified the recipe a bit, and gave it the silly name.

    Ingredients

    1. 1/2 cup of oatmeal
    2. A banana (I like the ripe ones)
    3. Raisins (optional)
    4. 1 cup of water
    A banana and a bag of Bob's Red Mill Rolled Oats on a cutting board

    Instructions

    1. Peel and slice the banana into slim discsA finely sliced banana on a wooden cutting board
    2. Put the sliced banana in a pot
    3. Pour the water into the pot
    4. Optional: add a handful of raisins to the pot (I cut each raisin in half so they add more sweetness)
    5. Bring the water, banana, and raisins to a boilSliced banana and raisins boiling in water in a steel pot
    6. Add the oatmeal to the pot when boiling and stir to blend
    7. Cook for the amount of time needed for your oatmeal (instant oatmeal usually needs to boil for 1 minute, whole rolled oats may need 10 minutes or longer at medium-low heat)
    8. Turn off heat at required time, and put lid on the pot for 2 minutes.
    9. Put in a bowl and enjoy!A bowl with a silver spoon filled with oatmeal, cooked bananas, and raisins

    Additional Notes

    Feel free to adjust to your liking. For example, use 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk. Add brown sugar. Add cinnamon. Throw in a pinch of salt, etc.