I seem to have a lot more room in my freezer these days now that I've been using up all those great veggies that I froze during the fall harvest - and I suddenly have a ridiculous amount of empty storage containers and freezer bags!
With the freezer not so crowded, I can see things that I'd forgotten about ... like a small jar of this cilantro-mint pesto I made in the summer.
In fact, I have a lot of pesto from this summer (mostly arugula and garlic scape pesto and regular basil pesto). If anyone has interesting ways of using pesto beyond the usual pasta or potato dishes, I'd love to hear about them!!
For this dish, no need for a recipe - just toss a couple of tablespoons of pesto (any kind will do) with cooked quinoa (1 cup quinoa + 2 cups vegetable stock or water). I added peas which went well with the mint in the pesto I used. If you use regular basil pesto, some steamed broccoli would be a nice addition.
Add a fried or poached egg and you've got a great lunch dish.
I love that feeling of using up what's in the freezer - makes me feel so self-sufficient. I have a bunch of parsley pesto in the freezer as well - quinoa is a great use for it. I also like to swirl some pesto into cream of tomato soup. And it's also yum on pizza - homemade, of course ;)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, pizza! I forgot. Will have to remedy that soon. :) Parsley pesto sounds good too - never tried it.
DeleteI am just transitioning to using the produce that is clogging the freezer. The stuff in the markets is looking so bad now that it's a reminder to head for the freezer. We had a bag of Gold Marie beans last week that were a treat. Haven't found the pesto yet, that looks tasty.
ReplyDeleteThe markets? Hmm ... our farmer's markets closed in mid-Oct (following Canadian Thanksgiving). The few beans I froze were gone before winter even hit. I sure do look forward to some fresh ones!
DeleteHi Susie, do you simmer your quinoa in a pan or just add hot stock to it in a bowl and let it absorb the stock that way? I'd like to start eating more of it :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lou - I cook it like rice, simmered in a pan 15-20 mins until the liquid is absorbed (2-1 ratio liquid to quinoa).
DeleteBrill, thanks Susie, I made some tonight, very tasty!
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