Pesto!

Here's a great addition to Cutie's last post since many pesto's have parmesan cheese. Here's a basic vegan pesto recipe.

1 1/2 cups basil (this is a great plant to grow in a pot in a dorm room)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup pine nuts (these can be expensive, any nut should do... maybe I'll try it with peanuts)

5 cloves garlic

1/3 cup nutritional yeast (this stuff is great! I use it as a topping to sprinkle on foods)

3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)

Put in a food processor and blend.

You can also try substituting in dried tomatoes or roasted red peppers, just an idea.

This recipe can make a lot, but pesto is fine to freeze and reheat later. I usually freeze it in ice cube trays so that they are thawable in convenient serving sizes.

Fun fact: Neither pine nuts nor peanuts are actually nuts. Pine nuts are a seed and peanuts are legumes. Oh, and coconuts are seeds too.