Testing, Testing

I've been testing for Isa Chandra Moskowitz's upcoming weight-lossy book, and it's awesome. I passed on testing for Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar because I couldn't justify making and eating dozens of cookies. And let's face it, I would have eaten most of them. I can't share them at school because everyone I know is a nutrition major, and I couldn't share them at work because I work at Jenny Craig. Neither are exactly good places to share junk food.

There are some really delicious recipes being formulated, so definitely pick up this book whenever it comes out. You'll need it after all the cookies you'll make!

Caulipots, along with a Tofurkey sausage


Low Fat Dill Hummus


To tide you over for now, Isa posted a recipe on her blog for Spinach Linguine with Edamame Pesto. I'll post it here for you too if you are too lazy to click the link.

Spinach Linguine With Edamame Pesto
Serves 4

For the edamame pesto:
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup packed basil leaves
Handful (1/4 cup or so) fresh cilantro
14 oz package shelled edamame, thawed
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
optional: 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

For the pasta:
10 oz spinach linguine or other pasta

1 teaspoon olive oil
Small red onion, in thinly sliced half moons
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
Extra basil for garnish

Cooking spray

Put on a pot of salted water to boil. Then prepare the pesto:

Place garlic and basil in food processor and pulse a few times to get it chopped up. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until relatively smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula to make sure you get everything. Add a little more vegetable broth if it seems too stiff. Set aside until ready to use.

Preheat a large pan over medium heat. At this point your pasta water should be ready, so add the linguine.

Saute onion in oil for about 5 minutes. Use a little cooking spray as needed, or a splash of water if you prefer. Mix in mushrooms, garlic, thyme and salt. Cover pot and cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

The pasta should be ready now, so drain it.

When the mushrooms have cooked down, add pasta to the pan, along with the pesto. Use a pasta spoon to stir and coat the linguine. Get everything good and mixed and the pesto heated through, about 3 minutes. The pesto should be relatively thick, but if it’s too thick (not spreading out and coating the pasta) add a few tablespoons of water. Taste for salt.

Serve immediately, garnished with a little fresh chopped basil.