Sophie's Vegan Pesto Pasta--the antidote to your post-BBQ meat-n-greet weekend

Sophie's Vegan Pesto Pasta

Got a blender? 

Then meet your meat-free Monday

We are sending our 18-year-old daughter Sophie to London to visit family tomorrow and she hit us with one last kablammo in the kitchen yesterday. 

"I want to make sure you don't forget me when I'm gone," she smiled at me when my eyes lit up at first bite.

It's a little depressing when you spend your whole adult life cooking to create gastronomic genius, then your vegan kid waltzes in at age 18 and knocks you off your pedestal with a single bite. But hey, I got over it real fast as I slurped down this bowl of heaven.  Was it vegan? I didn't even notice.  Neither did my meat loving son.

I give you Sophie's Vegan Pesto Pasta, and you won't believe how easy it is to dump ingredients in the blender and voila, heaven.

We will definitely NOT forget to pick Sophie up from the airport when her trip is over.  

Into the blender:

1 package of fresh basil or 1 cup (ish, add more to taste) of fresh basil from the garden

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pine nuts
3T Olive Oil (+/-)

juice of one whole fresh lemon

generous pinch of salt to taste (1/4 tsp)

drizzle of about 1/4 cup of soy milk (organic if trying to avoid GMO)

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Goddess-like optional additions: 2 links vegan Italian sausage, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 T olive oil

Blend first six ingredients, then slowly add drizzle of soy milk to get desired consistency.  Should be consistency of thinner cream sauce.

Taste and adjust salt.  

Pour over drained, cooked spaghetti or any other pasta.  

To elevate to Goddess-like status:

Slice a cup of cherry tomatoes in half and toss into a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat.

Add 2 chopped Italian vegan sausages and saute until browned, heated through.

(Our favorite vegan sausages are "Field Roast" brand. . http://fieldroast.com/products/) I see them sometimes at Costco, or you can order them online here.)

Pour sausage and tomato mixture over pesto pasta, stir and serve immediately.

Yes, you read this recipe right.  There is no garlic! I can't believe I ate pesto or any pasta without garlic.  But this was just absolutely perfect as it was! If you did want to add garlic, you could do it with the sausage/tomatoes in the olive oil, or you could even blend up a clove (+/-) in the blender.  Let me know what you think if  you do! 

You could easily turn this in to a vegetarian dish by adding 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  

As with any pesto, the possibilities are endless and not just reserved for pasta.  Toss it into simply salted and boiled new potatoes, pour over cooked vegetables, use as a salad dressing, or dip for breads.