And now I'm feeling a little saucy....

I have a client that I cook for who is a personal chef's dream.....she loves everything I cook, and after 3 or 4 years I don't even need to run my ideas by her.  So I whipped up a couple of her known favorites: a stacked veggie enchilada bake and a smoky tilapia with papaya-cilantro salsa.  Then I spied a large bunch of basil languishing in my fridge.  I bought it days ago with some great idea in mind, I'm sure, but the weekend ran away with me and now it was use it or lose it time.  What to make???

My improv cooking skills have been honed between having to cook for the students at Bauman during the first few weeks of their program (man, I'm so glad THEY start cooking full dishes themselves this week!) and spending weekends with Tom with what I have come to fondly refer to as the "What Can We Make With This?" experiments - a sample of which looks like this:

This is a little game we like to play where we pull out whatever hasn't yet died in our refrigerators, and turn it into something delish!  And it has sharpened my skills at pulling together a meal using what I have on hand.

I have a pretty well-stocked pantry, freezer and fridge.  In fact, I was asked recently if this was all in preparation for a natural disaster.  No, funny-pants, it's just because I love to cook and don't like to shop so much.

So back to my poor bunch of basil... who doesn't love pesto?  I always have the usual suspects on hand: garlic, nuts, olive oil, and cheese.  But I'm newly inspired to try out some variations on the old standard sauces.  I decided to make a dairy-free version.  I KNOW, who would think that sentence would ever escape my lips....dairy-free?  Suzanne?  That just does not sound right.  But it sure tastes right!  Here's the trick - substitute nutritional yeast for the cheese (stop making that face!).  When I was first introduced to the concept of nutritional yeast while I was in the Natural Chef Program myself, I took a wiff and thought "Gross!  What have I gotten myself into here?"  But it's about the taste, not the smell.  Nutirional yeast gives food a cheesy flavor and also is a rich source of B vitamins, especially B12, making it especially beneficial for vegans and vegetarians.  But forget all that - it makes food taste good!

Yes, that is an indentation from my finger in the middle of the sauce...couldn't resist!



Dairy-free Pesto Sauce

1/3 cup walnuts

2 teaspoons chopped garlic (please use fresh!)

4 cups packed basil leaves, stems removed

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Zest and juice from half a lemon

1/2- 3/4 cups water

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

·         Place garlic and walnuts in a food processor and pulse to finely chop.

·         Add basil, nutritional yeast, lemon zest and juice and process until a paste begins to form.  Scrape down the sides.

·         Place water and oil in a measuring cup and with the motor running, slowly add until desired consistency, stopping and scraping down the sides as necessary.  You may use less or more water depending on your preference.

·         Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I tossed it with orzo, sauteed red onion, quartered kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes.

I hope you get inspired to dig into your pantry and fridge to find a delicious

 improv just waiting to be discovered!