Pico-de-Pesto

Hello, and welcome to my blog! For that matter, I’ll welcome myself to the world of blogging. Handshakes, handshakes all around.

On to business, then. But don’t despair! For my business tastes goooood. An avid vegetarian cook and baker, I’m always fiddling around in the kitchen, forever in search for the ultimate food experience.

Inspired by the likes of Bittersweet Blog and the Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen, I’ve decided to venture into the unknown waters of food blogging. My culinary triumphs will be posted on here, as well as my miserable failures (hey, they’ll at least have entertainment value :) My foodlike endeavors will sometimes be joined by knitting, sewing, or other acts of random craftiness.

To get this ball rolling, here’s what I cooked up yesterday between school and work. In despair at the thought of another Veggie Delight sanwich for dinner, I decided to whip up a special snack to ward off the oncoming monotony blues. The crackers are Flax Crackers from the awesome cookbook “How It All Vegan”. Spiced with basil, rosemary, and garlic; sprinkled liberally with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, these flaky creations were hot out of the oven and begging for companionship.

To rectify their lonely situation (it was Valentine’s day, after all) I began to whip up a Mexican dip called Pico de Galla. That’s where I ran into problems. You see, the recipe (also from “How It All Vegan”) called for fresh jalapenos, oregano, lots of lime juice, and other ingredients that I didn’t have in the house (I swear my pantry’s conspiring against me). Having already diced a tomato, I decided to fudge it and bring Italy to the party. A few moments later, and Pico de Pesto was the result!

Pico de Pesto- makes enough for 1

1 sundried tomato

Boiling water

1 roma tomato, diced

1-2 tbsp onion, finely diced

3/4-1 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp basil pesto

pinch of cayenne

liberal sprinkle of garlic powder

Basil, salt and pepper to taste

1) Pour boiling water over sundried tomato and let it soak until it’s tender and easily sliceable (10 minutes?) Then chop it up.

2) In the meantime, combine all other ingredients. There’s no science here, people- adjust flavours and quantities to fit your taste buds. Add the chopped sundried tomato, give it a mix, and dig in!

This one gets better as it sits and the flavours have a chance to marinate