Pesto Bread!

To accompany my last meal post, I did a very simple pesto "garlic bread".

What I used:

• French baguette
• Pesto (fresh or store bought)
• 1 garlic clove
• Olive oil

1. Cut up the baguette in as many round pieces as you'd like. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on it and pop it in the oven at 350 F degrees for 1-2 minutes until toasty.
2. Take out the bread from the oven. Slice the tip off a garlic clove and rub it on the bread slices. Spread the pesto on the slices. Place back in the warmed (make sure the oven is off) until ready to serve!

Creamy Tomato and Tortellini Soup

So continuing on with my soup fetish... I have adapted a creamy tomato soup recipe! I also made a side of pesto bread which I will have in a separate post. As with all of my dishes, its easy to make and doesn't require too many ingredients.

What I used:

• Olive oil
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced or chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• Dash of red pepper flakes, to taste
• 2 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 container of vegetable broth
• Dried basil leaves, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1-2 packages of frozen spinach tortellini

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender - about 3-5 minutes. Add bay leaves and red pepper flakes.
2. Add diced tomatoes and vegetable broth. Stir in basil, salt, and pepper, to taste. Simmer on low for 15 minutes.
3. Remove bay leaves from the pot. Using an immersion hand blender, blend the mixture until smooth. Stir in greek yogurt until combined. Add the spinach tortellini. Cook until tortellini is tender. Note: if tortellini is frozen, you might want to cook them separately first and then add to the soup and cooked for 7-8 minutes.
   
   
   

How To: Nutritional Yeast

Okay! Since my last post about various vegan goodies, I wanted to do a "how to" post on how to incorporate nutritional yeast into cooking. You can refer back to my previous post here, to read up on some info about what nutritional yeast is.

It is extremely simple to incorporate nutritional yeast into many dishes. I find it makes more sense to use it as a cheese substitute where maybe parmesan cheese is called for in a recipe. For me, it's the best to use with any pasta or italian recipe - I just sprinkle it as a seasoning on top!

Here is a simple pasta recipe I quickly put together which uses nutritional as a cheese substitute:

These are very, very rough recipe directions, so use it how you would like!

• Veggie based dried pasta
• Handful of spinach leaves
• Tomato sauce
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Nutritional yeast

1. Boil water, add salt, add dried pasta to cook until al dente or fully done
2. Strain, add as much spinach as you'd like
3. Mix in as much tomato sauce as you prefer
4. Add crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste
5. Sprinkle about a tablespoon of nutritional yeast on top or mix it in your pasta

Voila! This is probably like "duh" post for some people but I thought I would share how I like to use it. If there are other ways you like to incorporate nutritional yeast, please feel free to share! 

A Taste of Clarendon - La Tagliatella

I thought it would be a good idea to have my VERY FIRST blog post overview my most recent trek into Clarendon, Virginia. I was interested in trying a new coffee shop, but to my unfortunate realization, I was actually starving. So out of the many many restaurant options, I decided to settle for La Tagliatella. Located on the corner of Clarendon Boulevard and Garfield Street, La Tagliatella presented itself as an authentic italian atmosphere. Not only is the interior majestic but the food was just as appealing.

There were many pasta options that could be paired with various sauces, to create your desired combination. I chose Cuore di zucca, a butternut squash filled pasta which I paired with pesto (always a favorite). The duo was exactly what I hoped it would be.

The pasta was perfectly cooked and the butternut squash flavor was delicate and really complemented the more overpowering flavor of the basil, pine nut, and parmigiano- reggiano pesto - which is considered an olive oil based sauce. 

In conclusion, I probably would be interested in eating at La Tagliatella again. I look forward to trying one of their other food items. In the meantime, I suggest looking at their restaurant site here and giving it a try!