Twitter Dinner

Not too long ago, I made my first twitter inspired meal. I know there are tons of people who post short ‘recipes’ on twitter and so I can imagine that many folks have already had their first “twitter dinner.” But to be honest, I still don’t really “get” twitter and so this is all still new to me – I understand it in theory, but I don’t tweet all that often and use it more to see what is going on with friends and bloggers I like.

So it seemed quite serenditpitous when I was already planning on a big quinoa salad for dinner to see @CannelleVanille tweet “making pumpkin seed, watercress and lemon pesto for quinoa tonight. Sans cheese this time.”

I remembered I had some pumpkin seeds (or pepitas) in the pantry from a random bulk bin binge.  This would be great – something not totally expcted, but still simple, easy and healthy (which is I was obviously looking for with quinoa salad dinner plans).

Turns out I didn’t have watercress on hand, so I went with a parsley pesto – I know not totally similar and might not be everyone’s fave, but I love parsley and will take  excuse to move it from the garnish column to ingredient (plus it was the only “leafy green” in the fridge). And unlike Aran, I did add in the cheese, because I wanted that extra richness, and who are we kidding … I rarely pass on the cheese.

To make it a meal, I quickly sauteed some asparagus, zucchini and pan-fried some salt & pepper tofu.

It was a perfect quick dinner served warm and was great cold for lunch the next day too.

Now lest you think every time I make a quinoa salad I use a pesto, I don’t – I guess I just forget to post about all the combinations dressed with vinaigrettes or just a simple oil and vinegar.

Plus, those don’t have fun inspiration stories.  Who knows what will be made next with 140 characters or less.

Inspired Pestos

Pestos are a super fun and easy thing to make and play around with.  Traditional pesto has basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Chop everything in a food processor (or mortar and pestle if you want to work your arms) and then slowly drizzle in olive oil.  You can of course buy pesto, but to me store bought versions lack flavor and punch and use about 18x more oil than I do (that’s not saying that I haven’t of course bought some in a pinch, but it’s never preferred).

Once you have the basic concept – you can change just about anything to your liking.

Here are a few ideas from some of my favorite sites:

• Arugula and walnut
• Cilantro, jalapeno and almond
• Ramp and parsley
• Romaine and parsley
• Sun-dried Tomato
• Walnut

One quick tip though, I always toast the seeds or nuts first – it really helps bring out the flavor.

What are your favorite pestos?  I’m always looking for new combos!