Can I tell you something? This Food Matters Project is changing my life. We are trying a new recipe every week. It’s quite a miracle. If I actually made New Years resolutions, this would be one of them. It’s also cleaning up our diet. Our meals are more focused around vegetables that, might I add, taste good. No, divine. This week was no different—Roasted Red Pepper Pesto. Fingers dirty. Playing with food. Peeling off red pepper skin. I was in little girl heaven. There’s something beautiful about holding the food you make. Turning it into something palatable. I felt like an artisan.
My husband recently bought some shoes made by Quoddy—a modern day company that makes shoes by hand. No machinery involved. Just messy, skillful hands. And a beautiful well crafted product to show for it in the end. One to be proud of. One that stands the test of times. I like that.
Food Journey Part 1: Food Matters.
Food Journey Part 2: Overeating. My mom always told me—eat to live, don’t live to eat. Every morning while inhaling breakfast, I’d ask what was for dinner. I lived to eat. The taste and feeling of food was a comfort to me. I loved it. I craved it. I overate it. I was never the kid left alone at the dinner table until my plate had been cleaned. Mine had long been cleaned with seconds before everyone else. This trend continued on into middle school, high school, and blips of college. My short 5’0″ frame didn’t handle this well. Little. Tiny. Skinny. Those were not words used to describe me. I played competitive soccer growing up which helped a tiny bit. Until two big knee surgeries only three years apart. I had to do something…
For the full recipe, head on over to Heather’s from Girlichef. To see what the other contributors made, head over here. I made the recipe as is, but snuck in some spinach in replace of a little basil and added a 1/4 cup of parmesan. Served a top some homemade whole wheat pasta. Oh my, it doesn’t get much better than this. So what do you say? Lets get messy this week. Roast and peel some peppers? My hands and my heart are happy.
Hi there,
So fun to read your blog, and I just used this recipe on my new blog “Snilly Snacks.” It’s really a beginner blog of just repeating recipes to try and learn how to cook, but this was a tasty one. I roasted the pepper fresh which made for a really nice roasty flavor that didn’t need to be warmed up.
I recently started the blog with my boyfriend and then he headed home for the summer so it’s just me for the next few weeks. I’m challenging myself to make a recipe once a day for a month which might end up turning into longer than that.
Also, I was looking through your “About” interviews and I saw that your favorite movie was “Simon Birch.” Both “Simon Birch” and the book it’s based off of, A Prayer for Owen Meany, are my two favorite pieces of entertainment. Thought it was a funny connection.
I love reading your blog and if you have two seconds and want to take a little glance over mine it’s at snillysnacks.wordpress.com
I’m getting more and more complex with how it’s formatted but still have a long way to go.
Happy cooking,
Mitchell
Meghan said you made fresh pasta and used this on it. To die for! Congrats on your match!
OK, this looks incredibly delicious!!!!
Ooh I like this pesto recipe! I was just commenting to a friend the other day how I always find myself going back to the same old traditional pesto. I’m going to break out of that rut and start by trying this! Yum!
Love love love love!!! And, I’m making this. Got everything I need 🙂
I make something similar and I put it on broiled salmon. Although really, it’s delicious on anything.
Yum! This looks amazing! And perfect because now I have a recipe for one of my favorite meal ingredients, so I don’t have to buy store stuff now!
I’m right there with home girl three comments ahead of me. Over eating is a nervous/stress habit of mine and I try to do so in a health conscious manner. Veggies are always great to experiment with and don’t make you feel like you need to make 2 visits to the gym 😉 I don’t know why I never thought of red pepper pesto! genius!
What a wonderful recipe! So versatile. I think it would make a good dip for veggies and maybe pita. I’m having a little Academy Award get-together, and the colors in this are so beautiful, it’s a winner! Debra
Lovely post and pictures, Melissa. I need to learn to practice mindful eating. I’ve been feeling a little compulsive lately and need to get my appetite in check. I’m so glad you enjoy the project!
I can completely relate, overeating is something I know I still need to work on. When I am eating something amazing, that “it doesn’t taste as good after the third bite” light bulb doesn’t go off. I just savor every bite. But similarly, I feel like the Food Matters Project is helping with this, because if I am going to eat a little more than I should at least I am eating things that are both delicious and good for me.
Love your pictures! Very simple and classy. I also love the spinach idea and the parm in the pesto. This definitely will add so much more flavor! Yum!
Love everything about this pesto!
This sounds so yummy!! Love this switch up to regular pesto!
This post… your delicious-sounding pesto… has reminded me why I’m awarding you the Versatile Blogger Award–your recipes are AMAZING!
http://mentalmanna.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/the-versatile-blogger-award/
To be clear: not that the pesto does not look good. Because it does. Very much so. Would be good on that whole wheat pasta, which I am off to look at again.
Man, if you could include a trackback to your whole wheat pasta post every time you write something, that would be great. It looks so good.
I can’t stand it.
Loving this entire post and especially loving the gorgeous pesto and pictures!!
I love being able to touch and manipulate my food. There’s something so gratifying about the process. GREAT post.
Yum! This post made my mouth water. I can’t even imaging how incredible this sauce would be over homemade pasta.
Wonderful post. Thanks! Xo
I know just what you mean – I loved roasting my own peppers. Also about overeating…I think I’m becoming more and more aware each day. I blame it on the old-fashioned way of eating instilled by my grandparents…”Eat everything on your plate!” I know when I have kids, it’s going to be just the opposite.
I love playing with my food! The rich warm color of Roasted Red Peppers along with the pungent aroma of basil is sooooo heady! I tried your substitution of spinach, what a great idea!
love your writing! and great idea to sneak in some spinach for more goodness.
looks delicious and what a beautiful color!
LOOOOO—-OOOOOVE THIS.
Love pesto! This version looks awesome!
Such a fantastic post – I think so many people can relate. I know I can. I’m excited to be on the FMP journey for sure. Your pesto looks absolutely beautiful!
Love your observation on messy hands and feeling artisanal. Totally get you on that. I’ve been really getting into homemade pasta since I got the KitchenAid attachment for xmas. When you put all the work into it, you feel alright about eating less of it too. It’s just satiating as an entity in and of itself. Lovely, thanks!
This is only my first week as part of the project, but I can already tell I am in for a delicious experience. There is something wonderful about the process of cooking, getting your hands dirty. Sometimes it is the best of therapy.
So glad you are a part of the project! Isn’t it great!? Cooking is totally my form of therapy. Keeps me sane.
I totally adore pesto and we love roasted red peppers in our house…we eat them on anything. Definitely trying this. Love it, Melissa!
I love this! And it’s funny… as you apparently were making roasted red pepper pesto, I was making roasted red pepper hummus. LOOKS SO YUMMY! : )
Twinkies!
Twinkies, indeed! (i don’t know what that means…)
Great Post! I still battle with overeating on occasion but I can tell that the more I connect with my food (and eat healthy) the less of a problem that is!
Thanks Erin! Such a direct correlation. It’s scary, when I don’t work out, I eat worse.