Chipotle Coleslaw

I've been experimenting a lot with coleslaw lately. Last night I made chipotle coleslaw to accompany barbecue sandwiches.

I will admit to not measuring a thing, but here's a ballpark recipe:

1 cup coleslaw mix (or shredded cabbage and carrots)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon mayo
1/2 tablespoon yogurt
black pepper, to taste
celery salt, to taste
1/2 chopped canned chipotle pepper

Combine all ingredients (except coleslaw mix/cabbage) in a medium bowl. Add the slaw and enjoy with your favorite sandwich or as a spicy side dish.

Broccoli Pesto

I didn't take any pictures of this dish because I didn't decide to blog about it until today.

You see, I've been neglecting my blog responsibilities and that's not right. I'm giving a presentation about social networking and part of my presentation is about blogs. I intended to tell people that you should blog about things that you're passionate about, and feel like I should lead by example.

Without further ado, here is last night's dinner, taken from the most recent Vegetarian Times, but altered. It was almost the perfect light, spring meal but it was a little heavy on the garlic. I woke with a fierce garlic taste in my mouth despite a thorough brushing of my teeth last night.

Ingredients:
6 T hazelnuts
2 c broccoli
A lot of parsley (I always prefer not to measure herbs)
2 T olive oil (the original recipe called for 3 times as much!!)
1/4 c or so mint leaves
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 garlic cloves (I'm guessing. I originally used 5 and it was way too much)
12 oz farfalle (bow tie) pasta

Toast the hazelnuts for a few minutes over medium heat, being careful not to burn.

Boil broccoli in a large pot for 3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and reserve cooking water. Cook pasta according to directions in cooking water.

Put everything (except pasta) in a food processor or blender to pulverize until it is pesto consistency. You might have to cut the broccoli up a little first to ensure even processing.

Drain the pasta but reserve 1/4 cup of water. Mix reserved water, pasta, and pesto, serve and enjoy!

An Ode to Salsa

First, I want to apologize for abandoning this blog for a number of months. I'll try to better. I still love food (and eat it every day), so I'll try to share some thoughts with my loyal readers more often about the foods I love.

My newest obsession: salsa! Homemade or store bought, this stuff is just so damn versatile. I of course have salsa nearly every week with burritos but pretty much relegated it to that.

What changed my opinion about salsa? The opening of a Trader Joe's near my house.

First there was the 3 pepper salsa. The Jar and I love this salsa in a grilled cheese sandwich (with sprouts too if we have any on hand).

Now I've discovered the garlic chipotle salsa, a deliciously thin and flavorful concoction. As soon as I opened it last night I knew it would be delicious in so much more than burritos. I enjoyed a few spoonfuls today in some leftover three bean soup. Delicious!

How many other ways can I incorporate more salsa into my diet? (Probably not the healthiest goal.) Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments or tell me about any of your favorite salsas...