Saturday, July 20, 2013

Vegan, Pesto & Summer Squash Quesadillas




I've been making more vegan choices lately.  Perhaps I'll write about that soon.  I've been vegan for 6 whole days now, just a baby Vegan.  I'm trying it out and really enjoying it.  I feel very liberated in my choices oddly enough.  It seemed before like my dinner choices were beef, chicken or fish. Now my eyes have been opened to the many different grain or veggie options there are. I'm also working on flexible meal planning. All fun stuff! 

Anyway, I made these tonight and just had to share.  I know what you're thinking, Quesadillas are not vegan!  Well these are.  I made basil pesto pasta the other night from basil gathered in our garden and I saved a bit of it for this.  It will turn a bit dark over night but I haven't noticed a difference in the taste.  Still yummy.

Basil Pesto

2 large bunches of basil, you'll have to forgive me on the measurement, I filled a medium sized bowl with basil from our garden, I've also made this with 1 bunch of cilantro and 1 bunch of Italian Parsley
1/2 c. pecans, almonds, or favorite nut
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic
Kosher salt & or sea salt to taste

Pull basil leaves off the stems and add to a food processor. Add all other ingredients.  Process. If too oily add more basil.  If too dry add more oil.

Vegan, Pesto & Summer Squash Quesadillas
flour tortillas, 6 inch
pesto
pepper jack style daiya cheese or your favorite non-dairy cheese
spinach
1 summer squash (my son calls "sun" squash)

Saute your summer squash. Spread a generous amount of pesto on one tortilla. top with sauteed squash, layer spinach, & daiya (non-dairy) cheese.  I also added a crumbled, left over veggie burger to add a bit more protein. Throw in whatever you have. 

Add a dollop of salsa on top and you have a simple and yummy vegan dinner.  

Until next time...


3 comments:

  1. first off - sooo happy to see your vegan decision!!! I went vegan when I was 14 and stayed vegan until a couple of years ago (thinking for some odd reason I should try eating dairy and eggs again). I felt awful adding dairy back in and my children seem to have the same issues with dairy and soy as I do. We have since gone back to being vegan. I feel a million times healthier and my conscience feels a lot lighter :)

    Oh and daiya - super yum!!! We discovered it via Bob's Red Mill. There is a new local vegan cheese by a company named HeidiHo Veganics. Super, super yum!! Soy-free, too!

    Squeaaal. I am just so excited for you guys! XOXO

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  2. Thank you Nicole! I'm really liking it so far. I was dairy free for a few years & the non-dairy cheese options then were not very good , so I was super happy to hear about daiya. Yum. If you have fav vegan recipes and want to share send them my way!

    Becca

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  3. Oh wow!!! Yummy!
    Amazing choices, and I can vouche for the Heidiho cheese too!

    Those good photos are beautiful!
    Love new beginnings!!!

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