Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

I can't quite remember where I got this recipe from. I am pretty sure it was from the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics book. It is written down in this notebook where I wrote recipes from the cookbooks I would get from the library in grad school. It following some other recipes from that book so I am assuming it came from there. Either way it is a excellent cookbook and this is a delicious recipe. Tonight we used it as a pizza sauce on homemade pizza dough with goat cheese and artichoke hearts. I would also be good on crackers by itself or served on brie or another soft cheese. I imagine it would also be good mixed with pasta.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted lightly
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 tbs olive oil
pepper

Directions:
1. Cover sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water and let soak form about 15 minutes.
2. Drain tomatoes but reserve soaking water
3. Combine all ingredients plus 2 tbs of the soaking water in a food processor and process to combine

Cheddar Cauliflower Soup

I have been very neglectful of the whole blog posting thing. I have some excuses - moving, internet issues, laziness. I have a large backlog of things to post. This was the first meal that I cooked in my new apartment. I had cauliflower, leeks, and carrots left over from the last of my summer CSA and I wanted to make a soup with them, preferably the cheesy kind. With a little help from google I found an appropriate recipe from Food in Jars to use as a starting point. The soup turned out delicious. I used the vegetables and quantities that I had on hand. One of the best things about soup is that it is flexible and forgiving. Think about vegetables that would blend well with a creamy cheddar sauce - onions, broccoli, potatoes.

recipe adapted from food in jars

1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
2-3 large carrots, diced
3 leeks, well-washed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup white wine
~1 quart vegetable stock
pepper
salt

3 tablespoons butter
3 heaping tablespoons flour
3 cups milk/milk alternative
1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
freshly grated nutmeg
pepper
salt

• soak chopped cauliflower in cold salted water for 30 minutes (this gets rid of all the bugs - I think bugs are more of an issue with organic cauliflower/broccoli and less of an issue with their conventional counterparts)
• saute vegetables in the oil/butter mixture until soft and browned, be careful not to burn the butter
• deglaze pan with the wine, making sure to get all the brown bits off the bottom
• add enough stock to cover the vegetables, cover and simmer until veggies are soft (10-15 minutes depending on size)

while veggies are simmering make cheese sauce

• melt the butter in a medium sauce pan
• add the flour and stir to blend, cook until color darkens a bit
• slowly add the milk and whisk until smooth (maybe helpful to remove from heat)
• cook milk/flour mixture until it begins to thicken
• add the cheese and stir until blended
• add salt/pepper and freshly grated nutmeg

hopefully your vegetables are soft when you are done with your cheese sauce

• blend vegetable mixture (immersion blender, food processor, etc)
• add cheese sauce and mix
• add salt/pepper to taste