I was in need of a different way to make broccoli.  I have been eating broccoli for dinner for about a month now…just broccoli.  I buy the big frozen bag and pour into a pot and boil, some vegan Earth Balance butter and a little salt.  Boring, yes.  Healthy, yes.  Need change? Oh.  Yes.   So I decided on a broccoli pesto with rice noodles.

I get the weekly recipe newsletter from Vegetarian Times and if there is one that I like it just sits in my email account getting lost in the gray matter.  This one for Bow Ties with Broccoli Pesto not only sat in my inbox but also on my iPhone Safari collecting dust waiting for me to do something with it.

So my broccoli pesto is adapted from the Vegetarian Times recipe, but really modified.  The only take away from the other recipe is the broccoli, lemon and parsley.  I wanted a less oil pesto.  Normal pesto’s are so saturated with oil that I feel gross even pouring all of it in.  So this one is made with Silk Soy Milk-as with all my recipes it is the Light Vanilla, because I love the sweetness of it and the tartness of the lemon the sweet vanilla is needed.

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I added a lot of green veggies to it…again, another one of my colored theme meals.  All green veggies to go with my green pesto and instead of normal whole wheat noodle, I decided to use a Peacock brand Brown Rice Noodles.  I haven’t cooked with rice noodles in so long, I forgot how easy it was.  Just boil some water and dump in noodles and turn off burner and let them get soft.

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This turned out so good, I was very proud.  I would suggest using fresh asparagus since frozen gets squishy and stringy.  But other than that little switch, this whole meal could be eaten hot for dinner or even cold.  For one of my lunches during the week I ended up microwaving it then not getting to it until it had cooled off and it was still tasty!

Broccoli Pest0:

2 C Broccoli
1/4 C Walnuts
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk
1 Bunch Parsley
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 C Noodle Water

1.  Get out and put together your food processor.

2.  Measure and dump all ingredients into processor; put lid on and let it rip.

3.  Add the pasta water then continue to process.

Veggies and Noodles:

2 C Broccoli

1 Can Green Beans

1 Can Peas

1 Pkg Snap Peas

1 Pkg Asparagus Spears

1 Pkg Peacock Brown Rice Noodles

1.  Toss frozen asparagus and snap peas into the microwave for 3-4 minutes.

2.  Fill large pot with water and turn burner on high.  Dump in broccoli and noodles.

3.  Once broccoli and noodles are tender, strain out water.  Dump broc and noodles back into pot.

4.  Drain peas and beans and pour into pot.  Drain out excess liquid from asparagus and snap peas and dump into pot.

5.  Turn burner onto medium-low.  Add pesto and mix well and let heat through.

6.  Enjoy.

Stats:

Calories: 304
Total Fat: 9g
Sodium: 454mg
Total Carbs: 45g
Protein: 9g