Well, I’m back in Texas and I’ve just started my second year of grad school! I won’t lie, it feels pretty great to be a “second year.” It’s also great to be back in my little kitchen. Well it’s actually pretty big for a studio. Sunday night I couldn’t wait to get into my fresh basil from the Farmer’s Market (something new this year)! I haven’t totally restocked my cupboards and so I used what I had, and the result was pretty delicious!

Macadamia Nut Pesto

The Stuff Inside:

1 cup fresh basil

1 cup spinach

1/4 cup macadamia nuts

1/4 cup light olive oil (you can use extra virgin, you will just have more of a olive-y flavor)

2 tbsp water

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, slived

What to Do: Throw everything in a blender or food processor! Chop until the basil and spinach leaves and the macadamia nuts are well chopped, then puree until smooth. Eat it with a spoon. Use it anyway you would use traditional pesto! I think it pairs well with chicken and veggies!

**This does not make a huge batch of pesto, you can always double or triple it.

I started school AND Whole30 yesterday, and so this pesto has been a perfect addition to a few meals! It has no parmesan cheese (dairy), but the macadamia nuts bring a creaminess to it, which is part of what we love about a traditional pesto!

Sunday I was inspired by this pesto and a recipe a friend shared with me recently and made these eggplant rounds!

I brushed some extra virgin olive oil on the eggplant and baked it at 400 for 20 minutes. Then I added a dollop of pesto, quartered cherry tomatoes and sautéed chicken sausage and stuck them back in the oven for 10 minutes! They were delicious and more than half the ingredients were from the Abilene Farmer’s market!

Tonight, I made coconut oil “fried” pattypan squash and finished it off by tossing it in the pesto. So many ways to use this yummy sauce!

Have a wonderful last week of August (I’m so excited for Fall)!