Frozen organic green peas seemed like a bargain. But what could I do with them? I had hoped to come up with a kind of sandwich filling but ended up with a creamy sauce for pasta. It's actually pretty tasty and is perfect for those times when the cupboard is bare, because it uses mostly pantry staples. Surprisingly this ended up being my easiest, fastest and cheapest meal, and one I know I will make again.Green Pea Pesto with Pasta
56¢ per serving
1 cup frozen organic green peas, 75¢
2 cloves garlic, 5¢
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 36¢
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, 42¢
(note: recipe makes 5 servings of sauce)
1 cup, about 2 ounces penne pasta 24¢
Roughly chop the garlic. In a small saucepan combine the garlic and green peas with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium heat then lower the heat to simmer and cover the pan. Cook for 3 minutes or until peas are cooked through and garlic is no longer raw. Drain the peas, reserving the water. Place the peas and olive oil in the blender and blend, adding just enough water to make a smooth paste, about 1 tablespoon. Combine mixture with parmesan cheese. Serve 2 tablespoons of sauce over each serving of penne pasta.
NEWSFLASH!
After reading one of my "tweets" on Twitter about the Hunger Challenge, Tyson Foods offered to send up to 200,000 pounds of high-quality, protein-rich foods (chicken, meatballs, lunchmeat, etc.) to the six Bay Area food banks! That's six tractor-trailerloads of the most hard-to-come-by foods desperately needed by food banks!
Tyson will donate 100 pounds of food for every comment posted on a special web page, so please go, make a comment and then help spread the word!
1) Go to the Tyson Hunger Relief in the Bay Area post.
2) Read the post and leave a comment. (NOTE: the format asks for an email address to prevent spam, but Tyson guarantees they will not harvest emails or use them for any other purpose whatsoever.)
3) Tyson adds another 100 pounds of high-quality, protein-rich foods (chicken, meatballs, lunchmeat, etc.) to trucks heading for 6 Bay Area food banks!
4) Tell your friends and family, anyone and everyone!
Have you been enjoying these Hunger Challenge posts and recipes? Here are more ways to GET INVOLVED
♥ Learn more about the San Francisco Food Bank
♥ Donate and a receive a thank you special thank you gift!
1. Click on donate to go to the donation page.
2. Fill out the necessary info and make a donation of $50 or more.
3. About 2/3 of the way down the form, look for a header that says, “Food Drive/Event Information (not required)”
4. Use the drop-down box to select “Bloggers Hunger Challenge,” so we’ll know you are participating.
5. Be one of the first 12 people to donate $50 or more and you’ll receive a brand new free cookbook as a thank-you.