Good morning! It’s day ten of staying home for us. My days mostly look the same right now. And in case I have accidentally done anything on IG or anywhere else to make it seem like I have my stuff together and am crushing the stay at home school/mom/quarnatine thing. I don’t. I’m not. I am just doing the best I can- somedays are better than others. Somedays I am limping along.

sundried tomato pesto pasta with garlicky garbanzo beans (vegan and GF) from HeatherChristo.com

I feel like mostly all we do is eat. I cook for myself and the family out of what I have here. Pete cleans up the kitchen. Repeat. I admit- we are using food for comfort right now.
But in between that, you can hear the sounds of me begging and cajoling and occasionally flipping out on Coco to continue her school all day.
Laaundaary. Like 20 loads a day, I swear.
Getting work done.
Ranting at the news.
Forcing myself and everyone else (except for Pia who basically is a responsible adult) to get out and exercise outdoors every day.
Listening to the girls giggle, tik tok or fight.
Watch so many tv shows. We are currently on Jack Ryan- it’s good!
Let the dog out 100 times a day. He loves us all being home, but also seems restless.
I feel really tired all the time, but I assume that is the stress.

–

The great moments are when we sit down for dinner every night and turn the tv off.
When we play rummikub and the winner gets to pick where we get delivery/takeout from.
When I can get Pia to come do my huge puzzle with me.
The girls and I made watercolor postcards yesterday to send to all of our family members.
When the girls show me a dance that they perfected.
When the girls are being innovative. Coco started an IG Live talk show (4pm everyday!) and Pia just applied to the Kids Baking Championship to see if they will take a kid with food allergies. I mean, who knows?! I just like that we are using this time to try new things.

sundried tomato pesto pasta with garlicky garbanzo beans (vegan and GF) from HeatherChristo.com

But I wanted to lead with the reality of everything. There is bickering. There is some suppressed eye rolling happening. There is tv bingeing. There are manic text strings with my family. There is an extra softness to my body right now. I have to pray for patience sometimes and deep breathe. I pour wine at exactly 5pm every night.

But I think it’s ok to acknowledge those things and try to make peace with them while also finding the silver linings of being home and being with my little family.

It’s day ten, but we are most definitely in the early miles of this marathon and so we have to find our ways through and see the lovely little pockets too.

Tell me how you are doing? What are you doing?

sundried tomato pesto pasta with garlicky garbanzo beans (vegan and GF) from HeatherChristo.com

And Oh yeah! Another pantry meal! I made several batches of this pesto weeks ago and froze it. So now, I don’t have to go to the store and we had a really fresh vibrant dinner last night! Here is also a new way to think about canned garbanzo or white beans (use what you have!) Reheat them in a tasty flavored olive oil and add protein to your vegetarian pasta dish! You could also use just the beans as a pasta sauce! I hope you like the recipe and let me know what else you are interested in recipes for!

 

Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto Pasta with Garlicky Garbanzo Beans (Vegan and Gluten-free)
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound gluten free spaghetti
  • Sundried Tomato Pesto:
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 4 ounces fresh basil leaves
  • 3 green onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds (optional. if allergic to nuts, add pumpkin seeds or omit all together)
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes

  • Garlicky Garbanzo Beans:
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • Fresh thyme or a bay leaf
  • Lemon zest (optional if you have it)
  • 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and then add the spaghetti. Cook according to the manufacturer's directions- but it will be somewhere around 7-10 minutes.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, make the beans and pesto.
  3. For the beans: In a small or medium pan over medium-low heat, add the olive oil, garlic, red pepper and herbs and zest. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic is just getting golden. Then add the garbanzo beans, a sprinkle of salt and turn the heat to low. Leave simmering in oil, stirring occasionally until the past is ready.
  4. To make the pesto: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the garlic, basil, green onions, almonds, vinegar and olive oil. Pulse until well combined and then season to taste with kosher salt. Then add the sun-dried tomatoes and pulse until just combined- I like to leave them in slightly bigger pieces, Set aside.
  5. When the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse some of the starch off the pasta. Toss with the pesto (you may not need all of the pesto- you can always save the extra and use it for something else!) season to taste and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon the hot beans over the top of the pasta and serve immediately.

 

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Categorized: Dinner, Pasta, Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian
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Good morning! It’s day ten of staying home for us. My days mostly look the same right now. And in case I have accidentally done anything on IG or anywhere else to make it seem like I have my stuff together and am crushing the stay at home school/mom/quarnatine thing. I don’t. I’m not. I am just doing the best I can- somedays are better than others. Somedays I am limping along.

sundried tomato pesto pasta with garlicky garbanzo beans (vegan and GF) from HeatherChristo.com

I feel like mostly all we do is eat. I cook for myself and the family out of what I have here. Pete cleans up the kitchen. Repeat. I admit- we are using food for comfort right now.
But in between that, you can hear the sounds of me begging and cajoling and occasionally flipping out on Coco to continue her school all day.
Laaundaary. Like 20 loads a day, I swear.
Getting work done.
Ranting at the news.
Forcing myself and everyone else (except for Pia who basically is a responsible adult) to get out and exercise outdoors every day.
Listening to the girls giggle, tik tok or fight.
Watch so many tv shows. We are currently on Jack Ryan- it’s good!
Let the dog out 100 times a day. He loves us all being home, but also seems restless.
I feel really tired all the time, but I assume that is the stress.

–

The great moments are when we sit down for dinner every night and turn the tv off.
When we play rummikub and the winner gets to pick where we get delivery/takeout from.
When I can get Pia to come do my huge puzzle with me.
The girls and I made watercolor postcards yesterday to send to all of our family members.
When the girls show me a dance that they perfected.
When the girls are being innovative. Coco started an IG Live talk show (4pm everyday!) and Pia just applied to the Kids Baking Championship to see if they will take a kid with food allergies. I mean, who knows?! I just like that we are using this time to try new things.

sundried tomato pesto pasta with garlicky garbanzo beans (vegan and GF) from HeatherChristo.com

But I wanted to lead with the reality of everything. There is bickering. There is some suppressed eye rolling happening. There is tv bingeing. There are manic text strings with my family. There is an extra softness to my body right now. I have to pray for patience sometimes and deep breathe. I pour wine at exactly 5pm every night.

But I think it’s ok to acknowledge those things and try to make peace with them while also finding the silver linings of being home and being with my little family.

It’s day ten, but we are most definitely in the early miles of this marathon and so we have to find our ways through and see the lovely little pockets too.

Tell me how you are doing? What are you doing?

sundried tomato pesto pasta with garlicky garbanzo beans (vegan and GF) from HeatherChristo.com

And Oh yeah! Another pantry meal! I made several batches of this pesto weeks ago and froze it. So now, I don’t have to go to the store and we had a really fresh vibrant dinner last night! Here is also a new way to think about canned garbanzo or white beans (use what you have!) Reheat them in a tasty flavored olive oil and add protein to your vegetarian pasta dish! You could also use just the beans as a pasta sauce! I hope you like the recipe and let me know what else you are interested in recipes for!

 

Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto Pasta with Garlicky Garbanzo Beans (Vegan and Gluten-free)
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound gluten free spaghetti
  • Sundried Tomato Pesto:
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 4 ounces fresh basil leaves
  • 3 green onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds (optional. if allergic to nuts, add pumpkin seeds or omit all together)
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • kosher salt
  • ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes

  • Garlicky Garbanzo Beans:
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • Pinch red pepper flakes
  • Fresh thyme or a bay leaf
  • Lemon zest (optional if you have it)
  • 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
Instructions
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and then add the spaghetti. Cook according to the manufacturer's directions- but it will be somewhere around 7-10 minutes.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, make the beans and pesto.
  3. For the beans: In a small or medium pan over medium-low heat, add the olive oil, garlic, red pepper and herbs and zest. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic is just getting golden. Then add the garbanzo beans, a sprinkle of salt and turn the heat to low. Leave simmering in oil, stirring occasionally until the past is ready.
  4. To make the pesto: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the garlic, basil, green onions, almonds, vinegar and olive oil. Pulse until well combined and then season to taste with kosher salt. Then add the sun-dried tomatoes and pulse until just combined- I like to leave them in slightly bigger pieces, Set aside.
  5. When the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse some of the starch off the pasta. Toss with the pesto (you may not need all of the pesto- you can always save the extra and use it for something else!) season to taste and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon the hot beans over the top of the pasta and serve immediately.

 

Recipe by Heather Christo (http://heatherchristo.com)