pesto manifesto

I love how you can forget about a food and then remember and make it that night! It's like love has blossomed again. I had forgotten just how tasty pesto can be and also how fun it is to create different types with various greens and nuts and spices. I know its not exactly revolutionary but I'm easily impressed by my own accomplishments since they're so few and far inbetween. I was hankerin' for something with a little more zip last night but had no real energy (it was Monday - need I say more?)or food to work with except some left over baked chicken. So I made some chicken and corn with spinach quesadillas. Tasty enough but I'm really trying not to load on the cheese, just use cheese for a teenie-tiny accent. I say I'm 'tryin', not that I've reached success. It's day to day. So I made some cilantro pesto. I put lots of garlic in and added some cayenne, lime juice, and walnuts (left over from my Better-For-You-Brownies). Okay, I did throw in some parmesan cheese. You HAVE to!! I use a quarter of the olive oil they normally advise in a recipe though so I feel as though I have some 'credit calories' coming.
Good stuff! I just want to keep eating it like a dip. P likes it too. I think the only one of my pesto concoctions he didn't care for was the arugula pesto but that may be my favorite. I love Basil & pine nuts but they're real proud of that stuff as P says, down at the PathMark, so it's top dollar. I would rather experiment with the cheaper nuts and greens. Because I'm a cheap nut with not much green.