MMMM....pasta

This recipe was just so good and interesting that I had to post it. From Rachael Ray, Meat-Free BLT Spaghetti with Butter Lettuce, Leek, and Tomato. I have Rachael's latest cookbook, Look and Cook and it has a number of yummy recipes in it. Back in the days when I was snobby foodie, I thought I was too good for Rachael Ray. And then I had kids and I soon figured out that my days of planning menus, leisurely shopping at Whole Foods and then lovingly preparing the meal were OVER. OVER. If I still wanted to cook good food and try new recipes, I had to find a way to fit it into my life. And so I went over to the dark side. The Rachael side. And I discovered that her recipes are fun and really tasty. Not always easy on the waistline - there's lots of "EVOO" and cheese but really, who can go wrong with that? Just don't eat her portions - they are ginormous. She often does riffs on popular things like a spinach artichoke dip and makes it into a meal. For example, she makes a Spinach & Artichoke Mac and Cheese that is pretty darn good.  Anyway, I had spotted this recipe in the book and thought it was interesting but passed over it - Ted was the one who had pointed it out (he made the Chicken Ragu and that was awesome) and I included it in our little weekly menu plan. Now, the recipe has you make a pesto out of butter lettuce, basil, mint, parsley, pine nuts, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese, and EVOO. I was a bit skeptical. A pesto recipe whose main ingredient was lettuce? Sounded grody (yes, yes, the 80s called and they want their word back) but heck, why not? Lachlan helped me make the pesto and before I knew it, he was dipping a bowl scraper in the food processor bowl and eating it. Turned out to be refreshing, light, and a perfect complement to the tomatoes and leeks that you saute and then toss with the pasta and pesto. Very summery, very flavorful and I recommend you give it a shot. The best part? The kids LOVED the pesto. Since they are not apt to consume vegetables, I was a happy mama. The proof is below. In fact, I almost DIDN'T post about this because it was so good I didn't want to run upstairs to get my camera. I wanted to keep shoveling it in my mouth.