A few weeks ago I became motivated to cook with pesto. It had to be easy because it was pre-made, so to speak, and came from a jar. So yes, the recipes I chose were easy. The problem was these ones just didn’t “hit the spot.” Sure, I’ve had various pesto pasta dishes- and enjoyed it. In fact, I had some pesto pasta last night and for breakfast this morning. Maybe I’m wrong and pesto dishes (without pasta) aren’t supposed to hit the spot…? 

I decided to make Chickpea-Pesto Tomato Soup. This recipe came from an older cookbook I had but hadn’t made too much from: The Runner’s World Cookbook (Page 100).

It was quick & easy as advertised. Thirty minutes. I used an immersion stick since I’m not a fan of tomato chunks. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was it lacked flavor. It was bland. And I added the entire onion and garlic it called for. 

I’m not blaming it on the cookbook. But I bet I know why: the recipe called for (and therefore I used) canned tomatoes. 

My picture above is before I realized I needed to continue adding cheese to the bowl every few bites. I guess I’ve made it a good three months before I ran into a recipe requiring extra cheese just to be able to finish it… and probably canceling out any benefits from it. 


I also made Pesto Egg Cups from a egg muffin page in a recent issue of Runner’s World magazine. These were also simple and I had enough leftover to eat for breakfast for a couple of days. Next time, I’ll have to mix some shredded cheese in the egg mixture- it just “missed the spot.”

Also listed is Cocoa French Toasties (think chocolate French toast muffins) and Sweet Potato Pancake Muffins. Hopefully, I’ll try one this weekend. 

Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky are on to something: fresh foods do taste better. I know that’s been concluded a long time ago but I think I’ve finally admitted it to myself. In their Run Fast. Eat Slow. cookbook they have some recipes involving pesto, as well. That will be a Take Two post. 

Also, this week I tried to repeat the pumpkin pancakes I made previously. It was not as successful. The pancakes kept flopping, it was getting late, so I had leftover cheesy waffle fries for dinner. Next week will be better.