It’s been a good weekend so far, productive and catching up on stuff around the house. Skipper’s vet appointment yesterday went okay, his blood sugar is still too high so his insulin dose has been increased and he goes back for another follow up next week. Giving him his insulin shots is getting tough, he’s figured out he’s getting a shot when we try to hold him and puts up a strong fight. So we’re trying to get more sneaky about it when he’s relaxed and doesn’t know it’s coming, but that’s another challenge.
My car had it’s first service appointment today, a regular maintenance thing as part of the lease that was nice to check off my to do list. I’ve been dreading it since I’ve had more bad luck with car service than good. But it was quick, I don’t think there was much to check on an electric car, just rotate the tires and get some data from it. And no problems from the service … yet.
We’ve also been doing a lot of house cleaning today which freaks Shadow out a bit.
I think he worries we’re packing up to move again.
Tomorrow is another long run for half marathon training and I decided to avoid last weekend’s mistake and have a great dinner tonight and quinoa is a great pre-run meal for me. But I decided to make this dish a little more creamy and decadent with a simple pesto sauce with plenty of basil, garlic, and hemp seeds while avoiding using oil or frying.
Creamy Pesto Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup shelled hemp seeds
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 tsp.of salt
- 1/2 cup of water
- pepper to taste
- Bring quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium soup pot. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy.
- Place basil leaves, hemp seeds, garlic, salt, 1/2 cup water, and pepper into a high speed blender and blend to a smooth and creamy texture
- Stir sauce mixture into the quinoa. Add veggies of choice to the pot, I added shelled edamame, chopped tomato, and grated carrots. Makes 4 servings.
The pesto sauce is a little runny which worked out great for stirring into the quinoa and coating it.
I added finely grated carrots to the mixture for more veggies and to make it a one-pot meal.
And had to share a carrot with Skipper.
So he could chew it up all over the floor.
The mixture may not look super appetizing, but it smelled wonderful.
I topped my serving with nutritional yeast and dried basil.
The garlic pesto flavors were great in this dish, present but not too strong. And the sauce added a creamy oatmeal-like texture to the quinoa.
Hopefully it will fuel a much better run tomorrow!
Great updates on the car! Progress on Skipper – positive vibes your way for continued improvements! How long have you been in that house for?
Thanks on Skipper, poor guy still hates getting his shots and we’re trying to find better ways for him to relax and make it easier. We’re been in the house for about 7 years now. But we’re had Shadow for 13 years and he’s been through a few moves with us before we settled in California and he gets stressed when furniture starts getting moved. :-)
I don’t blame him one bit! I, myself, have needlepobia! Eeeeek! Cats are kind of like that, tho…I know ours area! LOL :) And our two have only ever been in the house they are in now!