Serves 4

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds, roasted

1 large clove of garlic

2 tsp capers

1/2 cup of fresh italian parsley

1/2 cup fresh basil

3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 325. Evenly distribute the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet. Bake for 3-5 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool. Add all of the above to your food processor and mix until fully blended and smooth.

Pasta 

4 servings Pasta of choice, I used vegetable pasta

2 peaches, pitted and sliced

1 med zucchini, sliced in half moons

Feta, for topping

Cook 4 servings of desired pasta. While the pasta is cooking grill the peaches and zucchini. First take a ziplock bag and add the raw zucchini and peaches. Add 1 tbsp olive oil or safflower oil. Seal the bag and give a little shake making sure to coat everything. Place the zucchini and peaches on a grill over medium heat for about 3-5 min per side. You want them to be tender but not falling appart.

To serve: Toss the pasta with desired amount of pesto. Gently mix in the zucchini and peaches. Top with feta and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Enjoy!

*Note: Pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

We had some friends over for dinner Friday night. It’s so wonderful to finally be at a point where we can have guests over and not have to worry that Poppy needs to be fed or that we are going to wake her up simply from talking. I was also super excited to be able to cook for someone other than myself, Kegan and Danie….then I found out they were on the paleo diet. I have no experience cooking without grains or legumes; in fact, they are what I live off of since meat is not a regular guest at our table. Because of my lack of experience and little time to research, we wound up having steak, sweet potato fries and salad – not all that creative I know but it was still yummy. At one point in the night my friend mentioned if he could add one thing back into his diet it would be CHEESE. He misses it dearly and also mentioned how good a grilled cheese would be. Since that conversation I have been craving grilled cheeses like crazy. So on this rainy Sunday I gave a call to my sister and made a big batch of my all time fave grilled cheese sandwiches. These are so good. They have tomato, basil annndd honey!! I serve them with sweet potato fries and spicy chipotle mayo. Love, love, love.

Butter the bread.

Flip the bread over and drizzle the honey on both halves of the sandwich.

Place the bread butter side down on the frying pan. I melt the cheese open faced and then once the cheese has melted I assemble the remaining ingredients.

When the cheese has melted add the fresh basil and tomato. Now put both pieces of melty cheese covered bread together and voila – you have one awesome grilled cheese!

For the sweet potato fries. Get together your oil and spices.

Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and place in a large bowl. Dump all the spices and the oil in with the potatoes and mix together making sure to evenly coat all potatoes.

Spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet ( or two ) and bake.

Chipotle peppers in adobo…for the mayo!

Ahhhhhhh yesssssss.

GRILLED CHEESE ( one serving )

Butter two slices of bread on one side only. Flip bread over and drizzle the honey on both halves of bread. Lay the bread on a frying pan and place one piece of cheese on each piece of bread. Let it melt over med high heat. When the cheese is bubbly add the tomato and basil. Now assemble your grilled cheese and eat!

• 2 slices of havarti
• Honey
• 2 slices multi grain bread
• Butter
• Fresh basil
• SWEET POTATO FRIES ( for you and a few friends )

Peel and cut 4 large sweet potatoes. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and add the oil and spices. Mix together. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 25 min remove from oven and flip the fries. Place the fries back in the oven; now bake at 400 for 15 min.

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 3 tbl canola oil
• 2 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp adobo chilli powder
• pinch of chilli flakes
• SPICY CHIPOTLE MAYO
• Hellmans Mayonnaise (or you can make your own)
• Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced. You can use as much or as little as you like. Just a heads up the seeds are where the heat is at so if you have a sensitive tongue maybe remove the seeds before you add the peppers to your mayo.