Not Your Ordinary Gritizen's Pesto

I am a "Real Simple" magazine subscriber and typically have had fairly good success with their recipes. In the current March edition, the magazine covered recipes on how to get the most out of warehouse staples. I was intrigued, because, though I like Costco, I struggle there (we are afraid of being wasteful, and regretfully, this has happened and we kick ourselves). One of the recipes caught my eye and I just tried it (and the tips on what to do with leftover ingredients was great too). Totally awesome and tasty! Plus, it's cheap, easy, fast, and healthy. Can't beat that with a stick!

Here it is (taken from realsimple.com/recipes, March 2009):


Ingredients


* 1 pound fettuccine
* 1/4 cup walnuts
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1/2 pound baby spinach (about 10 cups)
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
* Kosher salt and black pepper
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Directions


Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return it to the pot.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the walnuts and garlic until chopped. Add the spinach, oil, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor bowl as necessary.

Add the pesto to the pasta and toss to combine. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan before serving.

Kim's notes: I skipped the walnuts, kicked up the garlic, and used lemon pepper instead of regular pepper. It was delicious (though my kids wouldn't touch it). Whatever. All the more for me I suppose!

So, readers and bloggers, I am looking for some creative new ideas for spring asparagus and artichokes (preferably meatless). Oh do share, South Sound! Thanks in advance.