Pesto Tomato Pasta

Hey! I hope you're having a great week. We did a great walk yesterday. We drove over to Whangarei heads to climb Mount Manaia. It rises 420m above sea level and is formed with volcanic rock. It a was pretty steep walk and a lot of stairs! We did 9000 steps which is pretty good going. After that, we headed back into Whangarei. We wanted to buy mozzie net so we could sleep with 2 of the windows open. It's been so warm and we're hoping that with the nets, alongside our insulation under the bed, the condensation will go down. I keep getting really bad reactions to the bugs too. We stayed at Whangarei Falls again. It's been one of our favourite free camps - a great view, clean toilets, bins, recycling and drinking water. Yay. Today we drove over to Dargaville and walked up Tokatoka Peak - a 700m steep walk but amazing views over Dargaville and Kaipara Harbour. We then checked out Baylys Beach. A beautiful beach that goes on for miles. We decided to drive along Pouto Peninsula to stay at the point. We're hoping to make the 4 hour walk along to the Pouto Lighthouse - NZ's oldest wooden lighthouse. I'll let you know how we get on. In other news, we were just relaxing in the sun at the camp before a local came up to us and asked Scott if he wants a ride in his sand buggy. Erm...yes! He took him along the dunes and out to the lighthouse. Scott is still smiling!

Anyway, here's a recipe for pesto style pasta. We had some veg that needed used up. Otherwise, the tomatoes would be fresh and tasty enough on their own with the pasta. (Serves 2) Ingredients:

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1 onion, finely chopped

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2 mushrooms, finely chopped

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1/3 courgette

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1/4 red pepper

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1/2 can Watties 'Pesto Style Tomatoes'

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150g pasta

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Couple fresh tomatoes and few cubes of cheese to serve on top

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Spices/Herbs of your choice - Smoked paprika, Italian herbs and pepper 

Recipe: 

1. 
   

Heat oil with Italian herbs and smoked paprika.

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Add onion, courgette and mushrooms and season with pepper.

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Add red pepper and pesto tomatoes and leave to simmer. Meanwhile, start heating water for the pasta.

1. 
   

Once the pasta is ready, mix in with the tomatoes and serve with some fresh tomatoes and cheese.

We usually put crushed garlic paste into everything but these 'pesto style' tomatoes have onions, garlic, basil, parmesan, oil and pine nuts in them. I am missing our homemade pesto but these tomatoes were delicious! GF pasta isn't cheap but it is sometimes reduced. Every time we go down the food aisle I see people picking up the GF bread and pasta - maybe it will be cheaper eventually!

We have stocked up on cans but otherwise, our food shop, about once a week, can cost us £10-15 each. It depends if we've picked up fresh veg or not and if we need any extras. We looove food so we're trying to make tasty food but not spend too much.

We're doing alright so far. Just the odd chocolate bar once in a while!

X gf v x