Blooming Cipolla and Pâtes au pesto d'avocat

I am happy it is Friday!  Our family was here for a week so I had to get caught up on things in the dog clothes world. I am all caught up on work and I am spending the day at the beach with a good friend, a book to read, and some sun rays to catch. Yesterday I bought these beautiful basil plants that my husband planted for me. They are gorgeous! I used them last night to make my Caprese and Tonight I am making a bloomin' onion and I am stealing another recipe from Chef Chloe tonight. We went to the farmers market and got a bag of 8 avacadoes for next to nothing. Then I saw her recipe for Pâtes au pesto d'avocat ... simply translated: Avocado Pesto Pasta. Basil and Avacados...Perfect! I am also making a tossed salad. Onion, Salad, Pasta, perfect for me, but not enough for my Carnivore house. So I am making some fried chicken on the side for them.

Here is my Vegan friendly Bloomin' Onion recipe:

2 Onions
Seasoning:
2 cups flour
2 t paprika
1 t cayenne
1 t pepper
1 t vegetable broth powder
1/2 t poultry seasoning
1 t salt

Beer Batter:
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 c cornstarch
2 t paprika
2 t salt
1 t pepper
1 t vegetable broth powder
1 12 oz can warm beer

• Peel the paper off the onion but keep the base in tact

• Slice large sweet onions almost all the way through, criss crossed.

• Soak in ice water over night.

• Drain well, at least 15 minutes before dipping
• Remove the center of the onion... I just cut out about 3/4 inch core but remember to keep the base in tact.
• Dip onion in Seasoning
• Dip in Plain unsweetened soy milk
• Dip onion in Seasoning again
• Dip in beer batter
• Deep fry in Hot oil 375 degrees until deep golden color.
Sprinkle with salt and serve with your favorite dipping sauce. For me its gotta be spicy. =)

Here is Chef Chloe's Vegan Pasta Recipe and pics of the process.
If you don't care about Vegan, then you can make your pasta like I do, and you don't have to have the dried boxed pasta =)
Avocado Pesto Pasta

Serves 6
What You Need:
1 pound dried linguini
20 Big Basil leaves
½ cup pine nuts
2 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about ½ of a lemon)
3 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
Salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (optional)
non vegan: add 1 cup parmesan cheese.

What You Do:
1. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to package directions. While pasta cooks, in a food processor, blend basil, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Drain pasta. In a large serving bowl, toss pesto with hot, freshly cooked pasta and garnish each serving with a basil leaf. For an extra touch of color and flavor, top pasta with sundried tomatoes.