This turned out better than I imagined it would. I was hoping it'd be okay, but it surprised me. The sweetness of the corn with the tangy tomatoes and smoky peppers, the crunchy pumpkin seeds, and then all the flavors of the pesto. It was good.

So first the pesto, since I made it ahead of time.

1 bunch basil
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch green onion
1 bunch kale
1 bunch rainbow chard
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup ricotta
lemon juice
salt
water.


I started with some chopped garlic and green onion in a frying pan, sauteed. I then steamed the kale and chard for a couple minutes. Then I put the rest of the ingredients in a blender with the garlic, onion, kale and chard and blended until smooth. It took two batches in the blender because it was a lot of sauce. I had to just eyeball the water to make sure it was wet enough to blend. I added salt at the end to taste.  I let this sit overnight, but I'm not sure how neccesary that would be. Also, this makes a killer dip. Eat it.

Also a day before:
1 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds
olive oil
salt

I layed these out on a baking sheet with a little olive oil on top to help the salt stick, and then baked for 15 minutes in the oven at 450, until they changed from green to light brown. They crackled and popped a lot.

Next the quinoa:
1.5 cups quinoa
3 cups water
salt
1 Tbsn chopped herbs from the garden:
rosemary
mint
sage
dill
oregano


I put this in a rice cooker, all mixed up and turned it on until it was done. It came out with a slight polenta/maltomeal smell.


For the Veggies:
2 green bell pepper
2 ear corn
2 pints cherry tomatoe
2 Tbsn of the chopped heard from the quinoa
Salt
Pepper

I chopped up the bell pepper a little, shaved the corn off the ears, and layed it all out with the other ingredients on a oiled baking sheet. I put this in the oven for 15 minutes at 450, then did another 15 minutes under the broiler, mixing it around once to get good roasted coverage. I probably could have saved the pumpkin seeds and did them with the veggies. If I try this recipe again, I'll do that.

Finally
I sliced up some bread and toasted it for a little more crunch. Garlic bread would have been perfect.

p.s. I originally planned for this to have grilled chicken with it, but I discovered that my roommates had eaten the chicken all up. It was still a great meal with out it.