Clearly I haven’t completely given in to the fact that fall is upon us.

I mean, it’s supposed to be 75 degrees today in Seattle!

75 is warmish in my book, but not as wonderful as 82 degrees, for example.

Beggars can’t be choosers though, I do realize that.

Sadly, my beloved baby orange tomatoes no longer grace the produce section of my fave hippie grocery store, although there were a handful of yellow guys just waiting to be plucked up and tossed into a simple pasta salad.

I also had a huge bush of leftover Italian parsley on my hands, so I wanted to use that somehow.

Why can’t I just buy a few sprigs and call it a day?

I mean who actually needs an entire sack of parsley?

I only used a small bit for this Vegan Risotto-Style Oats with Mushrooms & Peas recipe.

The whole wasting thing is no bueno.

So I dumped my parsley in the food processor and proceeded to whip up a pretty amazing pesto, if I do say so myself.

Don’t get me wrong, basil pesto is the queen of pestos, but parsley pesto has the potential to inherit the throne.

The key to a bomb pesto is to toast your nuts.

Walnuts in this case!

Because walnuts and parsley seem to get along quite well.

No drama over here, please and thank you.

All you have to do is toast a bunch of nutty walnuts, then add them to your Italian parsley with a good amount of salt, fresh ground black pepper, red pepper flakes for a slight kick, and a dose of zesty lemon juice. Pulse to combine, then slowly stream in some extra virgin olive oil to bring your pesto together. You could add a clove of garlic and a handful of Parm, but I prefer to keep my breath fresh and my pesto vegan… usually.

Sure you can inhale pesto by the spoonful, but tossing it with whole wheat pasta sounded like a much more appealing idea. Throw a couple handfuls of juicy tomatoes in there, plus more toasted walnuts and you’re good to go, after you season your pasta, of course.

Enjoy steaming hot, room temp, or even chilled.

I like it hot, duhh.

P.S. Simply use your favorite gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free option.

P.P.S. As is, this recipe is vegan. If you love cheese, toss some freshly grated Parm into your pasta salad.

P.P.P.S. Green peas are a nice addition. Plus, you get more veg action!

P.P.P.P.S. So I was a dumb dumb and forgot to set aside parsley for the garnish… that’s why there’s cilantro sprinkled on top of my pasta in the photos. Oops.