Vegan Creamy Kale Pesto Pasta

I made this one on a whim tonight!  I found myself baby-less at dinnertime!  Crazy!  Lee's parents were kind enough to take Hannah for a few hours today as we try to get her over her 'stranger anxiety' and 'witching hour' craziness.  Recently, she's been a delight between the hours of 4-6pm, especially in the presence of other people...  It's just a phase everyone says... I hope so!

So, needless to say, with a clean house and an original plan to just make a simple pasta dish, I actually had time to rethink dinner.  Maybe try something different!  The original plan included sautéed tomatoes, garlic, kale, and balsamic with rotini pasta.  I had the pasta already cooking and the garlic and tomatoes simmering in the pan.  I had 3 leaves of kale chopped, ready to toss in, but then I realized that I had everything I needed to make a pesto, so in a quick change of heart, I decided on pesto instead!  The part that made this dish absolutely delicious was the already simmering tomatoes and garlic.  Although it was a pre-pesto-making thought, the soft, juicy tomatoes combined with the pasta and the pesto created this wonderfully creamy, zesty, and garlicy pesto dish.  So delish!  Definitely worth making again and posting on here!  Craving leftovers already! 

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Rotini Pasta, couple cups
2 large tomatoes, chopped
6 small garlic cloves, minced - divided 
Basil, teaspoon size
Olive Oil - some for cooking, some for pesto
Kale, 3 leaves chopped (discard stems)
Walnuts, 1/4 cup
Lemon Juice, 1/4 lemon squeezed
Nutritional Yeast, 1/4 cup
Sea Salt/Pepper

What to do:
1) Cook pasta according to package. 

2) Meanwhile, drizzle pan with oil and sauté half of the garlic and the tomatoes until soft and tomato juices are running around the pan.  Set aside.  

3) Prepare pesto by placing kale, remaining garlic, walnuts, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and a long drizzle of olive oil in a food processor.  Blend together and add more olive oil as needed to make to your preferred consistency.  

4)  When pasta is ready, drain and then add to sautéed tomatoes.  Then add in pesto.  Mix together to coat all pasta.  Taste and add sea salt/pepper, and more olive oil, if needed.  Enjoy!!! :)