In the summer of 2006 I lost 40 lbs. Today, three years and some months later, the weight is still off and, in addition to staying on track, I’ve lost an additional five pounds. This recipe is a celebration of health and a farewell to my arch-nemesis: the up-and-down roller coaster of diet fads. For this success, I have the folks at SparkPeople to thank. I spent about a year with Sparky, and over those long months of tracking my weight, budgeting my calorie intake and expense, living on the forums, and listening to the advice of nutrition experts, I learned bunches about body maintenance and the negative impact of dieting mentality. That’s not to say I haven’t gone up or down a few pounds in all three years; hell, you can go down a pound or more just by sleeping eight hours. But every time I need to get back on track, I just remind myself of the principles and lessons I learned from Sparky.

Now onto the actual food!

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This recipe was a tasty deviation from regular, old basil pesto and was a wonderful contrast to the cioppino. I particularly liked the tarragon, the fennel, the Kasseri cheese, and the almonds. What was disappointing was the lack of anchovy flavor! Then again, yours truly has never before bought whole fresh anchovies and gutted them by hand, so I had no idea what to expect; I’m more used to the stuff they sell you in a can, which is pungent indeed. Next time I’ll be a little more careful and pair the anchovies with ingredients that complement rather than override.

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