Arugula pistachio pesto

I enjoy pesto in pretty much all incarnations: basil, radish leaves, cilantro, and now arugula. My arugula bolted weeks ago, but I've still been eating it in salads and I generally don't mind the extra spice. I have a lot though, and the pesto seems a nice way to temper the pepper of the arugula, even the already bolted kind. I am not a raw garlic eater so I didn't add any, but go ahead if that is your thing. You could also add romano or pecorino cheese, though I didn't miss them here.

Arugula Pistachio Pesto
3+ cups packed arugula
1/2 c. pistachios
1 tsp salt
1/2 c olive oil

1. Toast pistachios in a 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes until brown (or on cast iron skillet on the stove top, stirring often). Allow to cool. (You can skip toasting the pistachios, but it adds more flavor depth and is extra tasty when you do.)
2. In a food processor, blend arugula and toasted pistachios. Pulse several times to chop and mince the nuts and greens. Add salt and olive oil and pulse again until a nice paste.

I love pesto on green beans (just steam the beans for a few minutes and than stir in the pesto) and also on eggs with some cherry tomatoes. The pesto would also be good on chicken, sauteed zucchini, a tomato salad - endless possibilities!

Garden Bounty - Brussel Sprout leaves, pesto, and berries

The garden is in full swing: the zucchini and cucumbers are flowering, the green beans and arugula are carrying on, the blueberries and black raspberries are winding down, and I just ate the last snap peas. Everything else is just getting a LOT bigger and greener. Due to the growth and increasing plant size, I am thinning out a bunch of greens and plants to give more space. This is sometimes hard for me because I seem to get a little hoard-like and want all of the plants to stay and keep growing, but I am learning that more space = bigger and happier plants.

So, thinning it is: kale and beet plants, but had not thought about eating the brussel sprout plants. My Charming Companion sent me this post about the tastiness of brussel sprout leaves though, and we made a big pile of them last weekend. They are a little like super tender collards - you only need to saute them for a minute or two and they are delicious. Here they are all piled up ready to slice.

They got cooked outside on the outdoor rocket stove for a leisurely outdoor breakfast and tea. Here is My Charming Companion adding the tiny kindling sticks to heat the tea.

The sprout leaves were really nice sauteed in a little olive oil with some salt. Super simple.

A couple of other weekend meal highlights included unearthing some frozen pesto from 2011 (time to eat that up before we process more for the freezer!) and putting it on steamed green beans. Omg. I could have eaten this all weekend and still wanted more. Pesto! It's so good. I think this was even a vegan version with no cheese in there. Just steam the green beans until tender (3-5 minutes), remove from heat and stir in the pesto. These were a new pole bean variety that were super long and thin and tasty.

The nasturtiums are also looking really pretty, and I throw them in all my salads. This one included an early cucumber, the last snap peas, tons of fresh basil and parsley (think equal part fresh herbs to arugula), and a mini carrot that was all red on the outside and orange in the middle. You can't see it, but it matched the nasturtiums! This salad got a dressing with some of the aforementioned pesto (mixed with olive oil and a little vinegar) because I really just wanted to keep eating pesto. It turns out the pesto makes a great dressing, and I especially recommend it with lots of fresh basil in the salad too.

Another "omg I am going to die this is so delicious" menu item from the garden was berries with toasted coconut and toasted almonds. Sometimes I take shortcuts and don't toast coconut flakes. No more. Just stick the flakes under the broiler for about 2 minutes (keep an eye on them because it goes really fast) and watch them turn a nice toasty brown and taste how the flavor sky rockets. With the almonds and fresh berries, covered with coconut milk and a little vanilla, this was amazing. Like cereal, like dessert, like a bowl of goodness.

Shrimp and Pesto Zucchini Pasta

I am obsessed with zucchini noodles.  My little julienne peeler is the best kitchen gadget I have purchased this year.  Besides a giant crock pot I guess:) I am constantly dreaming up ways to use my peeler to make fun vegetable dishes.  Ever since basil harvesting time I have been making an easy pesto sauce and adding it to my veggie noodles.  If you make a batch of pesto ahead of time and either freeze it or store it in the refrigerator, this is a fast and easy dinner option.  Today I decided to add a few shrimp to the dish, but I have used chicken before, which was also good.

I think the green color of the noodles and the pesto really compliment each other.  The little pink shrimp are a yummy and visually appealing addition to the dish.  After all, we eat with ours eyes first.

Pesto Ingredients
fresh basil leaves
pine nuts
olive oil
sea salt

Honestly,  I eyeball the ingredients. Add however much you like.  I like to roast the pine nuts on the stovetop for a few minutes to get their oils going and bring out the flavor.  Add the basil, pine nuts, and salt to the food processor.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil as it is mixing.  I use Megan's earlier advice about picking an olive oil.  Try not to use extra virgin olive oil, it has a strong flavor that over powers the rest of the ingredients.  I use light olive oil instead.

Pasta Time!

Thaw the shrimp.  Cook them over medium heat in a little olive oil until tender.  While the shrimp are cooking, cut your zucchini noodles.  Once the shrimp are cooked remove them from the pan and add the noodles to the sauté pan with some olive oil.  Then, add a couple tablespoons of the pesto.  Cook a couple minutes until the noodles start to get tender.  Add the shrimp back in for the last minute of cooking time.


Bon Appétit!

Ginger overload

About a week ago, I got some free cabbages from a friend (thanks, Butter Nut!) and thought I would make them into kimchi. I bought a crap ton of carrots, ginger, garlic and scallions in preparation and then ... nothing. For some reason, I couldn't get over the 12-hour soaking period required by the recipe I wanted to use. Thankfully, soon came a better cabbage-fermentation idea (what's up, kraut party people?) and life went on. Except I still had a crap ton of carrots, ginger, garlic and scallions. Enter: Mark Bittman and his wonderfully searchable cookbooks. All of these recipes come from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

1.) Carrot ginger orange soup

What you need:
1/1/2 lb carrots, sliced
2 T butter
1 t sweetener (sugar, maple, honey, etc)
6 C vegetable stock or water
1 T minced ginger
1 T grated orange zest
3/4 C orange juice
Cream, sour cream, yogurt, etc. (if you're into that sort of thing with your soup)

What you do
Put the carrots, orange juice, zest ginger, and sugar into a skillet/saucepan and bring to a biol on high. Cover, turn heat to medium low, and cook 5 more minutes. Uncover and raise the heat to boil off the liquid. Lower the heat again and continue to cook until carrots are tender. Add the stock and bring to a boil again. Simmer until the carrots are tender enough to smoosh with your choice of immersion blender or regular blender.

2.) Spicy cilantro ginger pesto


What you need
2 C cilantro leaves
salt
2 cloves garlic
3 T oil
1 T lime juice
1 T chopped ginger
1 jalapeno or other hot pepper to taste

What you do
Throw it all in a food processor and blend until tasty.

3.) Pickled ginger (because when you're unsure what to do with something you happen to have a lot of , why NOT make a pickle?)


What you need
enough ginger to fill your jar (For this recipe, I used a fist-sized piece for 1/2 pint)
1/4 C vinegar (the original recipe calls for rice, but I used cider to no ill effect)
1-2 T sugar
1/4 C water
1 T salt

What you do
Thinly slice the ginger and toss with salt. Let sit in a bowl for 1 hour. Rinse *thoroughly* and pack into your jar. Heat equal parts vinegar and water with sugar to taste. Let cool a bit and pour over ginger into jar. This is a refrigerator pickle, so stick it in the fridge.

Radish Leaf Pesto

I planted radish seeds a month or so ago, and, as is my tendency, planted way too many way too close together. No big deal because they can be thinned out and eaten as micro greens. Except that following the heat of the labor day weekend, the leaves were brimming over one another and already sort of prickly and tough. Not so micro.

But then I got some renewed inspiration from Clotilde (I am loving the way her name looks) and her blog, "Chocolate and Zucchini." Clotilde is French, lives in Montmartre, and has some really nice looking recipes (and a book or two too). There are lots of French cooking sorts of things, and also French words and a handy conversion chart for weights and measuring. The blog is in French and English, for anyone who wants to get in a little French language practice.

Anyhow, Clotilde gives some props to the radish leaf, something I did not know could be eaten in its larger form - and let me tell you, this Radish Leaf Pesto is totally snappy and delicious. (She also mentions putting them in soups and gratins - yum.) So, with scissors in hand, I snipped and thinned out the radish leaves right into the lettuce washer.

With today's muggy weather, I decided I just wanted raw veggies (crudites as Clotilde might say) - though she offers many creative suggestions abut the uses of pesto. I happened to have mascarpone - clearly purchased so that I could eat it tonight with this pesto. I think that there might just be something about having the season's first pesto - with the tomatoes it was totally divine.

Pizza: Sauerkraut, Apple, Cranberry and Pesto Tomato

This weekend brought Eren and Naomi to town for anniversary and birthday celebrating, Barebones, and some seasonal feasting. Pizza was selected for Saturday dinner. I got the crust recipe from Baking Illustrated (my go to for always perfect baking) and we tried a couple of different toppings. Topping one involved some recently finished sauerkraut and an amazing Sauerkraut/Apple/Cranberry recipe from a canning class KP and I took earlier this month. Topping two included leftover Cilantro Pesto and roasted tomatoes. Yum. Perfect early dinner pre-Barebones and to celebrate the years of love among us.

Pizza Dough (makes enough for three pizzas) *hand kneading version
1/2 c water
1 envelope instant yeast
1 1/4 c. water at room temp
2 T extra virgin olive oil (just realized I forgot that part!!)
4 c bread flour (Up to half can be wheat - I went 1 c wheat/3 c white)
1 1/2 t. salt

Sprinkle yeast on warm water and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells (about 5 minutes). Add remaining room temp. water and oil and stir to combine. In separate, deep bowl, combine half the flour and salt. Add the liquid ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the remaining flour and stir until a "cohesive mass" forms. Turn out to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (7-8 minutes), using as little dusting flour as possible. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled in size: 1 1/2-2 hours. (Note the wheat flour will slow rising time a bit.) When risen, press dough to deflate, divide into three balls, and stretch/pull with hands to form crust.
*Baking Illustrated recommends a pizza stone for perfect pizza. Sprinkled semolina/corn meal or parchment paper allows you to transfer the uncooked crust to the pizza stone that you want to have pre-heating in the oven. Cook pizza hot - 500 degrees, and remove when crust is turning brown and toppings are sizzling (6-12 minutes).

Pizza One: Sauerkraut with Apples and Cranberries and Squash
*Makes 3 pints (which you then would can, 1/2 the recipe for a more manageable amount to consume before it goes bad!)
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
3 large sweet apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 c. dried cranberries or cherries
1 t. caraway seed
1 t. fennel seed
1 bay leaf
4 c. fermented sauerkraut and juice

Combine apple cider and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Add onion, apple, cranberries and spices and simmer gentely until apple is tender. Stir in sauerkraut and juice. *If canning, heat mix to 180 degrees, fill scalded jars leaving 1/2" headspace and process for 25 minutes.
We put this mix on the pizza with some baked squash and cheese. Yum. Toss a little salt on too for some improved flavor.

Pizza Two: Spicy Pesto Tomato
Cilantro Pesto: food process 1/2-1 bunch cilantro with nuts (almonds or walnuts), salt and pepper, parm cheese, and olive oil. Sorry I don't have better amounts, I don't think you can go wrong though!
Roasted tomatoes
2ish T. Red Onion, chopped
2ish T. Jalepeno, minced
Cheese!

Pesto omelette and beans

An omelette is a good food choice on days when you get up a little later than you meant to and decide to have an early lunch to go with your morning coffee. Also, an omelette is a good choice for using up leftovers. This is one my sweetie made for me-- it's got tomatoes and mushrooms from the kabobs I made a few days earlier and pesto we froze from our garden last fall. He served it with a side of beans which I pretty much ask to have with every meal. These are sauteed in garlic and butter but you could use olive oil if you prefer. The beans are from our garden and are a kind of purple bean called Royal Burgundy Beans that turns green when you cook them. Their purple color makes them easy to see in the garden when you pick them and I'd grow them again next year just because they're pretty. Our favorite bean, two years in a row now is the skinny green bean in this picture. I saved the packet and wrote "Jamie's Favorite" on it so I remember to order more. They're called Tavera and they seem to stay delicious a little while longer. This is nice because as much as I'd like to I can't go out and pick beans every morning.

Parsley pesto

I love this blog!
Tonight I made parsley pesto, which I thought would be gross but turned out all right. Thanks for another quick and easy dinner idea, Mark Bittman (of course, I couldn't follow it exactly cuz I'm a rebel like that.)

2 c loosely packed parsley
1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 c olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
some walnuts (or pine nuts if you've got the money)
salt

I almost regretted adding the walnuts, but they do make the flavor a bit more interesting and thickened the paste to boot.
I think I'll try it with some pasta and veggies for work lunches this week.