Kale + Spinach Pesto

Did you know that you can make pesto out of pretty much anything? It's true. Pesto just means "paste" in Italian. All you really need is some fresh ingredients and a way to grind them up together and, bam, you have pesto.

Now, traditionalists will tell you that pesto contains fresh basil, pine nuts and parmigian cheese. Personally, I don't go in for the whole "traditional" thing. Nor do I go in for the whole, "cheese" thing or the whole "forty-dollar-a-pound-pine-nut" thing. I make pesto my way and this week that meant making it with kale, spinach and reasonably-priced cashews.

Ok, you wanna know the truth? I had a heck of a lot of kale on my hands. I was forced to harvest our entire crop after aphids thad their way with my sad little brassicas. I also had a bunch of lovely local spinach from my friends at Bounce Back Farms. And as usual, I had some olive oil, garlic, lemons and cashews kickin' around. So, this pesto was inevitable.

And you know the best thing? Pesto is good with everything. Pasta is just the beginning. Pesto loves sandwiches, salad, pizza and chicken. It's also amazing when paired with this other versatile wonder and scrambled.

This recipe makes a generous two cups. Too much? Go ahead and half it. Or, you can do what I did: put some in a jar in the fridge (which will last about two weeks), and put the rest into ice-cube trays, pop out when frozen and save for later use.

The traditional way to make pesto is with a mortar and pestle. Unless you have a giant mortar and the desire to get a great arm workout, I'd use a food processor I were you.

Ingredients:
4 cups packed fresh kale

2 cups fresh spinach
1 handful of fresh parsley
3-5 cloves of garlic (depending on your taste)
1 cup whole raw cashews (or the nut of your choice)
1/2-1 tsp sea salt (to your taste)
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Juice of 1 whole lemon
1/3-1/2 cup Olive Oil (add more/less for thicker/thinner pesto)

Coarsely chop kale and process in food processor until sem-fine. Add in spinach and parsley and repeat.

Add garlic, cashews, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Pulse until fine and crumbly, being careful to not to let the cashews turn into a paste.

With the lid on you food processor, turn on and slowly add olive oil until desired consistency is obtained.

Store in the fridge for about two weeks or freeze for about two months.

Put your pesto on some baguette with a fresh tomato, goat cheese and balsamic reduction. It will change your life.

put an egg on it.

We have recently joined together with some friends to create an egg collective. "What is an egg collective?" you may be asking yourself. Or you may be asking, "how did I end up on this hippie-dippie, new age, tree-hugging blog, anyway?"

Well, if you're still here, I'm telling you: an egg collective is a great idea, that's what it is. Basically, about 20 of us pay for a months-worth of eggs up front at the beginning of the month, then we pick up our fresh, local, organic and lovely eggs weekly from this little urban farm run by my good friends Shannon, Amy and Andy. They don't supply the eggs, but they organize the whole thing, provide a spot for them to live while they await pick up and are usually getting up to some hi-jinks when you come around for your weekly carton.

So anyway, since joining in with this collective, we occasionally find ourselves overly rich in ova. When this happens, my mantra has become: put an egg on it. Eggs can add a punch of protein to veggie-heavy meal. They can make a snack into something much more satisfying. Breakfast lunch or dinner...just put an egg on it.

 

Polenta with black bean stew and avocado? put an egg on it.

Olive-oil crostini with feta, spinach and bacon? put an egg on it.

Red-leaf lettuce and red peppers? put egg salad (and sunflower seeds) on it.

Green salad with roasted corn, potatoes and feta? put a (hardboiled) egg on it.

Spicy sesame stir-fry noodle bowl?  put an egg on it.

Chickpea and chicken sausage stew with avocado and crispy tortilla? put a (hot-sauced) egg on it.

Cinnamon Swirl Fruit and Nut Bread

Yup, it's bread. It's swirled with cinnamon sugar. It has all manner of nuts, dried fruit and grains. It is delicious and not even that hard to make (I swear).

I used to have a bit of a fear of bread-making, which I am led to understand is quite common. I think it's that whole (it's alive!) yeast thing and the whole (must have hulk arms) kneading thing. But, then I got a stand mixer and it was like the doors to bread heaven opened to the song of celestial beings.

You don't need a stand mixer to make bread and you certainly don't need a bread-maker. Don't you  just hate it when you find a recipe that looks good until you get to the part where you need a bread/ice cream/doeverythingforyou maker. I am a bread-maker..that is why I need recipe. c'mon.

This is essentially a nice simple bread recipe with a little pizzazz. I encourage you to throw in whatever you think would be tasty when paired with cinnamon and slathered with butter or cream cheese in the morning. So...pretty much anything.

Recipe adapted from this one at 101 cookbooks

Ingredients:

Bread
1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g whole wheat flour
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats (not instant oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt

1/2 cp dried apricots (chopped)

1/2 cp raisins

1/2 cp walnuts

1 tbsp sunflower seeds and 1 tbsp milk (for topping)

Cinnamon Swirl

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Method:

Whisk warm water and honey together. Sprinkle yeast on surface of water and allow to stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).
In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. 

Slowly add yeast mixture to flour mixture, combining with a wooden spoon or the bread paddle on your stand mixer.

Knead on low for 6-10 minutes (less if using the mixer, more if using your hands)

After kneading bread should be a smooth and slightly firm ball.

Drizzle some oil in the bottom of a bowl, add your dough ball, turn to coat, cover and set in a warm place to rise. (Inside the oven works well...make sure it is off though!)

While the dough is rising, melt butter in a saucepan on low.

Add brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.

Cook on low until slightly thickened.

Remove from heat and set aside.

After about an hour your dough baby should be about double in size. 

Take it out and gently flatten the dough onto a floured cookie sheet. It should be about an inch thick.

Spread your cinnamon sugar mix evenly over the dough. 

Starting at one end, carefully roll the dough up like yule log or cinnamon bun.

Once rolled, tuck each end under the loaf and set in the center of the pan.

Brush with milk (I used almond) and sprinkle with seeds.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake loaf for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown.

Easiest Ever Vegan Parmesan

Ok, so this recipe is almost too easy to post. I feel like I am patronizing you somehow by toting this as some revelation in the vegan cheese world. But, in all my dairy-alternative searching, I have never come across this particularly awesome version of parmesan. I like to think I invented it, but chances are it's just so simple that people are just walking around thinking "like...duh. Of course that's how you make vegan parmesan."

But to me, it was a revelation. It is perfect on tomato-sauced pasta. As a topping for baked macaroni. Sprinkled over squash.

And, if I must confess, since my posts have been few and far between, I thought this would be a nice quick little post for Saturday afternoon.

So, without further ado...the best and easiest vegan cheese topping...ever.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp mustard powder
1 - 1 1/2 tsp sea salt



Toss all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until cashews are finely crumbled.
Serve on anything  and everything you'd put parmesan on.
Ta-da!

Store leftovers in a sealed container. No need to refrigerate!

Saturday Breakfast: Rosemary Sage Biscuits with Easy "Baked" Eggs

Despite the countless number of breakfast restaurants in Victoria, it often seems to silly to pay for one of the simplest meals of the day. I've been making practically the same Saturday breakfast for months now - poached eggs, pan-fried hashbrowns, store-bought toast and bacon - so last weekend I was ready to mix it up a bit.


This time, I tried my hand at zucchini-potato pancakes, rosemary-sage biscuits and a new twist on the sunny-side up egg. I did stick with the bacon because, um...it's bacon. I have to say that it was 80% successful, which isn't too bad for the weekend, am I right?


Right off I'll admit the pancakes were a fail. I have a serious lack of skill when it comes to making things crispy in a frying pan. Combined with my lack of time spent squeezing the cheesecloth and my laissez-faire attitude about using the right potatoes, that recipe was doomed from the start.


But, I like to think the eggs and biscuits more than made up for my less than perfect pancakes. Oh, the biscuits! Crispy all over with slightly flaky and flavourful insides. I could have just eaten three of these for breakfast, but that wouldn't make a very balanced meal now would it?


The eggs I came up with on a whim as a way to incorporate some veggies into the meal without going the old omelette route. I found out later that Smitten Kitchen had the same idea some time ago. And here I thought I was being so creative! At any rate, they were an easy and delicious success.


So without further ado, here are two players in a beautiful weekend breakfast:

Rosemary, Sage Biscuits
(adapted from this Smitten Kitchen recipe)

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1tsp baking soda

3/4 cup cold butter cut into cubes.

2-3 stems fresh rosemary (or 2 tbsp dried)
2-3 stems fresh sage (or 1 tbsp dry)

1 1/2 cups milk (I used almond milk)
2 tbsp vinegar.


Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F). Remove rosemary and sage leaves from the stems and chop finely. If you want to get fancy you could add in some feta cheese, chopped fresh spinach, cheddar, olives...anything really! 


Combine dry ingredients and herbs in a large bowl. Add in cubed butter and combine with a pastry mixer, two forks or your hands. Mixture should be coarse and crumbly. Mix in milk and vinegar until just combined to get a sticky dough.

Drop spoonfuls of your preferred biscuits size onto an oiled or buttered cookie sheet.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until your biscuits are golden brown.


Easy "Baked" Eggs - Mediterranean Style

4 large eggs 
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
3-4 white button mushrooms, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 tsp dry oregano
Salt and pepper to taste


Saute onions on medium heat in a pan big enough to hold 4 eggs. When onions become soft and translucent, add spinach, peppers, mushrooms, cheese, herbs and spices (everything but the eggs). Saute until spinach is just becoming limp (about 1 minute), then make little wells in the mixture where the eggs will go. 


Crack eggs into the 4 wells you've made, being careful not to break the yolks. Cover with a lid, remove from heat and let sit 2-3 minutes for soft yolks, 4-5 for harder yolks. Then, voila! You're ready for breakfast. So much easier than baking them in the oven, eh? 

Kale Chips

Kale! Deep and leafy green. Hearty and healthful.

I used to be intimidated by this beautiful, yet elusive veggie. Frankly, I just did not know what to do with it. Though I knew that  kale is an excellent source of vitamins, anti-oxidants and all that other super-food stuff, I just didn't know how to incorporate it into my diet.

Enter the kale chip. 

If you suffer from the same bewilderment I once did, then give these babies a try. A guaranteed easy remedy to kale-o-phobia and the beginning of a beautiful veggie friendship (I promise).

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale, rinsed

2-3 tbsp. olive oil

sea salt to taste*

*A note on SALT: I used Maldon salt on my chips as it has light flaky crystals and a nice taste. You don't have to use fancy salt like this, but if you have it (or fleur de sel) why not put it to good use?
And if you're feeling brave, why not experiment and throw some other spices in there? I recommend fresh ground pepper, garlic powder and cayenne.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (Fahrenheit).
Remove kale leaves from thick center stalks. You want to keep the leaves in large pieces, so a knife works better than hands for this job.
Toss leaves in olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt (and any other desired spices).
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until chips are crisp.

Pile into a bowl and make sure you get some before they disappear into the mouths of  the supposed meat and potatoes crowd.

For more on the benefits of kale visit here.

Spicy Sesame Stir-Fry

Here is one of those "toss everything in a pan and hope it turns out alright" recipes.  This is usually my method for cooking and sometimes, I have better luck than others. I like this recipe because it is simple and made with stuff I usually have hanging around the fridge and pantry.

Ryan likes things to be spicy and strong-flavoured, so I ventured this sauce and it was a hit. You'll see the vegetables I used listed below, but I would say you could use just about anything in here. A warning for future recipe posts: I use bell peppers in EVERYTHING. They are delicious and good for you. I don't think I need to explain myself. But, you could also use mushrooms, spinach, bok choy, carrots, celery...whatever strikes your mood.

A word of caution: for those who are sensitive to spice, tread lightly friends! Sambal is delicious but can be deadly if you go crazy with it. Add a little and taste as you go to see if it is to your taste.

Now, go forth and stir-a-fry!

Stir-Fry-ables
1/2 a medium sized onion - diced
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 -3/4 lb chicken breast or tofu
1/2 each red and orange bell pepper
1 cp broccoli florets
1/2 cp zucchini

Sauce
1/4 cp brown sugar
1/4 cp soy sauce
1-2 tbsp sambal olek (according to you taste)
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

Garnish
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
handful of sesame seeds
parsley or cilantro - diced

First, dice your onion and garlic and set to simmering on medium to low heat. Now would be a good time to prep the vegetables you'll be using as well. I recommend cutting them into medium-sized pieces. Set veggies aside.

Next, cut chicken into long thin pieces. Or, if using tofu, into bite-sized cubes. Add to pan when onion and garlic are translucent. Brown chicken/tofu - this should take about 5 minutes - do not overcook!

Add sauce ingredients. Allow to simmer about 8 minutes, until chicken/tofu is cooked through and sauce has thickened. Add vegetables.

Cook about 5 minutes or until veggies are just tender. Toss with sesame oil and seeds. Serve over rice and garnish with parsley (or cilantro if you are into that sort of thing).