Broccoli Pesto

I have been eating a shit ton of broccoli the past couple of weeks and I am not even close to made about it. How could I be when broccoli is probably my favorite ( at least in the top 3) vegetable. It is broccoli season and eating broccoli is what we are doing.

Now Pesto. You probably think of basil when hear the word but in this pesto there is no basil, just the broccoli. Blanched just enough so it is not raw, blend up with walnuts (because I just don’t like pine nuts enough to spend $25 a pound and walnuts are far better), along with lemon juice, nutritional yeast for that cheesey flavor, and a little olive oil. Well friends, it is just about the pest freaking pesto I have ever had. Even the mr was super into it.

So if you like broccoli you will love love love this pesto and so you should definitely make it and then eat it. I used half of it for the mr’s pasta dinner, and them well, I ate the other half, dipping carrots and pieces of broccoli into it HA.

Now to the pesto.

The stuff. Broccoli, toasted walnuts, national yeast, a couple cloves garlic,, juice of a lemon, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.

Cut or break apart broccoli into small florets.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and dump in the broccoli. Cook for about a minutes.

Transfer the broccoli wit ha slotted spoon to a big bowl if ice water to shock from cooking anymore and to stay ice and green.

While the water is still boiling, toss the garlic into it for a minute then remove. This just removes some of the rawness of the garlic. You can skip it if you want. Once it cools off a little, remove skin and chop into small chunks.

Now make it all into pesto. Grab food processor and add in the garlic and walnuts. Pulse until crumbly. Add I the broccoli (stained from water), the juice of the lemon, the national yeast, a spinch of salt and pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Press start. While it’s going, stream in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Stop the processor , scrap down sides, then pulse of start it up again until you a good pesto consistency.

And that is it. The best broccoli pesto.

-C

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Broccoli Pesto

Makes about 2 cups. Good for pound of pasta

• 2 1/2 cups broccoli florets (like 3 crowns)

• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 2 cloves garlic

• juice if a lemon

• 2=4 tablespoons olive oil

• salt and pepper

• teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Start placing a large pot of water in the stove and bring it to a boil. Also get a large bowl of cooled water and place it in the freezer.

While water is boiling, break apart the broccoli florets into small pieces. Once water is boiling, place the broccoli into water and let cook for about 1 minute. Grab bowl of water from freezer. After the minute transfer the broccoli to the bowl of ice water with a slotted spoon. Toss the around. And while the water is still boiling, toss the whole cloves of garlic in for about a minute. This helps mellow out the rawness. Remove with slotted spoon.

Grab food processor. Add in the walnuts and the garlic (skin removed and cut into small chunks) and pulse until crumbly. Stain broccoli from water then add to processor along with the juice of the lemon, the nutritional yeast, a pinch of salt and pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Pulse for a minute, scrap down the sides, turn to on and stream in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Stop if needed to scrap down side. Keep processing until pesto is lightly crumby, but smooth consistency. Taste for salt. Add more if needed.

Scoop from processor into a jar with a lid

Eat however you eat pesto. Lasts for about a week in fridge.

Fresh And Chunky Cherry Tomato Peach Salsa

There are a million things you can, and should, do with tomatoes. Salsa is one of those things. Especially with the super fresh and ripe summertime tomatoes that may or may not be overflowing every empty surface of your kitchen (my current predicament). And peaches. Now is the time friends to eat your peaches. In season and oh so tasty. Do it now before it’s too late and those oh so deliciously ripe and sweet peaches are gone and all that is left are mealy, gross, supermarket fakes. Only eat in season peaches. That is a life lesson everyone should know.

This salsa is perfect. Super fresh, sweet and slightly spicy, with a hint of tangy goodness and just, you, really freaking perfect. A salsa that hits all the right notes with out being overly anything and underly nothing if you know what I mean. All the tastes of summertime. A darn good salsa. Darn good.

This salsa also makes me a winner at the game I am playing with myself called “Get the mr to eat tomatoes and like it"“. The game started when he told me he was sick of tomatoes and he didn't want to eat anymore. I made the salsa (which also made me a winner in the other game I play called “Get the mr to eat fruit in his savory dishes”, because he also tells me how much he hates fruit in savory), he tried the salsa, raved about the salsa, and then went and ate the rest of the salsa with his rice and beans. .

I win again! Haha

Anyway, super fast, super fresh, super super. A great way to use up a any of your shit load of tomatoes you might have laying around and to get in a few more of those summertime peaches before they are gone again for the year.

Now to the salsa.

The stuff. Cherry tomatoes, peaches, an onion, a jalapeño, a lime, a bunch of cilantro, salt and pepper, and a little vinegar.

Start by cutting up the tomatoes into quarters. Do this carefully or else you will have tomatoes rolling around everywhere. Place chopped tomatoes into a bowl.

Then dice up those peaches into small little pieces and toss into bowl with tomatoes.

Onion gets diced up too and placed into bowl.

Jalapeno, seeds removed, diced up nice and small. Get it into the bowl.

And cilantro. Give it a rough chop and into the bowl it goes.

A sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper (to taste of course), the juice of the lime, and a splash of vinegar. Mix it all up and there you have it.

Into a jar (or you can just keep it in the bowl if you want), and it’s ready for eating. Chips, tacos, to top a salad… This salsa does it all. Heck, just eat it with a spoon. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

-C

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Fresh And Chunky Cherry Tomato Peach Salsa

Makes about 32 oz of the good stuff

• 1 overflowing pint cherry tomatoes (red, yellow, sun gold or a mix of any)

• 2 ripe but firm peaches

• 1 bunch cilantro

• 1-2 jalapeños (depending on how hot you want it)

• 1 small red or white onion

• a lime

• salt and pepper

• splash red or white wine vinegar

Grab the tomatoes and carefully, so they don’t roll away, cut each one into quarters. Place in a big bowl. Cut peaches in half, remove pit, and dice the flesh into very small little piece and toss into bowl. Now onion, dice that into small little pieces, along with the jalapeño and toss into bowl. Cilantro gets a rough chop then into the bowl it goes. Now sprinkle in a little salt and lots of black pepper. Add the juice of the lime and a splash of the vinegar and toss it all around. Let sit for a few minutes, taste, then season with more salt and pepper if needed. Can add more vinegar for more acid if needed too.

This salsa only gets better with a little age so you can definitely make it a day or two ahead of time.

Store in a bowl to serve or a jar for longer storage. Use within a 4-5 days of making it.

Slow Cooked Caraway Cabbage and Onions

 Cabbage is probably the number one eaten food in my house. It is not uncommon for us to go through a very large head a day. And I get that it may seem odd to you, but it's true. We are cabbage people, so much so that we will probably turn into cabbage patch people. I can see it now.

One of the reasons that we eat so much cabbage is that it is so versatile.. Raw, steamed, roasted, the possibilities are a plenty, not to mention that cabbage is pretty dang cheap. And not to far around the corner it is St Patrick's day when cabbage is basically given out for free. During this time I stock up, buy 100 lbs and ferment, roast, and peel my way through all of it. Is it sick that I am kind of excited about that ? (there are worse things to be excited about)

This cabbage dish is one of those dishes that can be eaten on it's own, as a side, or as a condiment. Topped on a salad, stuffed into a sandwich, or shoveled into the mouth. You really can't go wrong eating it anyway.

The stuff. Cabbage, onions, caraway seeds, salt and pepper, and some apple cider vinegar. (I accidentally grabbed the oil)

Shred up the cabbage and onions. Thin is good, but some bigger pieces are good too.

Into a big pot sprinkled with caraway, salt and pepper. A splash of water helps to get things started. Stickon a low heat topped with a lid.  And just let it be for a while butgive it a stir ever 10-15 minutes or so.

About an hour it's all cooked down and sweet and tasty as can be. A splash of vinegar finishes it off.

This batch was destined for the mr's open faced cheese sandwich. I thought I made enough to pack some for lunch, but
I ended up just eating the left overs for a snack. I don't know why I didn't make more.  Next batch I'll make it a double.

Happy day to you.

-C

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Slow Cooked Caraway Cabbage and Onions

makes about 2 cups

• 1 small or 1/2 a large head of cabbage
• 2 yellow onions
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• olive oil for pot
• salt and pepper

Thinly shred the cabbage and thinly slice the onions. Dump the now shredded cabbage and onion into a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot that has a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with caraways seeds and about a teaspoon salt, a good splash or water then mix around. Place pot on a low heat and cover. Let cook down for about 45 minutes to an hour , stirringever 10 minutes or so, until the mixture has shrunk to about 1/3 it's original size and is soft and tender. When just about done, mix in a tablespoon of the vinegar . Taste and season with more vinegar, salt and pepper if you like.

Eat as is or is or on salads, sandwiches or wraps.

Roasted Strawberries

Maybe you, like me, went a did a little strawberry picking this past weekend. And maybe you, like me, pick so so many that now you have an overload of the most perfect, if not slightly too ripe strawberries staring at you, waiting to be eaten or, at the very least, cooked into some magical cake, pie, cookie, or whatever. But lets face it, its Monday and maybe we do not exactly feel the need (or have the time) to make a cake, pie, cookie or whatever tonight. So that leaves us with a crap load of strawberries that need to be dealt with. 

And sure, we can freeze them, but maybe you, like me, already have a freezer full of other stuff. And just because we don't want to bake a cake, pie, cookies, or whatever tonight, doesn't mean we don't want something amazingly tasty and fantastic.

So that brings us to this super easy, oh so pretty, and ever so tasty way to move those strawberries….. Stick them in the oven and roast them. So simple and really truly amazing. When strawberries are roasted, they turn so tender and fall apart and release all of their juices that turn into a sweet syrup. They become almost jam like, but the flavors are way better, more complex. And there is no need for added sugar or any other stuff because the flavors and natural sweetness of the roasted strawberries stand on their own.  

A few ways to which you might want to use roasted strawberries that will make your life better: Dump onto ice cream, yogurt, or make a strawberry shortcake or a strawberry fool. Scoop onto a green salad, mix into a bowl of quinoa, marinate some tofu, or add to roasted veggies.  You can mix into muffin batter, into oatmeal, or add to a layer cake. They make a fantastic PB and J and the syrup in seltzer is a tasty drink. You can pretty much use them for anything. But MY favorite way to consume these…a bowl, a little spoon, and my mouth. Nothing else needed.

And if you didn't happen to go strawberry picking this weekend. It's cool, just pick some up from the closest farm stand near you. You can tell all your anyone thats asks that you picked them yourself.  (not a lie, just a stretch cause you did, in fact, pick them up yourself)

 Yea for Monday and for roasted strawberries! (Or at least yea for strawberries.) 

All you need…A big (or small) bowl of strawberries. 

Rinse those pretties and place them on a parchment lines baking sheet. (don't skip parchment… these suckers get super thick and juicy.)

Here is the thing. These strawberries are picked from the lovely farm I get my CSA from.(How badass is it that we have a PYO part of the share). They are not like super market berries that are extra firm with dirty unappealing green tops. These little organic lovelys have tender little green tops…. I eat them. If you do not wish to eat the greens, just top the berry off before roasting. 

So the berries, stick them in the oven at 450 degrees and roast them for about 35-45 minutes (depending on the size of your berries)

Pull them out when they start to get dark and slightly charred and the juice is thick and bubbly.

And scrap the berries, juice and all, right into a jar.

Eat with anything, everything and with nothing at all.

Happy Monday

-C

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Roasted Strawberries

•  strawberries of any quantity

Place strawberries, with or without tops (your preference) on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in a 450 degree oven and roasted  foe about 45 minutes or until the berries are soft, mushy, starting to charr and have lots of bubbly juice, . When done, remove from oven and let cooll for for about 5 minutes. Transfer berries, juice and all, into jar. 

Eat right away or stick in fridge. Juices thicken up when cooled.

Keeps  about a week in fridge, but I highly doubt it will last the night.

 

Pickled Jalapeño's

I am kind of obsessed with  pickled jalapeños… like I want to eat a whole jar with a fork and then drink the juice. So much hot and spicy love.  One of my sisters is the same way, pickled  hot pepper obsessed. We used to buy the humongo gallon sized jars of jalapeños at Costco and go through them in like a month. But sadly, Costco stopped selling those humongous jars and we have been left buying the itty bitty jars that actually fit in a normal fridge. (I know, so sad).  And maybe because the jars were normal sized and I was more aware that I shouldn't eat a of cup of jalapeños at one sitting, or just the mire fact that a tiny jar cost the same as a gallon, but the store bought little jars weren't doing it for me anymore.  And then fate happened. The grocery store was having a super sale on fresh jalapeños and  I figured it was time to make make my own. Now I don't think I can ever go back to those store bought jars of blah  because the ones I made are the best freaking pickled jalapeños this girl has ever eaten.  I might even start making my own gallon sized jars!!!!

Note….Don't toss the pickled juice! It is a super yummy, full of flavor, liquid gold. You can use it as a straight up salad dressing or add to a homemade dressing. Add juice to soups, casseroles, marinades. Replace some of the liquid in a bread recipe and use the pickled juice. Use it in your favorite cocktail drinks. There is no end to what you can use the juice for. 

-C

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Pickled Jalapeños

for a half pint jar

• 8-10 Jalapeños 
• Apple cider Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Remove stem and seeds*of  jalapeños and thinly slice. (I used a mandolin which works really well, but a sharp knife does the trick) Pack Jalapeños into a clean glass half pint jar and fill with half water/half apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of salt. Dump  into a pot  with a lid, and bring to a boil. Take of heat and let cool for a few minutes. Stick back into jar (leave an inch of head room) Stick in fridge for at least a day. Eat your heart out.

*I like to keep some of the seeds. It adds heat.