Minestrone with Scape Pesto

I have been craving soup for some reason since a few recent trips to Panera on hot days. But, the 90 degree sweltering heat has not exactly been the weather appropriate for soup. But today, it is in the 60's and stormy: GREAT soup weather! My food box other half sent me a recipe for a scape pesto that I altered a bit. Scapes are the tops of the garlic that grow above ground and are snipped to ensure a hearty bulb. Apparently they can be used similar to garlic chives as a topping to many things or in a stir-fry. I used the squash, some carrots still in the fridge, and mushrooms I bought.

Scape Pesto

5 scapes

1/4 c parmesan reggiano cheese

1/4 c oil

handful of pine nuts

salt

Blend in a food processer (don't use the blender- i need to just break down and go buy a food processor now that mine melted).

Minestrone

1 red onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

1 small yellow squash, diced

1 large bunch of cooking greens (collard greens, kale) 2 carrots, diced

8 mushrooms, sliced

1 28 oz can diced, reduced salt tomatoes

1 T oregano 8 basil leaves, sliced

4 c vegetable broth

1-2 c pasta (i used elbow noodles)

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion in 1 T of olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and saute for one additional minute. Add mushrooms for another 2 minutes, then add carrots. Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil. Add greens, then herbs, salt, and pepper. Turn heat down to low.

On the side, bring a pot of water to boil. Salt it and add 1-2 c of pasta. Cook according to directions. I love to get Barilla Plus for it's great protein value and added nutrients. Plus, it uses lentil flour, chickpea flour, and other flours than simply wheat.

Simmer for 20-30 minutes to let the flavors mingle. Taste. Don't get too hung up on the taste here because the pesto is super garlicky and covers that page entirely. But a good flavor is nice.

Spoon out a few ladels of the soup, top with a bit of noodles, and then 1 T or so of pesto. Only use that much pesto if you like garlic, otherwise, use a bit less. Tasty and oh so low in calories!

Mushroom, Spinach, and Cheese Enchiladas

In an effort to be more creative with my menu, as well as make more of my ingredients instead of purchasing them, I found a recipe for making enchilada sauce. I wanted to use the chiles in adobo sauce that I recently found at a new grocery store, so I looked forever and found a recipe that all I needed to do was blend the ingredients, though I altered it a bit. The hubs loved it. It was spicy. If you are not one for spice, I would recommend using less chile than I did, or smothering it with sour cream like I did.

I tried a new cheese, it was sitting right next to the manchego and the price tag screamed to me. It was $2 less per pound than the manchego, said it was a spanish cheese, and was cheaper than the manchego. So, I bought it. I did not read the label, other than the price of course. When home, I read the label: sheep, cow, and goat's milk. Not to mention the animal rennet I just noticed while reading the label to write this post. But, I digress, I am not a fan of goat cheese. When I use up the extra sauce that I put in the freezer, I am definitely going to get the manchego or just use cheddar. The hubs loved it, but then again he likes goat cheese.

Enchilada Sauce (Printable Recipe)

1 can of chopped tomatoes

2 small cans of chopped green chiles

1 pepper from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 T lime juice

1 T of cilantro leaves

1 jalapeno (seeded and chopped)

1/2 roasted red bell pepper (used a canned piquillo one for sweetness)

1 T sugar

1 T chili powder

1/2 t cumin

1/4 t salt

Blend in a blender until smooth.

Enchiladas

12 oz baby bella mushrooms

1/2-1 lb of spinach

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 lb of shredded cheese, iberico or manchego

6 tortillas

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute the onion in a T of olive oil until translucent, add the mushrooms. Saute over medium heat until the liquids are gone. Add the spinach and saute until wilted and liquids have evaporated.

To assemble, line the center of a tortilla with cheese (reserving some for the top), then top with a heaping spoonful of the spinach mixture. Fold both sides in and place, fold side down, in a greased pan.

Top with 1/2 of the enchilada sauce. For the other half, place it in a freezer bag or container to save for future use. Top with a few ounces of remaining cheese.

Bake for 1/2 hour or until bubbly on sides. If desired, turn broiler on for 1 minute, watching closely.

Voila! The hubs absolutely loved it and ate three. Me, the cheese somewhat ruined it, but I enjoyed the sauce flavor immensly, though I only ate one.

Week 3 Menu

This week we got:

kale

yellow squash

lettuce

snow peas

green onions

spinach

bok choy

fennel

dill

cilantro

basil

broccoli raab

turnips

scapes

It took a bit to plan this, but hopefully we can use everything. I am a bit hesitant with the fennel, though I may throw it in the gratin.

Fried Rice

Another recipe from the Minimalist tonight. When we were in Boston our good friend made this for us for dinner, and it was so tasty and so simple, it was a take home recipe. I apologize for no final photo, we may have been too excited to eat it. But it is pretty, and tasty. 2 c cooked rice (love the rice cooker for this) 8 cloves garlic, finely diced 3 inches ginger, finely diced 4 T veggie or peanut oil

1 large bok choy, sliced (or cabbage) 4 eggs sesame oil soy sauce

In a wok or large pan, pour 3 T of oil and add the ginger and garlic. Fry until browning and crispy. With a slotted spoon, take out the ginger and garlic, laying on a paper towel.

With the remaining oil, add bok choy and saute for 2 minutes. Add cooked rice. Cook until heated through.

While the rice is cooking, cook your eggs. We cook them sunny side up for this dish, but I am sure they would be tasty fried or scrambled as well.

Spoon out a bowlful of rice, top with an egg. Then top with a drizzle of sesame oil and soy sauce. Top with a T or so of the crispy fried ginger and garlic. The hubs likes a touch of garlic chilie sauce on top as well for some heat. Oh so tasty and simple. We may have had it for two meals this weekend.

No recipe tomorrow night, it is dollar dog night at Citizen's Bank Park, and we have tickets, and they have veggie dogs. I have never been one for hot dogs, but man, there is something about a hot dog at a baseball game that makes you feel nostalgic. New box soon.

Greek Pizza

I love Trader Joe's Pizza dough. So much so that I bought it Monday, figuring we would have no trouble using it. And we didn't. But we did have trouble finishing the mixed greens that I intended to use up on this recipe. Never fear though, we got invited to a dinner party and offered to bring a salad! I will be using the leftover bread crumbs from last night's panzanella and reserving some of tonights vegetables for a colorful addition to all that lettuce. On to the Greek Pizza: 2 balls of pizza dough 1 container of hummus 2 c cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cucumber, diced 1/2 of red onion, diced 1 T greek oregano (regular will work too) 1/2 block of feta cheese heaping handfuls of lettuce/mixed greens/whatever you fancy Preheat the oven to 425 and bake the pizza dough according to directions, first brushing with olive oil and pricking with a fork. Once cooked and cooled, spread the hummus onto the dough, dividing evenly between the bread. Top with veggie mixture. Top with greens, trickily slice, and enjoy!

Fried Chickpeas and Chorizo with Panzanella Salad

I am a new fan of the Minimalist, a writer for the New York Times. I was introduced to him by my friend in Boston, who by simply watching a less than 5 minute video could get up and just make the recipe. Simple, fresh, and easy to follow. GREAT! Fried Chickpeas and Chorizo 1 can of chickpeas, dried on towels 4-6 oz of chorizo (i used a veg version) olive oil 4 c spinach bread crumbs (i found to be optional) That's it for the ingredients! So, start by rinsing and draining the chickpeas. Make sure they are completely dry as you apparently won't get the crunch if they are even damp (mine were obviously damp- still tasty though). Start with 2-3 T of olive oil in a pan, get it hot, and add the chickpeas. Cook for about 5 minutes or until they start to brown. Add the chorizo and saute 8-10 minutes more. Spoon the mixture out of the pan, leaving the drippings. In using vegan chorizo, there were not really any drippings so I put another 1 T of olive oil into the pan. Add spinach. Stir and let wilt. Mix beans and sausage into spinach. Now, here the recipe tells you to top it with bread crumbs and throw the pan under the broiler for a minute. Two problems here: 1. I do not have a pan suitable for both the stovetop and the oven. Who does really except for perhaps a choice few into cooking? Now to dirty one more pan... 2. Both the hubs and I felt that the bread crumbs did not add anything to the dish except for a few unnecessary, unflavorful carbs. Now, if you wanted to add carbs, might I suggest a great garlic naan or tasty flatbread on the side? Now that is good carbs. I served it with a side of panzanella salad after breaking down and buying a cucumber and some cherry tomatoes. My food box friend graciously gave me the other half of the bread she made into bread crumbs while talking about the panzanella she was making that night for dinner. It was tasty. And I am using the rest of the ingredients tomorrow night for greek pizza. Panzanella Salad 1 cucumber, diced 1 container of cherry tomatoes, halved 1 c bread crumbs 1-2 T capers, roughly chopped 1/2 red onion, diced 3 T red wine vinegar salt and pepper to taste 2 T evoo Mix together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix veggies and bread crumbs and top with dressing. Tasty. You will probably see this recipe again, fine-tuned, throughout the summer.

Arugula and Spinach Pesto

I forgot to photograph the contents of my box yesterday. It is pretty much the same as last week, except lots more of it. We also got a couple turnips, bok choy, and scapes. Scapes are the tops to the garlic, and when cut off apparently have a great flavor. My food box friend recommended to me a scape pesto after collecting a couple week's worth of them. We shall see what comes of them. I broke down and went grocery shopping Monday night since our fridge was bear after our mini vacation, buying staples that likely would be used. After picking my box up, I sat down and made a list of the vegetables we got as well as grains and protiens in my pantry/fridge. Then, I set to work. Easily enough, I sat down with cookbooks and didn't have to crack them open at all. I planned on making: Greek Pizza (already bought the dough- perhaps bought tomatoes and a cucumber for this) Fried Chickpeas and Chorizo (using spinach- we got an entire pound!) Hearty Salad Potato and Turnip Gratin Fried Quinoa (using the bok choy and scallions) Arugula and Spinach Pesto (recipe to follow) We shall see how this goes! I free-styled the pesto, trying my best to write down and measure what I was doing. Question: Are you looking for exact recipes to follow or more of just recipes for ideas? Perhaps my first question should be, are people even reading this? But, I am more of a "guidelines" kind of cook than a recipe (hence my frequent baking disasters). So I would like to know what people are looking for, what they like in a recipe. Much appreciated. Arugula and Spinach Pesto roughly 4 c arugula roughly 1 c spinach 1/2 c parmesan cheese 5-7 T evoo (depending on consistency you prefer) 1/4 c pine nuts (walnuts would do well here i think as well) 3 cloves roasted garlic salt and pepper to taste pasta (1/2 to 1 pound) The rule I deem most important that I gleaned from watching Top Chef: always taste your food while you are cooking. If you don't, you may just serve dog food. Put a pot of salted water on to boil. Cook pasta according to directions. In a food processor or blender, place ingredients except for 1/2 of the arugula. I used a blender as my food processor melted in the dish washer but I am sure a food processor would do much better for this as there is not much liquid. As the mixture blends down, add additional arugula and any additional oil. It is best to stream in the oil as you blend if you can. Puree until creamy. Taste. Add salt if needed. Add pesto to the pasta when pasta is cooked and drained. I sauted up some vegan italian sausage as well to add as I have been hankering it ever since the Phillies game and people were downing sausages. Voila! Dinner in about 15 minutes. And a great way to use up a boat load of spinach/arugula. See tomorrow for the rest of the spinach being used!