Asparague Pesto

For the past eight years, I have loathed buying too many groceries at once because of how heavy they can get to carry. When you’re a full-time pedestrian it’s hard to realistically shop at places like Costco or Sam’s Club. If it makes sense, you’ll have your own little push cart, often known as a “granny cart”, but even then, it’s best to keep the groceries to a minimum. But ever since we moved to suburbia and have had a car, we have been able to go back to places like Costco and fill up our cart with lots and lots of things (which, let me tell you, is an enormous novelty when you’re so used to tiny little grocery stores).

When it comes to big stores like Costco, you’re not only buying a lot of different things, you’re buying a lot of each individual item. It can be great, but it can also make you wonder how two people can eat that much lettuce or that many potatoes. It’s easy to not keep up with food at home and wind up with an extra pound of something going bad. I hate being wasteful, though, so lately I have tried to get a little more creative with the surplus. One such food item is asparagus. It comes in two-pound bags, which is quite a bit for one person to chew on, let alone two. After scratching my head and wondering what I’d make, I finally realized that the perfect solution would be pesto.

Fresh asparagus

What I’ve learned over the last few years is that pesto can be made out of pretty much anything. Basil, dill, green beans, spinach – you name it, you can probably create a pesto out of it. Because asparagus has such a unique and strong flavor on its own, I had assumed that it would turn out a flavorful pesto. I’m afraid I was quite wrong. What resulted was an extremely mild-tasting pesto that really needed a handful or two of basil or spinach. In the recipe that follows, I am going to include a recommendation to add basil or spinach, but just be aware that I did not do this, so I do not know how it would turn out if you added one of those. Still, this is the exciting part of cooking – experiment until you wind up with a dish that you love. And if you shop at Costco, you’ll wind up with a lot of that dish, too. ;)

Asparagus Pesto
Makes enough for two or three pounds of pasta. Suggestion – reserve some of the pesto to use for dipping chips or raw veggies.

• 2 pounds asparagus, washed with ends trimmed
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Handful of fresh spinach or basil (optional, but should add additional flavor)
• 1 package of your preferred pasta (add an additional package if you wish to use all of your pesto in one dish)

Boil your pasta according to package directions.

Wash the asparagus and trim the ends, then steam or boil for a few minutes until just tender.

Preparing and steaming the asparagus

When the asparagus has finished cooking, reserve some of the spears for garnish, and place the rest in a food processor. Add to the food processor the pine nuts and garlic, as well as the basil and spinach if you are using those. As the processor is blending the ingredients together, slowly pour in the olive oil.

Making asparagus pesto

Once the pesto has mixed, add the salt and blend more. At this point taste test. Does it have enough salt? Does the pesto have enough flavor? Ask yourself if something is missing.

When you feel it is ready, add the pesto to your cooked, drained and rinsed pasta and mix well.

Mixing the pesto with the pasta

Garnish with some asparagus spears and serve.

Penne Pasta with Asparagus Pesto

What is your favorite way to prepare pesto?

La Conda Extra Virgin Blood Orange Olive Oil

Last month, Matt and I went to California and Oregon to visit family and friends for a much needed two-week vacation. We often wait months and months, me saving up vacation days at work, before going away for an extended amount of time. By the time our vacation has arrived we’re both about to go insane with the necessity of an honest and true break. Yes, it was much needed and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

As part of our vacation we did a road trip up to Oregon, and on the way there we saw a billboard advertising The Olive Hut. We all love olives and olive oil, so we figured it was a good detour and the perfect opportunity to stretch our legs. When we went into the store, we found we were the only customers (helps to have it be the middle of the day and the middle of the week), so it was easy for us to browse and linger over their copious amounts of locally grown and produced olives. As we walked through, we saw a sampling table where we could try various stuffed olives and a variety of olive oils. To the right of the table was a glass enclosed room where a couple of women quickly pressed garlic cloves into olives.

After a while I decided that I needed a culinary souvenir, so I finally settled on a small bottle of blood orange olive oil because of its unique flavor. I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d use it for, but I knew it had vast potential in my kitchen. I used it for the first time with these homegrown collard greens and spinach, but if you don’t have orange flavored olive oil you can get a similar citrus flavor if you use a couple of tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice.

Collard Greens and Spinach

• 1 large bunch of fresh collard greens  (de-stemmed and cut into smaller pieces, if desired)
• 1 or two large handfuls of fresh spinach
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 – 3 cups water
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (or orange-flavored olive oil)
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice (omit if you do have a citrus-flavored olive oil)
• Other seasonings as desired (dill, black pepper, garlic, onion, etc.)

Boil water and salt in a medium sized saucepan. Once the water is boiling add the collard greens. Let the collard greens cook for three to five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Collard Greens

Add in the spinach at the end and let cook for 15 to 30 seconds, then turn off the stove and take the pan off the heat.

Fresh Spinach

Drain the greens and place them in a serving bowl. Drizzle on the olive oil, citrus juice and other seasonings and quickly mix. This can be served either warm or cold.

Collard greens and spinach with blood orange olive oil and spices

I absolutely love both collard greens and spinach, so this wound up being a lovely pairing and the orange olive oil gave it such an interesting flavor. If you don’t have or like either of these greens you could try this with other greens like kale, swiss chard, or arugula. You could also do broccoli (boiled or steamed), asparagus or carrots. It’s such a basic recipe, but the addition of citrus and olive oil give it an exotic and unexpected twist.

Do you have any ideas on how to use an olive oil like this that is infused with a unique flavor?

Delicious collard greens and spinach

I’m not a big fan of winters here in the North East. Unless it snows, it seems kind of pointless to me to have it dip down well below freezing every day, and the process of bundling up is time-consuming. So you can well imagine that I’m so glad that Spring is here. We still get a few chilly days now and then, which means that hot soups are still in season.

One of my favorite soups to make is a hearty vegetable miso soup. Miso, as you may already know, is a fermented soybean paste and can be used in a variety of dishes.

However, it’s probably most well known as a base to Asian soups. I first started making my own miso soup a few years ago, and am probably not making it in an authentic Asian style, but the recipe that follows is delicious and is my own (although I’m sure I’m not the first to throw this particular set of ingredients together).

First things first, though. There are a few things to keep in mind when making this.

• Use whatever vegetables you want, but make sure that most or all are fresh.
• Don’t overcook the soup – you want the vegetables to have some life left to them.
• Don’t add salt if you don’t have to; miso has plenty of natural sodium already.

• Taste test the broth after you’ve added miso. If it’s not a strong enough flavor for your palate, add more.

Miso Soup

• 8 cups water
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 package white button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups bok choy or toy choi, chopped
• 2 cups spinach, fresh
• 1 cup snow peas, trimmed
• 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
• 1 package medium firm or extra firm tofu, cubed
• 3 to 5 tablespoons miso

Bring the water to boil in a large pan.

As you’re waiting for your water to boil, prepare all of your remaining ingredients.

You can add the carrots to the water before it boils or just after, and cook for about five minutes.

Add the mushrooms, bok choy, and snow peas and cook for about a minute more, then turn off the stove and take the pan off of the high heat. Add in the remaining ingredients except for the miso, and stir.

Now, add in the miso one tablespoon at a time and stir until it is completely dissolved.

Taste test the broth, and if you feel that the miso needs to be a stronger flavor add another tablespoon and taste test again.

Continue this process until you are satisfied with the taste. I added a total of about five tablespoons which I feel was plenty.

I admit that I overcooked the soup you’re seeing in these pictures, and I wish that I had held back. The snow peas were too tender, and the bok choy could have been more firm. It’s a lesson that I should practice what I preach – less is more. There are some soups that require a good stew – like vegetable soup with lots of root vegetables: potatoes, carrots, turnips, but the flavor is best in this soup if you go for undercooking rather than shooting for making sure everything is well done.

Do you use miso in your cooking? What’s your favorite way of using it?

If I were to list my favorite foods, Mexican would likely not make it. This is an unfortunate dilemma for my marriage, however, as it tops my husband’s list of favorite foods. If it were up to him we would eat burritos every day or at least every week. When he says, “What do you feel like having? We could have Mexican,” I usually respond with “I don’t really feel like Mexican.”

“But you never want Mexican.”

“Because it’s not one of my favorite cuisines.”

“You suck.”

“You suck.”

“That’s it. I want a divorce.”

“Whatever you want, dear. I’m here to make you happy.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Okay, well, maybe not exactly like that, but it does come close sometimes.

The thing is, is that I do like Mexican – sometimes. There are *some* decent dishes. But most of the ones I really like have cheese, and I decided two or three years ago that cheese would no longer be a part of my diet. And let me tell you, my favorite Mexican dish, a quesadilla, happens to not be that good vegan. (I’m willing to be contradicted, however.)

One dish I do like, even vegan, is enchiladas. In a way, enchiladas are like baked burritos, but I don’t know – it’s just not exactly the same as a burrito. And today I made enchiladas the lazy way, because I was lazy and my enchiladas always fall apart.

Vegan Enchiladas
Adapted from Paul McCartney’s Vegan Enchiladas recipe

Sauce

• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water

Filling

• 1/2 or 1 whole can of Vege-Burger
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder or 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 regular-sized can (not large) crushed or sliced tomatoes
• 1 8-oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed
• 14 +/- corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all the sauce ingredients, except for the cornstarch, in a small pot and cook over low heat, covered, for 20 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch and cook until the sauce thickens.

In the meantime, prepare the filling. Mix the Vege-Burger, onion, chili powder, cumin, garlic, pepper, and can of tomatoes.

In a large baking dish, cover the bottom with several tortillas (I used 4).

Spread half of your spinach over the tortillas.

Spread half of your filling mixture on top of the spinach.

Add another layer of corn tortillas, spinach, and filling, then top with a final layer of tortillas. Spread the sauce on the very top.

Put the dish into your preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

This recipe originally called for tofu instead of Vege-Burger, but we already had a can open from a few days ago that I wanted to use.

In case you don’t know what Vege-Burger is, it is basically TVP (textured vegetable protein) that’s already ready for you to use. TVP is usually dry when you purchase it, and you have to reconstitute it with water, as well as add seasonings. The Vege-Burger is not terribly flavorful, but it does add a meaty texture. A lot of people use it for sloppy joes or pasta sauce. It really is a versatile product.

Note that the can says “Vegan”; I believe that they also make a non-vegan kind, so you have to make sure it says “vegan” on it.

Here’s a picture of it in the can:

Anyway, these enchiladas turned out pretty well. It’s definitely more like a casserole since I didn’t make them into individual enchiladas, but it tastes pretty much the same. One thing I will say that is lacking is cheese or some sort of creaminess. Tofutti Sour Cream or Vegenaise could both come in handy. Otherwise, tasty. Maybe my marriage will last another week. :)

“Here you are, Messere!” The host’s voice took his mind off his worries. The man placed a wooden platter in front of him, containing slices of dark bread soaked in a reddish slop. On top were two slabs of cheese with a thick, moldy rind. “And here is some wine, true nectar of Saint Dennis!” he exclaimed, setting down a moist earthenware jug.
“Dionysus,” Dante muttered.
“Saint Dionysus?”
“No, Dionysus the god.”
“By God, Messere, you are right; the other was Saint Damian.”
The prior dismissed him with a nod and looked around for a spoon. He resigned himself to using his fingers, and after having rolled up his sleeves, scooped up and swallowed a dripping mouthful. Not so bad, aside from the mold on the cheese, and not too different from what the kitchens of the Priors’ Palazzo dished out, he thought as he fell upon the wine.

-The Mosaic Crimes by Giulio Leoni, Anne Milano Appel

There are some books which sound good in the description, but wind up being disappointing to me. Sad to say, this is one of those. I typically enjoy reading books that are along the lines of The Last Cato, The Da Vinci Code, or Labyrinth. They are not exactly what I would call fine literature, but they are entertaining and keep me on the edge of my seat.

This book, centered around Dante Alighieri and his quest to solve a handful of mysterious crimes, never swept me into the story. Dante was portrayed not as a hero, but more as a self-centered jerk and in the end did little that was impressive. The only real impressive thing was how often he managed to be in a tavern and seem to only subsist on wine. The above quote is the only mention of food in the entire book (at least that I recall).

I was so uninspired that I had a hard time coming up with something to make. I wanted to stay true to the book and make some kind of red Italian soup with bread, but I just couldn’t do it. I finally decided upon a creamy Italian white bean soup, which was justified because it says “Italian” right in the name. So there you go, Dante – hopefully a better meal than the slop you had earlier.

Creamy Italian White Bean Soup

• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound white Great Northern beans, already cooked (1/2 pound dry makes about 2-3 cups cooked beans)
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Cook onion and celery in oil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds, continually stirring. Stir in cooked beans, vegetable broth, pepper, thyme and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for 15 minutes.

With slotted spoon, remove 2 cups of the bean and vegetable mixture from soup and set aside.

In blender at low speed, blend remaining soup in small batches until smooth, opening up the center piece of the lid so the steam can escape. (If you have a blender like a VitaMix, you can probably get away with doing it all in one batch like I did.) Once blended pour soup back into stock pot and stir in reserved beans.

Bring to a boil, occasionally stirring. Stir in spinach and cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir in lemon juice, remove from heat, and serve.

I liked this soup, but I cannot say that I loved it. It definitely was creamy, and the spinach was a good addition to give it a contrasting flavor, but it seemed like something was missing. I couldn’t place my finger on it though. Maybe it needed to be more hearty, or different beans. I used Great Northern, but perhaps I should have gone with a white bean with more flavor.

Sorry Dante, maybe this wasn’t your kind of soup after all.