Spinach Pesto and Beyond

After several years of just feeling so-so about spinach (I used to love it, but then, I used to grow my own and got spoiled; yes, homegrown is noticeably better), I found myself eating a lot of spinach this spring.  Always looking for new recipes, I found several for spinach pesto and decided to give it a try.  Most of the recipes you'll find on line are very similar.  Here's my version:

SPINACH PESTO

Ingredients, per serving:

• 1/2 c. loosely packed spinach
• 2 T. toasted walnuts, lightly chopped
• 1 T. parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 t. lemon juice
• 1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil

Method:

If you've made pesto before, you know the routine.  In your food processor, pulse to blend the spinach, nuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, and lemon juice.  While running processor, drizzle in the olive oil to get the consistency you want.

Notes:

I love this.  The flavors are bright and fresh without being overpowering.  Put on warm pasta, spread on bread for your favorite sandwich (try a sourdough grilled mozzarella cheese sandwich with a thin layer of pesto and some sliced tomato), add to a little sour cream for a dip, or try whatever appeals to you.

I like this much better than basil pesto, and I feel like a traitor for saying that because I love basil.  But for whatever reason, I just don't care that much for basil pesto.  Once or twice a year I love it but that's it.  Sorry, basil pesto lovers!  

I used walnuts but you can use whatever you like.  Toasting them adds another layer of flavor.

I've kept this for over a week with no discoloration (like with basil pesto) and it still tasted good.  I wouldn't keep it much longer than that; it can also be frozen in ice cube trays like basil pesto.

In looking for ways to use spinach pesto, I ran across several similar recipes for a spinach pesto salad.  I modified what I found slightly and made this:

AND BEYOND:  SPINACH PESTO PASTA

Ingredients (per serving):

• 2 T. spinach pesto
• 2 ounces pasta of choice
• 3-4 cherry tomatoes
• shaved parmesan
• 2 T. chopped green onion

     dressing:

• 1 T. pesto
• 1 T. sour cream
• 1 T. mayo
• pepper
• dash lemon juice
• spinach or lettuce of choice

Method:

Cook pasta al dente; drain and put in bowl with 2 T. pesto.  Mix well. Chill.

Make dressing:  combine sour cream, pesto, mayo, pepper.  Use lemon juice to thin dressing a bit (you can also add milk).  Bring pasta out and dress; toss with green onions.

To serve, put a layer of lettuce or spinach in a bowl or on a plate; top with pasta, cherry tomatoes, and shaved parmesan.

Serve with bread or crackers, if desired.

Notes:

The more I ate this the more I liked it.  If you want to make this ahead, don't add the lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and shaved parmesan until just before serving to keep all flavors as fresh as possible.  You could also add mozzarella cheese, black olives, mushrooms.  I think next time I'll make it without the spinach but it was a good addition. 

However you make it, don't forget to cook, eat, dance, love!

Blueberry Tart

Holiday weekends often find me playing in the kitchen. This weekend is no exception.  Here's a recipe I found last summer and am enjoying again this weekend.  It's quick and easy.

BLUEBERRY TART

Ingredients:

• one sheet puff pastry, thawed
• about 1/4 c. jam of choice -- I used peach but blackberry would be good
• about 8 ounces of blueberries
• cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 400.  Unfold puff pastry and cut in half for two rectangles; place on baking sheet.  Score each rectangle about 1/3" from edge to create a rim. Spread thinly with jam; sprinkle with cinnamon and top with blueberries.  Bake about 20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden.

Serve warm or cold, with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Notes:

This is a very light dessert, perfect for summer evenings, blueberries soaking a little into the flaky crust with a bit of sweetness from the jam.  I think a little lemon zest on top of the jam would be a good addition.  Other spices could be used in addition to/instead of the cinnamon (fresh ginger or cardamom comes to mind).  I will also use a few more more blueberries next time, but there's lots of blueberry tang in every bite already.  

Cook, eat, dance, love!

Summer in a Jar

I began making preserves, jams, and jellies almost 40 years ago, and have made them pretty much every year since.  At first, I haunted abandoned orchards and you-pick stands for fruit.  When I had my own land, I planted a sour cherry tree so I could have cherry jelly and preserves; planted currents, gooseberries, strawberries, rhubarb, apples, blueberries, pears, plums, and two kinds of raspberries... all of which were enjoyed a variety of ways, including preserves.  Mom and dad would bring back tree-ripened peaches from a road-side stand in South Carolina every summer, and always gave me at least a half bushel -- and sometimes much more than that.  They were the best peaches; I've rarely had others that come close. It takes flavorful, delicious, properly-grown and properly-ripened fruit to make good preserves.  I've made dozens of kinds of jams, hundreds of jars over the years, and have given away most of them.  It's been a part of every summer.

That is, until a few years ago.  Things in my life were unsettled and I no longer had a garden in which to grow fruit.  Inexpensive, quality, local fruit is rare (the key word being inexpensive; certainly, there's quality, local fruit, although after having grown my own for 18 years I have very high standards).    So jams and jellies went by the wayside.

This summer, I happened upon some really wonderful peaches.  I was skeptical at first (California peaches?  they couldn't possibly compare to those tree-ripened, South Carolina gems) but they smelled so good that I bought a few and tried them.  

Then I went back and bought a few dozen more.  They're the best peaches I've had in years, and the ones that didn't get eaten went into preserves.

Everything I remembered about making preserves was still true: tedious preparation of fruit.  Sticky mess everywhere.  Scrubbing of jars and lids.  Hot, scalding, bubbling fruit splattering my hands and arms.  

And wonderful aromas, warm, rich tastes, and jewel-like colors. Delicious preserves to share and enjoy all winter long. 

But best of all was that it was good to return to that part of me.  It was about more than tradition or doing something familiar; it was a reconnection to my past, to something that I loved, and to a way of sharing that has been part of who I am for the majority of my life.

Cook, eat, dance, love!

   

(The recipe I used is in Sure-Jell boxes and on their website, so I'm not repeating it here.)

Memorial Day Salad Trio

I decided to celebrate Memorial Day with a salad trio.  

APPLE SLAW

Ingredients:

• apples, sliced thin and chopped
• celery, sliced thin on the diagonal
• golden raisins
• toasted walnuts
• sage
• chives, chopped

    dressing:

• lemon juice
• olive oil
• sugar to taste

Method:

Toss prepared ingredients with dressing.  A light, slightly tart version of the classic Waldorf salad.

I may try this with fresh fennel, thinly sliced, and also (but not with the fennel) with finely chopped fresh ginger.  


KUMATO TOMATOES & GOAT CHEESE

Ingredients:

• sliced Kumato tomatoes
• crumbled goat cheese
• chives
• fresh basil leaves
• balsamic vinegar

Method:

Layer ingredients on tomato slices in order listed.  Sprinkle lightly with balsamic vinegar.  Use the real stuff, not the red-wine version that's sold at grocery stores. It's expensive but a little goes a long ways and the flavor is much cleaner.



STRAWBERRIES & MINT

Ingredients:

• sliced strawberries
• chopped fresh spearmint
• orange juice

Method:

Toss berries and mint; add a splash of the juice.  Champagne would be lovely instead of the juice.


Notes:

Try one or more of these salads for something light.  The apple slaw is very refreshing; the Kumato tomatoes & goat cheese is a classic and often-repeated blend of flavors; and strawberries -- well, they speak for themselves.

If you haven't tried Kumato tomatoes, I highly recommend them. The seeds are  only available to select growers; the tomatoes have to be grown under specific conditions and protocols. They can therefore be a bit pricey, but they're worth every penny. They're amazingly full of intense, slightly sweet tomato flavor, something I almost never find in a grocery store tomato.   The flesh is firm and juicy; color varies from a brownish-red to greenish-brown. If you don't already know that refrigeration destroys a tomato's flavor, take this as your warning, and do not put these gems in your fridge.

Whatever you eat and with whomever you share it, happy Memorial Day weekend!  Go out and cook, eat, dance, and love!

Cate Jane's Sweet Potato Puree Soup

I love sweet potatoes.  Plain and simple or with other ingredients, but never ever with all that butter and sugar that many people serve as a vegetable at Thanksgiving. (There's more sugar and fat in that dish than in a normal pie, for crying out loud.  Talk about overkill.  And it doesn't even taste good; it just tastes like sugar.).  One of my favorite meals is a plate of steaming brown rice and some boiled sweet potatoes, lightly mashed and served plain, that's how much I love the taste of sweet potatoes. As part of a main meal, in a soup, in burritos, in salad... love 'em.

This soup was inspired by and named after a neighbor who wasn't feeling well.  We had recently been talking about sweet potato and kale soup, and when I found out she was ill, my mind started thinking of comfort food... first my thoughts went to my Il Templari variation with sweet potatoes, then to a sweet potato-black bean soup I love, but neither sounded quite like what would appeal to me if I were fighting off a bug.  Then it hit me:  cream of sweet potato soup, without the dairy!  I started thinking about what I would put in it and came up with the ingredient list below.

Of course I knew a sweet potato puree soup wasn't a novel idea, and a quick search on the internet confirmed this. There are many delicious-sounding variations of a sweet potato puree soup, many of them very similar to what I made.  I went with my original instincts of what would feel comforting to me and plunged in. The result: one of my new favorite soups.  And yes, I may be breaking my arm patting myself on the back, but this truly is a keeper for me and one I know I'll make often.  It's very simple, very easy, and muy delicioso!

For the first time, I'm endorsing a product:  the broth I used for this soup.  The reason is very simple:  when I opened the box of broth and tasted it, I was struck by its richness and depth of flavor.  I think it made a huge difference in how the soup turned out; I believe it really brought out the sweetness and flavor of the sweet potatoes.  Feel free to use whatever broth you like, but  consider giving this one a shot.  I am not receiving any compensation for this endorsement (but if they'd like to reward me with some free broth I wouldn't say no).  

I only had two sweet potatoes so that's what my ingredient amounts are based on.  You can, of course, easily increase the amounts.

On with the show:

CATE JANE'S SWEET POTATO PUREE SOUP

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1/2 c. diced onion
• 2 peeled and chopped carrots
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• about 2 c. vegetable broth (highly recommend Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Broth)
• 1/4 t. ground ginger or more

Method:

Cut sweet potatoes into thirds and cook in a covered pot in about 1" of water until very tender.  Drain and cool; slip off peels.

While potatoes are cooling, over a low heat, cook remaining veggies in a very small amount of olive oil until onions are translucent.  Add broth and cover; simmer until veggies are very soft.

Puree sweet potatoes with a small amount of liquid from veggies.  Put in soup pot.  Puree other veggies in food processor in small batches and add slowly to sweet potatoes, stirring to check consistency.  I used all the broth and veggies in this batch.  Add ginger.  Heat gently, and serve.

Notes:

If I'd had fresh ginger I would have added it.  You can also add cinnamon and/or nutmeg.  I chose not to add the last two because I wanted the sweet potato taste to be simple, clean, and in the front, but another time, depending on my mood, I might add any and all of those.  I think a hint of rosemary would also be good in this, especially as a winter soup, with a warm rosemary polenta or cornbread on the side.  

You can, of course, add dairy (cream, milk, a swirl of plain yogurt or sour cream).  I think if I served this cold I might add a dollop of plain yogurt for the tang.

Although I am not a fan of cold soups, this is delicious, smooth, and light when eaten cold, and would be perfect for a hot summer evening meal, with perhaps a wild rice salad or some marinated green beans...

However you serve it, do give it a try, and as you do, remember to cook, eat, dance, love!