Kale Pesto

The Single Serving

So, now that Lent is over, I have been slowly trying to reintroduce myself to cheese. Last week, I saw some fresh kale at the market and decided to try a version of Kale Pesto. Pesto is the bomb and can be topped with any grated Italian cheese, which obviously appeals to me on several levels- also it's incredibly easy and delicious. Last week also happened to be one of the last holdouts of gloomy cold weather here so a dark sauce(?) like pesto, was the right fit.

Your Ingredients

Chop kale, nuts, and garlic

Remove Kale from boiling water

Blot the water off the leaves

Add all ingredients to blender

Blend like you mean it

Blend to your desired consistency

Et voila!

Save or Serve

I didn't save it, I ate it

Pesto sauce with Fusilli

Brussels Sprouts-Avocado-Lime Recipe: 

Ingredients-

   1/16 cup chopped pine nuts or walnuts
   1 ounces kale, trimmed, rinsed, and chopped
   1/8 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
   1/6 cup extra-virgin olive oil
   1 cloves garlic, chopped
   1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
   1/4 teaspoon salt
   pinch teaspoon pepper

How-To-
Toast nuts in a frying pan until they’re golden. This happens quite quickly, so make sure to watch for burning. Then chop the nuts and garlic. In the meantime, wash and dry the kale. Remove all the leaves from the stems and chop. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Have a bowl of cold water ready. Drop the chopped kale into the boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, swirl the kale around a few times until it becomes limp- will become a rich green color. Drain the kale and plunge it into the cold water. Drain again, then place on a clean dishtowel and blot away the moisture (soggy kale is not good). Place all of the ingredients in the blender. Purée until smooth. You may need to add more olive oil to reach desired consistency.

If not eating immediately, refrigerate by covering with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pesto. Will stay fresh for up to 3 days. To freeze, place desired portions in small containers with plastic directly on the surface of the pesto, or place in plastic freezer bags. Freeze for up to two months.

Enjoy!

Thoughts- 
Don't eat on a first date (any dark greens really) but beyond that advice, I thought it was fantastic on my fusilli pasta. I had slightly more than I wanted to so I might use like one less leaf of kale next time.

Brussels Sprouts-Avocado-Lime

The Single Serving

This was an exceptionally healthy meal. I realize I have done a few Brussels Sprouts related recipes but they are just such an easy vegetable to make, so my apologies. Hopefully you like them as much as I do. This made a perfectly fine main dish, but I could see it easily being a nice side dish as well. 

Lately I have been trying to make dishes that are not only good for a single helping but also that are easily constructed because I have been way too busy at work (I know, who isn't these days?). A little self promotion- I got to represent Maritime Archaeology at Marine Careers day for the Beneath the Sea Conference last month. If being asked to inspire the next generation isn't an honor, than I am not sure what is :)

Ok, so back to food.... 

The Ingredients

Chop and Halve

Add seasonings and Brussels sprouts to pan

Slice up Avocado

Sim simmer

Add Avocado to warm up

Plate and Serve

Brussels Sprouts-Avocado-Lime Recipe: 

Ingredients-

    Bag of Brussels sprouts (you will have extra but I didn't have another recipe to use the rest)
    1 clove, garlic
    1 tbs, lime juice
    1 avocado, sliced (half might be better)
    pinch of red pepper (or to your liking)
    splash olive oil
    pinch of salt and pepper

How To-

Slice your Brussels sprouts by removing the ldead leaves and halving them.Chop the garlic. Add a little olive oil to the pan, and add your sprouts, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook until the sprouts get tender- about a few minutes. In the meantime, slice the avocado. Squirt the lime juice over the sprouts when tender and add some salt and pepper. Add the avocado slices to the side of your cast iron so that they may warm up. Take all out of the pan and place the avocado slices on top of the Brussels sprouts to eat.

Bon Appetit!(tribute to my French heritage)

Thoughts:

This was actually a lot for one sitting. In the future, I think I would go with half an avocado instead of a whole one (they just don't keep very well once opened) next time. Also, I should have planned my recipes for the week better so I didn't have to use all the sprouts at once, but it made for nice small meals throughout the next few days. Also, go crazy with the lime and pepper flakes- adds a nice kick!

Chorizo and Soft-Boiled Egg breakfast

The Single Serving

    I have become a real big fan of chorizo in the past few months (as you can see, many of the past recipes have it as an ingredient). I used real pork chorizo this time, as opposed to last time I used turkey chorizo (Lentil-Kale-Chorizo-Winter Stew). There wasn't enough of the flavor I was looking for with the turkey option, and I found that using the real deal this time made a world of difference. I got this recipe originally from the BBC but I hate green beans, and the original called for that.  Feel free to spice up this with another crisp green, but I couldn't think of another vegetable. Also, I am trying to cut out unnecessary carbs, so the baby potatoes were out. This recipe was designed to be much fancier but alas, I am not trying to impress anyone with anything besides taste.

Confession- the first time I tried to make this, my egg exploded. Turns out I didn't know how to boil an egg (please don't judge me too hard). So I called my Nana, and she told me what to do. Worked like a charm. 

Three ingredients- that's it!

Poke a hole in the egg so it doesn't explode

Slice the chorizo

Fry the chorizo

Boil the egg correctly

Both sides fried

Run egg under cold water so it stops cooking

Perfect little brunch for one!

mmmmm soft-boiled eggs, meat, and coffee

Chorizo and Soft-Boiled Egg  Recipe:

     Ingredients-

     1 egg
     half a link of chorizo
     drop of white vinegar
  

     How To-

Boil the egg-  Poke a hole with a needle into the top of the egg. Using only cold water, start boiling the water. Place the egg in the pot and add a drop of vinegar (helps with the egg not exploding). When the water starts boiling, for a soft-boiled egg (as shown), start the timer for 5 minutes. Remove egg when timer goes off and place under cool water so it doesn't keep cooking.

While the egg is boiling, slice up the chorizo and place the links in a frying pan on medium heat. About a minute or two on each side will give it a nice fried flavor. When both are done, shell the egg by gently rolling it on a hard surface and peeling. Slice up and place with chorizo. Serve with a steaming cup of joe!

Enjoy!

Thoughts:

I think these two ingredients stood on their own without the original green beans and baby potatoes. It was filling and tasty and perfect on a Sunday morning. 

Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli

    I tried this recipe because I love crab meat and I saw a really pretty picture of it on Pinterest, although no accompanying recipe was linked to the image. So I looked up how to make lemon aioli-to be perfectly honest, I didn't even know what aioli was- great simple recipe from Martha Stewart. Turns out, it's super easy to make and using ingredients that you likely have in your kitchen already. For the toast, I used a frozen slice that I had from my Homemade No-Knead Beer Bread which complimented the crab very well. I took this on the go and actually made the open-face sandwich when I took my lunch break from work. For the future, I wouldn't recommend taking it on the go, and prefer it for a breakfast or brunch situation, because the crab juice was a bit leaky. 

Simple Ingredients

Squeeze or chop garlic finely

Add all ingredients together

Mix Mix Mix

Add the aioli to the crab meat

Crab Toast with Lemon Aioli Recipe:

Ingredients-  
1/2 cup, mayonnaise
1 tsp, finely grated lemon zest
1 to 2 tbps, fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper

How-To-

In a small bowl, add all of the ingredients at once. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Stir to combine.
 
Enjoy!

Thoughts:

I think that next time this would work better with fresh crab instead of the canned version that I purchased at Whole Foods. I was being frugal and didn't want to spring the $30 for fresh crab but I think now that it would have made a world of difference in taste. The aioli and toast were prefect to accompany the crab, but I just think that fresh crab would taste richer. I also had a bit of aioli sauce leftover because it was hard to determine what was enough/too much for one person having never made it before.

Lemon Garlic Broccoli

The Single Serving

This is a special request from my beloved friend- Melis. I've bunked with her many times over the years and most recently in her flat in the UK. We have also traveled together on numerous occasions, and I love having her as my partner in crime!

Melis and I getting our tourist on in Santorini, Greece

Let's just say that I usually do the cooking and we can leave it at that :) I turned her on to some more/new vegetable dishes, including this Lemon Garlic Broccoli side dish I make when I am out of ideas. It is so easy and takes maybe ten minutes. So Melis this is for you!

The Ingredients

Chop up the broccoli to personal preference

Add the soy sauce, garlic salt, and lemon to broccoli

Flip and make sure it's browning

I put mine in with peanut udon noodles and ground beef

Lemon Garlic Broccoli Recipe:

     Ingredients-

    Handful of broccoli (I only eat the florets but up to you)
    Drizzle of soy sauce
    2 or 3 generous squeezes of lemon juice
    2 good coatings of garlic salt

How To-

(If using frozen broccoli florets, make sure they are defrosted) On medium heat, spray the skillet with non-stick spray. Chop up broccoli (or if eating on its own as a side, then no need to chop it up). When skillet is hot, place broccoli in the pan and add the remaining ingredients. I like mine very lemony and very garlic-salty. When it looks like the broccoli is browning, flip over and give another light shake to the garlic salt and lemon juice. Let cook another minute or so and then serve.

Enjoy!

Thoughts:

I always use this dish because I keep frozen broccoli florets in my freezer for cases when I don't have fresh veggies available. I don't usually eat this dish on its own but I add the broccoli to a main course. In this instance, I had made ground beef and udon noodles with my peanut sauce (also a go-to staple) and added this for the greens. This dish is citrusy and tangy and adds a nice kick to most main items.

Avocado Egg Breakfast Sandwich

I know that I just put the bread slices in the freezer but I had a craving and I love avo and eggs. There is this neighborhood haunt of mine in BK that I make a point to visit when I go home. The place is called Iris Cafe, and it's perfect after a long bike ride to Red Hook. They have an avocado and soft boiled egg breakfast dish on the menu that is simply divine. I order it every time I go there with a big 'ole cup of Stumptown coffee (skim milk, no sugar).

The one and only Iris Cafe (please don't get more popular or I won't get a seat)

I have since turned their idea into one that I can make at home, but even simpler. I can never get soft boiled eggs to come out perfectly, so I make this recipe with either a fried egg or scrambled eggs, which take absolutely no effort or skill. I toasted a slice of the no-knead beer bread and smeared that avocado good.  

Simple- three ingredients

I don't have a toaster oven so I used a real oven (hint-use a toaster oven)

'Bout ready to flip

Schmear

The Single Serving!

Avocado Egg (open face) Breakfast Sandwich Recipe:

     Ingredients-

    1/4 or 1/2, avocado (depending on size of bread slice)
    1 bread slice 
    1 egg

How To-

Turn your skillet onto medium high and let it heat up. If the skillet is hotter when you put the egg in, it becomes more fried-like. Spray your skillet with non-stick spray when it is hot. In the meantime, toast your bread slice in your toaster oven. As you can see, I used my regular oven broiler  to speed things up but it requires careful observance or you will burn the top. Fry or scramble your egg. In the meantime, use a butter knife to spread the avocado on the toasted bread slice. Place the egg on top of the avocado or on the side, as you like.
Enjoy!

Thoughts:

The beauty of this recipe is that you can use whatever you have lying around the house. As you will have seen me lament in the past, I have not had access to great bread and instead have been using store-bought sandwich bread for this recipe. So having the homemade bread really made a difference and made me feel like I was sitting in Iris, not in my living room. That said, it is completely satisfactory to use whatever you have on hand- and you can't go wrong with avo and eggs.