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.

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.

Baked Lemon-Herbs de Provence Mushrooms

The Single Serving!

      So I have been on a serious hiatus because I have been traveling almost straight since Christmas and I find it's nearly impossible to cook on the road. I am constantly dodging fast food while abroad, even though it definitely tastes better than the American counter-parts, and trying my best to live on a grant-based budget. But finally hope, and I really wanted to try these Baked Lemon-Thyme Mushrooms that I found on Pinterest (naturally). However, as per usual I think I have all of the ingredients, and then a quick scan in my cupboards tells me I am sadly mistaken. These are obviously supposed to be made with thyme not herbs de provence, but since the latter has thyme, amongst other lovely flavors, and I had it in my spice closet, that it what I went with. Also, I used my only fresh lemon to make my lemon-mint-cucumber water so I used lemon juice instead. This made a very lovely side dish to my one-pot pasta with mozzarella.

Simple list of ingredients

Place sliced mushrooms on baking sheet, close together so to spread mixture evenly

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top after 10 minutes

The perfect side dish

Baked Lemon- Herbs de Provence Mushrooms Recipe:

     Ingredients-

    2 tbs, lemon juice
    1 tbs, dried herbs de Provence
    3 tbs, olive oil
    1 container, mushrooms (I used pre-sliced)
    4 tbs, grated Parmesan cheese
    few pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper

     How To-

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the lemon juice, herbs de Provence, and olive oil in a bowl and reserve. Clean and slice the mushrooms (or may already be pre-sliced) and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Make sure the mushrooms are close together so you don't waste the sauce topping. Slowly drizzle with the mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the mushrooms and return to the oven for another 5 minutes. You may add some more lemon juice at the end for taste.

Enjoy!

Thoughts:

I can't see how the original ingredients that I substituted for would have made much of a difference in flavor or taste. These were perfectly baked and would make a lovely side dish or on top of pot of pasta.