Radish Leaf Pesto

Dear Friends,

Fat camp is going OK.  I'm learning how to eat healthy and seasonal food.  Yesterday I made radish leaf pesto.  I thought I hated radishes, but I gave them a try anyways.  Here is the recipe in case you were wondering...

Radish Leaf Pesto

• 2 large handfuls of radish leaves, stems removed
• 30 grams of hard cheese, like pecorino 
• 30 grams pine nuts
• 1 stalk of wet garlic, or one clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Then you just blend all the ingredients in a food processor.  And its done like - bingo, bango, bongo.

Tony Perkins said you can eat it with radish chips or thin it out with vinegar and oil and use it as a salad dressing.  Or you could make crepes with mushrooms and goat cheese and serve it like this...

It is surprisingly delicious.

In other news, it's been raining here so we haven't gotten to go off the blob yet.  But it was OK this morning and we went hiking.  I've also been doing arts and crafts. I will have to show you soon.  Hope all is well where you are.

Love,

Kelly

PS.  Send chocolate.

Quinoa Pesto and Asparagus Salad

I adapted this recipe from one posted on Closet Cooking, an amazing food blog which I stalk regularly.  This guy seems to whip up more food posts than there are meals in a day, everything always looks delicious and he often features veggie friendly recipes.  Score!

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 1 can of artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup of pesto, I used store bought 
• a little olive oil

Cook quinoa according to instructions.  We used one cup uncooked quinoa, and simmered it in about 2 cups of water for 15-20 minutes until it was fully cooked.  Meanwhile, in a grill pan, heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium high heat and place artichoke hearts in the pan, so they get nice grill marks on both sides.  Blanche your asparagus until tender.  When quinoa is finished, mix in half a cup of pesto and your asparagus and artichoke hearts.  Serve with a little fresh lemon juice on the side.

I wish the photo of this did it a little justice because this dish was seriously delicious!  Unfortunately we were hungry so I didn't bother fiddling around with it and making it tastespotting/foodgawker worthy.  But even Nick was loving it (which is a HUGE accomplishment when the dish doesn't have copious amounts of dairy).  You should have seen his face when I told him it was actually VEGAN!!  OH the HORROR!  But after he got over the shock he managed to scarf the whole thing down.  Perfect week night meal.  This one is a keeper!

Cool As a Cucumber

Spring has finally sprung here in England, and along with the house, I think my body can use a little spring cleaning too.  All of winters stodgy meals have taken it's toll on me, so for now, I'm trying to go back to the basics, (and back to my thighs NOT touching) by eating mostly fruit and veggie based dishes.  I will admit that the sugar in this recipe probably isn't the best for my spring cleaning regime, but give me a break will ya?

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber, sliced as thinly as possible
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 4 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Mix salt, vinegar, sugar, chili flakes, and sesame seeds in a small bowl to make a dressing.  Pour over cucumber.  

Bingo, bango, bongo - DONE!

This cucumber salad hit all the right notes.  It's an excellent combination of sweet, sour, and spicy - though it was pretty fiery so you may want to use less chili flakes to tone it down a bit if you're not a real spice lover.  

Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad

This is one amazing salad.  It has everything going for it.  It tastes fantastic, and its not only healthy, but hearty enough for a fall meal as well.  This recipe is from Bon Appetit October 2009, and you can find it here, on epicurious. The recipe claims to serve 6, but this is if you're having it as a starter or side salad. It only served two of us as a main course for dinner, granted we did go back for seconds.  I think it would make a perfect fall lunch as well.  Here is the recipe with the slight variations I made...

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup green lentils
• 6 cups of pumpkin cut into one inch chunks from one two pound whole pumpkin    
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 package (about 4 cups) mixed greens
• 1 package of goat's cheese (100 grams)
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar.

Preheat oven to 375 F, or 190 C.

Place 3/4 cup green lentils in a bowl of cold water and let soak for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, remove the seeds and guts from the pumpkin.

Then remove the skin and cut it into 1 inch pieces.  Place these in a roasting pan.  Pour two tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon hot paprika, and 1/2 a teaspoon sea salt over your pumpkin and toss until everything is evenly coated.

Place pumpkin in the oven and roast for half an hour, mixing about half way through.  At the same time, boil your lentils for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes is up, drain your lentils and place them in a large bowl with your freshly roasted pumpkin.  Add mixed greens, goats cheese, 1/4 cup of mint, and one tablespoon red wine vinegar.  Toss it all together and you'll have a great fall salad.

This salad is really good.  I enjoyed the contrasts in this dish.  For texture, you have crunchy greens, against soft pumpkin, and lentils.  Then for taste you have the sweet pumpkin flavor with a hint of spice versus the earthy taste of lentils, the salt of the goats cheese, and a bit of sourness from the vinegar.  My picture doesn't do it much justice, but visually it is appealing as well, as the purples, oranges, and greens make a very pretty dish.   

Moroccan Eggplant and Carrot Salads

When Nick left for Africa I asked (ok demanded) he bring me back a souvenir.  He got me a cookbook, "Moroccan Cooking" to be exact.

So I scoured the pages only to find Moroccans are not very vegetarian friendly, so most the recipes would have to be heavily adapted.  But there were a few promising veggie options.  So I made them for dinner.

Morrocan Eggplant Salad

Ingredients

• 2 eggplants
• 1/2 can of chopped tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Red pepper flakes
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Put eggplant on a a baking sheet and place in a 150 C / 300 F oven for 40 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Then peel the skins off.

Chop the eggplant into bite sized pieces.  Meanwhile, in a skillet, crush garlic and saute it in 4 tablespoons olive oil over low heat.  The add the eggplant, tomatoes, lemon juice, salt and pepper,1 teaspoon of paprika, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Cook covered for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for 10 more minutes.

It's supposed to be served lukewarm or cold, but we were hungry and impatient so we ate it right away.

It was very good.  The eggplant had a nice tender texture, and I really liked the lemony flavor from the juice and the hint of spices.  Overall a tasty and healthy dish for dinner.

While the eggplant was in the oven I took the liberty to whip up a carrot salad as well.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Ingredients  

• 5 medium sized carrots (this is what it called for but there was extra dressing so you could use more)
• 3 gloves garlic
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 pinch of cumin
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• orange flower water (new ingredient for me but we found easily in the baking aisle) 

Peel carrots and slice them at an angle to get pretty oval sized pieces.  Throw these into a pot of salted boiling water with 3 cloves of garlic for 10 minutes.  Drain, discard the garlic, and place carrots in a bowl.  To make dressing combine 4 tablespoons of olive oil with juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon orange flower water, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 pinch of cumin, and some pepper.  Pour this over your carrots and you're done.

I don't even like carrots to be honest, but this is incredibly simple and delicious.  I'd never had orange flower before but I really liked it in this dish, it added a bit of an orangey floral note.  The combination of sweet and tangy was delightful.

Brussels Sprouts - Like You've Never Had Them Before

So I found this recipe for Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad on epicurious.com.  I actually really like Brussels sprouts. No thats not a lie.  I swear.  But I've never had them shaved so I thought I'd give this a go.  Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1lb Brussels sprouts
• 3/4 cup hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 table spoons percorino romano (or parmesan)
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 3 table spoons lemon juice

I used a food processor to shred these babies up quick.

Meanwhile, put your nuts in the oven for a few minutes and toast 'em up.

Then mix your Brussels sprouts, nuts, cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice all together in a big bowl.

Then you have yourself a shaved Brussels sprout salad.

Now I guess you want to know what this tastes like.  Well, it doesn't taste bad at all, but it doesn't really taste good either.  It was basically just really boring to eat.  I don't get bored eating very often, but my mouth really got tired of chewing.  It was a chewing marathon - and I gave up.  Nick wasn't happy at all, he kept asking me why I was making him eat rabbit food.  I promised him I was making him a dessert, which I was, but the brussel sprouts took so long to chew that I ended up burning it.

On a positive note, it HAD to be healthy.

Watermelon, Arugula and Feta Salad

Watermelon is hands down the best food of summer.  Unfortunately, as we near the end of summer my consumption of watermelon will have to stop.  I have tried a bunch of watermelon salad recipes this season but this one has been my favorite.  It's quick, easy, and healthy.

Just throw some Arugula in a bowl, mix with big hunks of watermelon.  Then add some crumbled feta, pinenuts, and some Balsamic syrup.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Delicious!  And you thought I only made heart attack food.

I got this recipe from epicurious.  Their version with lots more details.... Watermelon, Arugula, and Pine Nut Salad