Let me start this post by saying I made G a double layer ice cream cake for his bday last weekend. Eating that cake was the second most excited I saw him in the last 2 days. The MOST excited was when the Kentucky Wildcats won the NCAA championship last night. GO CATS!!!!
Last night I was heading to Hooters (where I, incidentally, ate some fried pickles) to watch the game with him so I had to throw together a quick dinner for the girls. This is the fastest pasta dish in the world.
SO easy. Everything is available at Trader Joe’s. In fact, I got this idea from Trader Joe’s as they used to have a pasta in a box with these ingredients except you had to add a whole s-ton of olive oil & water to the dehydrated stuff for the dressing. M used to love it but all good things came to an end as they do at TJ’s and they no longer sell it.
1. Chop pitted olives as small as you like them. Same with the tomatoes. Mine came julienned so I just left them alone!
2. Cook your pasta of choice according to package directions.
3. Drain pasta & then return to pot. Add the olives, tomatoes & a handful of crumbled feta.
Toss & salt to taste. I added a couple of tablespoons of olive oil too!
Hoo boy – I bought this head of cauliflower at the Farmer’s Market on Wednesday because it was $1.00. I thought I’d roast it and eat it, standing at the counter, while the kids ate their noodles. But then I realized, since I had a loaf of rustic bread all ready to pop into the oven, I better make a soup to go with it.
Last time I did a cauliflower soup, it was a creamy one with cheddar cheese and a potato. Alas, I had no potatoes having used them up in my Gardener’s Pie last week so I checked out another recipe. It was easy! I was able to do this while unloading the dishwasher, helping someone to various art supplies spread far & wide across the house, and picking up all the toys scattered across the backyard.
But I’m glad you didn’t see the kitchen/house afterwards!
YOU NEED:
INGREDIENTS:
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2-3 carrots, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1-1/2 heads cauliflower, roughly chopped (I only had 1)
2 tsp fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried parsley flakes)
2 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth (I used Vegetarian Chicken Bullion)
2 tsp dijon mustard
2/3 c grated cheddar cheese
4 TBSP butter
2 c whole milk
6 TBSP all purpose flour
OPTIONAL: 1 c half & half
1. Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until browning, stirring occasionally.
2. Add carrots & celery and cook for another 4 minutes.
I used a red onion because I had it! To me, it made no difference.
Lookit how cute and tinily diced those carrots & celery are.
Tinily?
3. Add the cauliflower & parsley. Hoo boy it’s time for me to get a new parsley plant. I need two going at all times as my poor parsley can’t keep up with the demands placed upon it. This is all I could get!
That “undead” finger is actually my pinky. So photogenic!
I only had one head of cauliflower but next time I’ll use 1-1/2 heads as my soup needed more.
Turn heat way down, cover & cook for about 15 minutes on LOW. Feel free to stir every so often.
4. Add 1 or 1-1/2 quarts of the broth. Save that last 1/2 quart to decide if you need it or not depending on how you like your soup. Heat to boiling, then turn down heat and simmer.
5. Melt butter in a small saucepan. I used the same soup pot I started my soup in until realizing that pot was way too small. So there are a few onions in there. No bigs!
6. Now whisk your milk & flour together. Add that mixture to the melted butter, stirring to combine. **Now here’s an option for you: add 1 c half & half to the white sauce you just made. I didn’t do that b/c I never have half & half in my house.** You will have a thickened sauce. Pour that milk/flour/butter mixture into the soup and stir.
7. Add 2 tsp dijon mustard to the soup as well as 2/3 c grated cheddar cheese. I think mine needed the cheese because I used 1% milk instead of whole milk. If you use whole milk AND half & half, you might want to omit the cheese. Or add it! What, me worry?
Let soup simmer for another 15 minutes. Add salt & black pepper to taste!
2 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth (I used Vegetarian Chicken Bullion)
2 tsp dijon mustard
⅔ c grated cheddar cheese
4 TBSP butter
2 c whole milk
6 TBSP all purpose flour
OPTIONAL: 1 c half & half
Instructions
Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until browning, stirring occasionally.
Add carrots & celery and cook for another 4 minutes.
Add the cauliflower & parsley.
Turn heat way down, cover & cook for about 15 minutes on LOW. Feel free to stir every so often.
Add 1 or 1-1/2 quarts of the broth. Save that last ½ quart to decide if you need it or not depending on how you like your soup. Heat to boiling, then turn down heat and simmer.
Melt butter in a small saucepan.
Now whisk your milk & flour together. Add that mixture to the melted butter, stirring to combine. **Now here’s an option for you: add 1 c half & half to the white sauce you just made. (For extra creaminess…)** Regardless of the half & half, you will have a thickened sauce. Pour that milk/flour/butter mixture into the soup and stir.
Add 2 tsp dijon mustard to the soup as well as ⅔ c grated cheddar cheese. I think mine needed the cheese because I used 1% milk instead of whole milk. If you use whole milk AND half & half, you might want to omit the cheese. Or add it! What, me worry?
Let soup simmer for another 15 minutes. Add salt & black pepper to taste!
Serve with rustic bread & grated cheddar to top.
Notes
If soup is too chunky, puree ⅓rd of it using a blender or immersion blender. Be CAREFUL if you use a regular blender as the heat can make it explode out! It never happened to me – it happened to a “friend” of mine.
This morning Maddie was eating this dish (yes, for breakfast) and I remarked, “When I was a kid we didn’t eat pesto.”
She asked me what we ate instead.
“Oh, we ate Spaghettios, Fluff-N-Nutter sandwiches on Wonder Bread, Steak-ums, American Goulash (homemade Hamburger Helper), Campbell’s Tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (on Wonder bread with Kraft singles and margarine). I could go on.
All that sodium, those chemicals & preservatives and look how great WE turned out!
If I’d known how easy this stuff was to make I’d have made it years ago. Try it – it’s very easy and beautiful and you’ll love the results. (Note to Libby: you can get all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s.)
All you need is:
INGREDIENTS:
30 large leaves or 60 small leaves fresh basil
generous pinch of salt
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 TBSP pine nuts, toasted
4 TBSP olive oil
4 TBSP parmesan reggiano, grated
1. Add basil, salt & garlic to blender and blend into a thick paste. You might find you need to add 2 TBSP of the olive oil to get it going.
I used coarse sea salt but I prefer using fine sea salt as the coarse didn’t chop up well in my blender and I got a few bites of it when I ate. If you have a powerful blender or food processor you’ll have no problem!
2. Add pine nuts and remaining 2 TBSP olive oil & blend some more. Add cheese and blend till you have a creamy pesto sauce.
Serve on pasta, as a pizza topping, smeared on crusty bread, or tossed in a salad!
Shock of shocks – both my kids love this! Even G loves it. Holy cow.
Add last 2 TBSP olive oil & cheese and blend until smooth & creamy.
Toss with pasta, salads or smear over crusty bread. YUM!
Notes
This recipe yields 1 cup of pesto.
NOTE: If you don’t use it all at once, store covered in fridge with a light coating of olive oil to keep it from turning brown. If it DOES turn brown, you can still eat it!! It’s just not as appealing visually…
Pesto can be frozen. Simply omit the cheese and freeze. You can add the cheese later when it’s defrosted.
Freezing methods: freeze (without the cheese) in tightly wrapped ice cube trays OR as dollops on a cookie sheet. If you use the cookie sheet method, be sure to wrap the dollops as soon as they’re frozen, really well in plastic and then in a Zip-Loc freezer bag. When you defrost you can add the cheese.
Hope you all had fun last weekend! All I remember doing was jumping in a jumper with a bunch of little kids and hiking in the noon day sun WITHOUT sunscreen or hats. Real smart.
Here’s a tasty, simple little salad I made last Friday. I saw the fennel at the farmer’s market last Wednesday and at $1 a bulb it seemed a good deal.
You know who got me into fennel? My dad. He makes a really good salad.
Here’s what you need:
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium-large zucchini, sliced into paper thin coins
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed & shaved paper thin (or as thin as you can get them!)
2/3 c loosely chopped fresh dill
1/3 c fresh lemon juice (about 3 juicy lemons)
salt
4 or 5 generous handfuls of arugula
1/2 c pine nuts, toasted
1/3 c feta cheese, crumbled
OPTIONAL: Honey
1. Combine the fennel, zucchini and dill in a bowl.
Toss with the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Just EXACTLY enough lemon juice, any extra carelessly spilled
Set aside and let marinate for 20 minutes, or up to an hour.
2. Just before serving salad, put the arugula in a large bowl. This is also from my garden – from last summer if you can believe it. It’s been producing since then. Wow!
3. Scoop all of the marinating veg on top of the arugula and pour as much of the lemon juice dressing as desired on top of that. Toss gently. Adjust dressing to your taste with more lemon juice, salt or pepper. If the lemon juice is too sour – add a bit of honey.
Not THIS!!!
4. Sprinkle pine nuts & feta on top & toss gently. Serve!
Author: Christina Cox (Source: Super Natural Every Day)
Recipe type: Salad
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Light, tangy, crunchy salad!
Ingredients
1 medium-large zucchini, sliced into paper thin coins
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed & shaved paper thin (or as thin as you can get them!)
⅔ c loosely chopped fresh dill
⅓ c fresh lemon juice (about 3 juicy lemons)
salt
4 or 5 generous handfuls of arugula
½ c pine nuts, toasted
⅓ c feta cheese, crumbled
OPTIONAL: Honey
Instructions
Combine the fennel, zucchini and dill in a bowl. Toss with the lemon juice, olive oil, and ¼ tsp salt. Set aside and let marinate for 20 minutes, or up to an hour.
Just before serving salad, put the arugula in a large bowl.
Scoop all of the marinating veg on top of the arugula and pour as much of the lemon juice dressing as desired on top of that. Toss gently. Adjust dressing to your taste with more lemon juice, salt or pepper. If the lemon juice is too sour – add a bit of honey.
Sprinkle pine nuts & feta on top & toss gently. Serve!
FINALLY!!! A recipe the kids like. M even professes to liking avocados again after this one.
INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 c orzo (whole wheat if you can find it)
5 c raw broccoli cut intros small florets & stems
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2/3 c pine nuts, toasted
1/3 c parmesan cheese
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c olive oil
1/4 c creme fraiche
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 small ripe avocado, peeled, pitted & sliced (do this at the last minute!)
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the orzo. Salt generously, add the orzo, and cook according to the package instructions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain well again.
2. Cook the broccoli. While we’re on the subject – you can use the flowers and the stems in this recipe. Just be sure to peel the skin off the thick stems and then you can slice small coin shaped pieces. They are really tasty and that way as little as possible goes to waste.
Bring 3/4 c water to a boil in a large pot. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for about 1 minute. Quickly drain in a strainer and run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain & set aside.
3. Make the pesto. (Yum!) Combine 2 cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, most of the pine nuts, the Parmesan, 1/4 tsp salt, and 2 TBSP lemon juice in a food processor. (I used my blender.) Drizzle in olive oil and creme fraiche and pulse until smooth. (I added those before I tried blending anything since I knew it wouldn’t work without some liquid.)
4. Just before serving, toss the orzo and remaining cooked broccoli with about 2/3rds of the broccoli pesto and the lemon zest. (I totally forgot the zest but will do it next time!) Thin with a little warm water of you like, then taste and adjust the salt, lemon juice and/or pesto. Mine needed more pesto.
Two ways to serve:
For a group – fold in avocados, turn out in a bowl or platter and top with remaining pine nuts & lemon slices for drizzling.
For individual servings – serve in single serving bowls with sliced avocado & pine nuts on top as well as a small sprinkle of parmesan & a lemon slice.
Ooooooooooooooo
Ahhhhhhhhhh….avocado porn!
This is a delicious & pretty comfort food. Both my kids loved it which makes it a big hit and a small miracle.
NOTES: You can make the separate parts ahead of time and refrigerate. I made them the afternoon before as I had a couple of friends coming by the next day. I ran hot water over the orzo & broccoli to take the fridge chill out and then tossed with the pesto.
Author: Christina Cox (slightly adapted from Super Natural Every Day)
Recipe type: Main
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
This is called a “salad” but I like to think of it as a yuppie’s macaroni & cheese. A tasty, healthy kid-friendly meal. In other words: a small miracle!
Ingredients
1-1/2 c orzo (or any other small pasta)
5 c raw broccoli cut into small florets & stems
2 cloves garlic, peeled
⅔ c pine nuts, toasted (see NOTE for how to toast)
⅓ c parmesan cheese
juice of 1 lemon
¼ c olive oil
¼ c creme fraiche
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 small ripe avocado, peeled, pitted & sliced (do this just before serving!)
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to boil for the orzo. Salt generously, add the orzo, and cook according to the package instructions. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain well again.
Cook the broccoli. Bring ¾ c water to a boil in a large pot. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for about 1 minute. Quickly drain in a strainer and run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain & set aside.
Make the pesto. Combine 2 cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, most of the pine nuts, the Parmesan, ¼ tsp salt, and 2 TBSP lemon juice in a food processor. (I used my blender.) Drizzle in olive oil and creme fraiche and pulse until smooth. (I added those before I tried blending anything since I knew it wouldn’t work without some liquid.)
Just before serving, toss the orzo and remaining cooked broccoli with about ⅔rds of the broccoli pesto and the lemon zest. Thin with a little warm water of you like, then taste and adjust by adding salt, lemon juice and/or pesto.
Notes
TOASTING PINE NUTS: Heat oven to 400. Spread pine nuts evenly on a cookie sheet. Toast a few minutes until golden brown. Do NOT walk away & forget the pine nuts!
Two ways to serve:
1. For a group – fold in avocado slices, turn out in a bowl or platter and top with remaining pine nuts & lemon slices for drizzling.
2. For individual servings (and if you plan to have leftovers) – serve in single serving bowls with sliced avocado & pine nuts on top as well as a small sprinkle of parmesan & a lemon slice. (This way your whole salad will not turn brown overnight!)
