All posts by Sonte

Pasta, Vegetarian

Carrot Top Pesto

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So you are trying to eat healthier, you make the most of each of your produce purchases, right? What about the greens on those fresh carrots you just bought? Did you know you could make yummy pesto out of them? Doesn’t taste all that different from a pesto made with fresh parsley!

I had two bunches of carrots in the fridge, noticed the greens were beginning to look a little less than optimum which meant I needed to use them up fast. I googled, “what to do with carrot greens” and came up with a long list to choose from. I wanted super simple and this recipe from Culinate fit the bill to the T.  I put a pot of water on to boil for some linguini and by the time it was ready, the pesto was done.

Admittedly, I did not know how my husband would respond to this dish. He was raised a super meat eater and I think in his mind,  green stuff is, well, weird. He has come leaps and bounds over the past 15 years but I was thinking that this recipe might be a bit of a stretch. I placed his serving of Carrot Top Pesto and Linguini in front of him, watched his face closely…slight raising of eyebrows,  he asked, “What’s this? It smells very P-cheesy”…took a tentative bite and smiled. (Dear husband is NOT a fan of Parmesan Cheese, but it is a vital ingredient in this recipe, in my opinion) Whew! I didn’t tell him straight away just what it was that he was eating. He is pretty trusting that most everything I cook is pretty delish. After he had really tucked into the meal I told him what it was and he was amazed!

Wow your family tonight with this super easy Carrot Top Pesto and Linguini.

Carrot Top Pesto and Linguini
Carrot Top Pesto and Linguini

1 cup (20 grams) lightly packed Carrot Leaves, stems removed, rinsed
6 Tablespoons (90 ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Salt
*3 Tablespoons Pine Nuts, toasted
1/4 cup (30grams) freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Put a large pot of water on to boil for linguini.
Cook according to package directions and drain.

While the linguini is cooking, combine carrot leaves, olive oil, garlic and salt in a food processor until finely minced.
Add nuts *(I didn’t have any pine nuts on hand and used chopped walnuts instead; it was a gamble but it worked) and Pulse until finely chopped.
Pour prepared linguini into a mixing bowl, add pesto and parmesan cheese; stir well to combine.
Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of hot chili flakes.

Serves 4

Breakfast

Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes

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I wanted to make Luke Breakfast for Dinner but didn’t have any bread in the house. Luke doesn’t like to mix his savoury with his sweet so I couldn’t make, you know, regular pancakes. But, hey, I saw a post the other day for Ham and Cheese Pancakes…I don’t remember where I saw it but I have a pretty good grasp on how to make a basic pancake and let’s see, what’s in the fridge? Broccoli, cheddar, tomato….yup, I have it. Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes with Tomato Sriracha Yogurt.

Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes
Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil or Butter, melted
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 – 2 cups Almond Milk or Milk
3 stems Broccoli, finely chopped
1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese, grated
2 Green Onions, chopped

1 cup Greek Style Yogurt
1 Roma Tomato, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons Sriracha Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Pepper, to taste

Heat electric griddle to 350F.
In mixing bowl combine flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a small bowl combine vegetable oil, eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk; add all at once to dry ingredients and stir gently, just until combined, adding more milk if needed to get right consistency. ( I never measure milk…just pour!)
Fold in chopped broccoli, shredded cheddar and green onions.
Drop about 1/3 cup of batter onto lightly greased griddle, smoothing batter out a bit with the back of your spoon. I can usually cook 6 pancakes at a time on my griddle.
Cook until bubbles form and start to pop, about 3 – 4 minutes, before turning over.
Continue cooking for another 3 – 4 minutes.
Transfer to serving platter and repeat with remaining batter.
While pancakes are cooking, combine yogurt, chopped tomato, sriracha sauce and salt in a small bowl.
To serve, stack two or three pancakes on plate, top with Tomato Sriracha Sauce, a bit of shredded cheddar and chopped green onion.

Makes 8 pancakes.

Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes with Bacon and Eggs
Broccoli and Cheddar Whole Wheat Pancakes with Bacon and Eggs
Soup

Cabbage Roll Soup

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I had a head of cabbage in the fridge that needed to be made into soup and seeing it was super cold on Sunday, Cabbage Roll Soup sounded pretty good! I have not made real Cabbage Rolls for about 30 years so I really couldn’t remember what ingredients were involved. Google to the rescue.
I needed to make it Vegetarian so I could eat it too, but by all means, head on over to annaOlson for the original recipe. I left out the bacon and the ground beef.

Vegetarian Cabbage Roll Soup
Vegetarian Cabbage Roll Soup

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
1 stalk Celery, diced
1 Carrot, peeled and diced
1 pkg Just Like Ground Round
2 cloves Garlic, minced
6 cups Green or Savoy Cabbage, diced
2 (28 oz) tins Diced Tomatoes
1 Green Pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cups Vegetable Stock
1/4 cup Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Sweet Paprika
2 teaspoon Celery Salt
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 Brown Rice
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Sour Cream, garnish

In a large, heavy-bottom soup pot heat olive oil over med-high heat.
Add and cook onion for about 3 minutes.
Stir in diced celery and carrot; cook for another 5 minutes.
Stir in Just Like Ground Round; and garlic and cook for another minute or two.
Stir in the cabbage and add the tomatoes, diced green pepper,  stock, vinegar, paprika, celery salt, bay leaves and rice.
Cover the pot and bring it to a boil.
Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the rice is fully cooked, about 40 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the bay leaves and serve, garnished with a dollop of sour cream

* I grilled some chicken breasts, chopped one up and topped my husbands soup with it.

* I used my Food Processor to slice the celery, carrot and cabbage

* Next time I will add a Tablespoon or two of Tomato Paste

Vegetarian

Peanutty Quinoa Bowls with Baked Tofu

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I follow Oh My Veggies on Facebook which lead me to their website where I was searched for a meatless meal to make for our Whatever! We Can Do Without Meat Wednesday. Now typically, I am not a fan of tofu; I know, weird, right? A Vegetarian who doesn’t like Tofu. It’s the texture of the stuff. And the appearance of it. And the feel of it when you take it out of the package. I am grimacing as I type this…too many vivid thoughts about Tofu. But hey, this recipe made it taste sooooo good! Once I got through all the hurdles: got it out of the package, sliced and got it marinating,  it was easy street after that! And I am pleased to say that it was VERY easy to eat! Too easy! I could easily have had seconds!

Now, of course, I was missing half the ingredients, but I never let that stop me from trying something new! I used what I had on hand: subbed in julienned carrots for red pepper, edamame for the broccoli, yellow pepper just because I had it. And  guess what? Last night when I went grocery shopping? I bought more tofu just so I could make this again!!   Are you now convinced this is good? Go on, give it a go!

peanutty quinoa bowl with baked tofu
Peanutty Quinoa Bowl with Baked Tofu

3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (or Tamari)
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic, mashed
Pepper
1 (425g) package Extra Firm Tofu, drained, pressed for 30 minutes and cut into 8 slices.

1/2 cup Quinoa
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 small Red Pepper, diced
1 small crown of Broccoli, cut into small florets
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
1 Tablespoon Water
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1 teaspoon Soy Sauce (Tamari)
1/2 teaspoon Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh Ginger, grated
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Splash of Sriracha, to taste
4 slices Baked Tofu (recipe above)
2 Tablespoons Roasted Peanuts, chopped
Green Onions, garnish

30 minutes to Overnight before you want to make this recipe, prepare the Tofu Marinade:
Whisk together soy sauce, maple syrup, olive oil, garlic and pepper in a large zip lock freezer bag.
Lay the tofu in the bag, seal, transfer to fridge and let marinate for 30 minutes or longer, flipping over at least once.
The tofu should soak up almost all of the marinade.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Place tofu on prepared baking tray and bake for about 40 minutes. or until edges are dark and tofu is chewy, turning over halfway through the cooking time.

While the tofu is baking, prepare the Quinoa according to package directions. (1:2 Quinoa: Water; cook for 15 to 20 minutes)
Depending on what I am making, I might use Vegetable Broth instead of Water to cook the Quinoa for extra flavour in the finished product.
While quinoa is cooking, heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the red pepper and cook for a few minutes, until softened.
Transfer to a mixing bowl.
Add the broccoli to the skillet with a bit of water, cover with tight fitting lid and steam for just a couple of minutes.
Transfer broccoli to mixing bowl containing the red pepper.
In a pyrex measuring cup or a small bowl combine peanut butter, lime juice, water, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger,sriracha,  salt and pepper; whisk until smooth.
When quinoa is cooked, transfer to mixing bowl containing prepared veggies; toss everything together with the peanut sauce.
Divide quinoa into two bowls, top each with 2 slices of baked tofu, chopped peanuts and chopped green onions,

Serves 2