Basil cashew pesto

Basil cashew pesto over mashed potatoes.

 

I had a craving for pesto the other day. I picked up a big bunch of basil at the store and completely forgot to pick up some pine nuts.

Doh!!

I did find a container of cashews in my cupboard. 

And so basil cashew pesto was born.

It turned out creamy and packed a great basil punch and the cashews added just a hint of sweetness that I loved.

The pesto made another appearance at lunch.

Steamed green beans and sauteed mushrooms.

The mushrooms came out perfectly browned.

And then I smothered everything with pesto!

Basil cashew pesto

Ingredients:

2 large bunches of basil
1 Tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of cashews
2 Tbsp of water
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Place all the ingredients into a blender, food processor or use an immersion blender and blend until you have a thick paste.

Enjoy!

Morning appetite

Vegetable tofu scramble.

My appetite has finally returned since the pups are home safe and sound.

This morning I wanted a big plate of veggies and some fruit but, as you know, I am trying to eat protein on a more consistent basis. Cue the protein:

Locally made tofu.

I chopped two small rainbow carrots, 1/2 a small Yukon gold potato and two stalks of broccoli rabe and threw them into the steamer.

Most tofu scrambles use crumbly tofu and I personally hate that texture in the scramble. The tofu starts to break down and the bits of tofu feel like tiny pebbles. Ugh, not my favorite.

Instead, I sliced of long, fairly thick slices of tofu and put them into a hot pan with some peanut oil. 

A lot of recipes want you to marinate the tofu first but I find this makes it harder to get the tofu nice and crisp. Luckily this tofu had very little water in it so it crisped up very nicely.

I pulled the tofu out of the pan when both sides had browned. I cut it up into small squares and set it aside.

When the vegetables were nice and tender (you may want to pull them out earlier if you want more crunch to the veggies) and they went into the skillet.

Then I added:

1 Tbsp of vegetable broth
1 Tbsp of soy sauce
1/2 tsp of white miso paste mixed with a little water

I covered the skillet and let this cook over low heat for a few minutes. 

The tofu went in at the end and everything was tossed together till well coated with the sauce.

Then I plated the tofu and vegetables and finished it with a drizzle of sesame oil.

The tofu was wonderful. It had a crisp and chewy texture like bacon or sausage. This texture is much more to my taste and it was delicious!

On the side I enjoyed one of my favorite instant espresso drinks.

This instant coffee is great to have on hand for making a quick cup of espresso or to use in recipes if you want a nice non-bitter coffee flavor.

Vegetable tofu scramble, a cup of espresso with soymilk and some juicy, ripe watermelon.

I do have to tell you that crispy tofu is a wonderful thing.

Connor was crying for the watermelon so both dogs enjoyed a nice, juicy chunk of the water filled fruit. 

No surprise there, I suppose, since going a day with limited water (because of the anesthesia) would make anyone lust after a slice of watermelon :-)

Low fat vegan tomato soup and a new find

This morning I enjoyed a super simple homemade tomato and basil soup.

This soup was simple because I used canned tomatoes and it was also super creamy because I added pureed Yukon gold potatoes.

Check out the recipe below. My recommendation? Take advantage of all of the nice, ripe tomatoes that are in the stores and at the farmer's market at this time of year and make this soup!

But on to my new find:

I found these cute little tins at Whole Foods. They are a bit on the pricey side but I decided to try them out because they are produced locally.

I opened the can of tuna for a side dish of protein with my soup. 

I really liked this tuna. Instead of being the smaller bits of fish that other manufacturers seem to use for their tuna, this one looked like it was one large chunk of a filet. 

Low fat vegan tomato and basil soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 15oz can of chopped tomatoes

1 cup of water

1 small Yukon gold potato, cubed

1 shallot, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp of sun-dried tomato paste 

1 Tbsp of nutritional yeast

1/8 tsp of olive oil

1/2 tsp of dried basil

1/2 tsp of dried parsley

1/4 tsp of dried oregano

1/2 tsp of raw honey*

3 basil leaves torn into small pieces

Instructions:

Place a sauce pan on medium low heat and add in the olive oil and chopped shallots. Let it cook until the shallots become translucent. Add in the chopped garlic and stir for another minute. Add in the basil, parsley and oregano and continue to stir until fragrant. 

Next, add in the rest of the ingredients (except the fresh basil leaves) and bring up to a simmer. When the soup comes to a simmer, turn down the heat to low and cover the pot. Let simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. 

Pull the pan off the heat and fish out the pieces of potato. There is no need to be fussy at this point, you just want to leave enough of the tomatoes in the pan so that the soup is a little bit chunky in the end. 

Puree the potatoes and whatever bits of the soup came along for the ride with an immersion blender. I used the tall cylinder that came with my immersion blender - the taller the better to avoid any splashing. You can also use a blender if that is what you have on hand just be careful to not overfill it.

Add the pureed potatoes back into the pan and stir till everything is combined. 

Ladle the soup into bowls and tear the basil leaves and add them on top.

Enjoy!

 

*Note: if you are using fresh tomatoes that are very sweet you may want to omit the honey all together.

Baby asparagus breakfast hash

Years ago I lived in a house that was around the corner and down the street from a great little restaurant.

The name of the restaurant was Late For The Train. It was a darling little bistro that had tons of booths (which I love) and a big outdoor patio.

The food they served up was simple and bursting with flavor. I don't remember ever having a bad meal there. But the one thing I loved the most was their country potatoes. 

These potatoes were crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. But how well they were cooked was not the best part. 

The best part was the flavor which was salty and slightly sweet and something else I could never quite put my finger on.

I have been trying to recreate them for years. But this morning? This morning I got it just right!

And, yes, I am going to give you the recipe :-)

I took the liberty of dressing up the potatoes with some baby asparagus and some shredded chicken but these potatoes would shine just as well on their own.

I enjoyed my hash with an orange and a mug of coffee.

The mug was a gift from one of my sister's and it has these adorable kitties waving.

Ok, here comes the recipe.


Baby Asparagus Hash (aka. the perfect country potato recipe)

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 large Yukon gold potato, cut into cubes
1/4 of a yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup of cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup of baby asparagus
1/2 tsp. of coconut oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. of soy sauce

Instructions:

Place the cubed potato into a steamer and let it cook until tender (about 8-10 minutes). 

While the potatoes steam, add 1/2 of the coconut oil to a skillet and saute the onions until they just begin to caramelize. Do not let them completely caramelize as this will make the dish too sweet.

Remove the onions from the pan and set aside. 

When the potatoes have about 3-5 more minutes to cook, toss in the baby asparagus. Leave the asparagus whole for this step (this will make it easier to pull out later). When the asparagus looks bright green and still has some crunch, remove them from the steamer with tongs and cut them into 1" long pieces and add them to the onions.

When the potatoes are almost tender, remove them from the steamer. Add the remaining coconut oil to the skillet (you may need more oil if your pan is not well seasoned) and place the potatoes in one layer in the skillet. 

Let the potatoes brown over medium heat. When the first side is browned, flip them and let them continue to cook. 

When both sides are browned to your liking, add back in the onions, asparagus, shredded chicken and the soy sauce. Toss until everything is well coated with the soy sauce.  Cover the pan, turn the heat to low and let cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Plate your hash and enjoy!!