Lemon, Basil Pesto Meal (No heat involved)

It's almost too hot lately to keep the computer running, but I'm sacrificing for the 3 folks who read this blog with a dinner I surprised myself with just last night. It's pretty quick and definitely cool, which we need on these 105 Heat Index days.

I have modified my pesto slightly to include some salad greens. The reason is 2-fold:

1. It keeps the pesto green.
2. It gets salad greens in my child without complaint.

The meal is enough for two generous servings, but quantity of ingredients can easily be increased to serve more. The pesto made enough for the meal several times over. Or just to dip with crackers or slather on bread for an appetizer.

Ingredients for Pesto
1-2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup pine nuts
juice of 1 lemon
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 salad spinner filled with fresh basil, parsley, and salad greens
sea salt to taste

Directions for Pesto*--put all ingredients in a food processor and turn it on. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Ingredients for Meal
1 can tuna, drained
1 summer squash, washed and cut into chunks
5-8 grape tomatoes, washed and quartered
Pesto to taste
Salad greens

Directions for Meal--put tuna, squash, and tomatoes in a bowl. Add pesto and toss to coat. Serve over salad greens.

*I love having extra pesto around for a quick salad side. Try putting on chopped summer squash or mix with tomatoes and feta or add to lightly steamed carrots. Simple and fast, and the taste is divine!

Tomato, Cucumber, Kohlrabi salad with Cilantro Pesto

The Easter Bunny was good to us this year bringing several little pots of herbs. One in particular has done extremely well--cilantro. So glad this one decided to be the herb of choice, because it's one of my favorites. I decided to use a chunk of our harvest to make pesto to serve as the dressing for the veggies multiplying in my fridge. It turned out so yummy I had to distract my four year old with a homemade popsicle to keep him from eating all the pesto on crackers (our preferred taste-test method). Hope it's a winner at your house, too!

Ingredients
1-2 garlic cloves
2 cups cilantro, washed*
1/2-1 cup parsley leaves*
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4-1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
sea salt to taste
Veggies that need eating--couple of tomatoes, cucumber, summer squash, kohlrabi, etc.
a little feta cheese ('cause feta makes everything betta!)
*I decided not to get anxious about the stems of the cilantro or parsley, because it was quite a lot of leaves to pull. Didn't seem to make a difference in the final product, so pull the leaves away from the main stem, but do it several leaves at a time to keep it simple. Also, small hands can help here!

Directions

1. Add garlic to bowl of food processor or blender and chop.
2. Add cilantro and parsley to garlic, chop, then add pumpkin seeds and chop.
3. With the blade running, add olive oil and sea salt.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings.
5. Combine chopped up veggies and feta and toss with pesto to coat well.
6. Enjoy!

Some like it hot

I have learned several things about okra this summer:

1. It's a plant from Africa, so it likes heat, which is why we've had a lot of it in our CSA box this season (one of the hottest summers on record in these parts).
2. It's prickly to harvest--wear long sleeves and gloves.
3. Add a little heat to this crop, and it's yummy. 
4. I can eat it without frying it!

Here's my new favorite way to prepare it, shared with me by a client (then modified slightly to include other items in my CSA box for the week). It's pretty quick, because you only have to trim the okra, rather than slicing it into small pieces. I did learn that the smaller okra is better in this recipe. Once it gets more than an inch and a half or so long (after being trimmed), it's almost too tough to eat.

Ingredients
2-3 cups fresh okra, washed and trimmed (or whatever amount you've got)
2-3 summer squash, washed and sliced 1/2 inch thick (optional--I had them, so I threw them in)
1 T grapeseed oil (or other high heat oil)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T freshly ground ginger
1/8-1/4 t dried red pepper flakes
2 T soy sauce
1 T toasted sesame seeds
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
whole grain of choice--kasha, brown rice, quinoa (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil over high heat in wok or skillet. Throw in the okra and squash and saute for several minutes.
2. Turn on the exhaust fan, if you haven't already (a helpful hint from the person who shared this recipe with me). 
3. Add garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and continue to saute until okra is brilliant green and squash is getting slightly brown.
4. Remove from skillet and toss with soy sauce and sesame seeds.
5. Serve over whole grain or as a side dish topped with cilantro.
6. Enjoy!