Walnut Pesto

There were giant bunches of basil staring me down at the farm stand. They said:
"My only desire in my short basil-y life is to be pesto."
And so I acquiesced.
Basil can be very persuasive. 

Walnut Pesto

Makes about 6oz

A couple roasted garlic cloves, more or less to taste

1 ounce fresh basil leaves

1 ounce walnuts

3 tablespoons grated romano or parmesan cheese

1/4 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil

juice from half of a lemon

a few pinches of salt

First roast the garlic. (click here to learn how)

Next, combine garlic, basil and walnuts in a food processor and process for 30 seconds or until chopped fairly evenly. While the food processor is still running drizzle in olive oil, then the cheese and lemon juice. Add salt to taste but remember the cheese is salty already.

Toss pesto with warm pasta, or spread on crusty baguette (my favorite way to eat it). Also makes a great spread for sandwiches, a base for bruschetta, or pizza; and it's delicious mixed with ricotta, in calzones and stuffed shells.

On the topic of favorites.

rus·tic 

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or typical of country life or country people.

2. a. Lacking refinement or elegance; coarse.

     b. Charmingly simple or unsophisticated.

3. Made of unfinished or roughly finished wood

4. Having a rough or textured appearance

I'm happy the summer is almost done. There I said it. I know there are summer-lovers everywhere shaking their heads and wagging their fingers at me but that's okay. Autumn really is my favorite season. I feel like I say that about every season as it's looming, just waiting to descend on us, but this time I really mean it. Autumn is the best. Actually, the only thing better might be late-August because the entire months of September, October and November are still to come. Plus August means tomatoes. 

So. Many. Tomatoes. 

This in turn means tomato sauce. 

So. Much. Sauce.

Now, I know what you're thinking; who wants to peel all those tomatoes? Well I have two words for you: don't bother. Thats right, ignore all those cookbooks that insist you must peel and seed your tomatoes, forget that fussy ice bath, and just toss your chopped up tomatoes right into the pot. It does yield a pretty chunky sauce, but I like it that way. If you prefer a smoother more uniform result, just quickly take a stick blender and smooth it out. Some might call this the lazy way to do it but I'm going go ahead and call it rustic - which by the way, while were on the topic of favorites, might just be my favorite word. 

So here it is, the most charmingly simple, unsophisticated tomato sauce. Now you have no excuse for buying that jarred red goop that wishes it were pasta sauce.

Rustic Tomato Sauce

This is more of a guide then a recipe, there really are no right or wrong measurements. If you don't like onion, use less; If you really like onion, use more. You get the idea, feel free to play around with the proportions and don't be afraid to taste it as it cooks. There is no need for sugar here because of the sweetness from the carrot and grape tomatoes. Be generous with the salt, it will round out the flavor. Tomatoes can be quite costly from a supermarket even when they are in season however this can be a very inexpensive recipe if you seek out ingredients from your local farmer's market or better yet the actual farm. Makes about 1 quart of sauce.

Olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 small head of garlic, chopped

1 carrot, chopped in large chunks

~3 pounds Roma tomatoes, chopped course

1/2-1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half

2 tablespoons tomato paste (I like Brad's organic)

garlic powder

onion powder

dried oregano

juice of 1/2 a lemon

sea salt or kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

fresh basil and parsley, chopped course

Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Add a swig of olive oil and wait for it to heat up.

When a drop of water makes the oil splatter, add the onion and carrot. Saute until onion is softened then add the garlic. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.

Next add the chopped tomatoes and grape tomatoes. Cover and turn the heat up to high. 

The tomatoes will begin to release their juices and break down. When a liquid starts to form add the tomato paste, a few large pinches of dried oregano and a couple shakes of each garlic and onion powder. Stir to combine, turn the heat down to a simmer and replace the cover.

Let simmer until the tomatoes have mostly broken down, add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the lemon juice and replace the cover. Continue to simmer covered (about an hour and half or two hours from the time you added the tomatoes.

Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.

If you want a smoother sauce, blend it at this point with a stick blender or in a regular blender (this can be dangerous with very hot liquid so be careful). You can choose to blend it just part of the way leaving some chunks or smooth it out completely. I chose not to blend it at all. (If you go this route remove the carrot - I ate it right out the pot and burnt my tongue). If you put the sauce through the blender return it to the pot.

Add the coarsely chopped basil and parsley. Stir to combine, cover and cook another couple minutes.

Spoon sauce over pasta, use as a hot bruschetta on thick, crusty slices of bread or freeze it in ball jars for later use. Relish all the time you saved not peeling your tomatoes.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Sometimes I write posts that never get published. They just sit there forgotten and lonely, branded by the orange letters that scrawl out "draft". What is normally a benign word, signifying something saved for further review, seems more like a death sentence. Sometimes these forgotten words make just a sentence or two but sometimes they are whole posts long and detailed. They are stories and recipes I had every intention of releasing into the blogosphere but just got lost in the mix of things. Maybe it's because I hadn't yet typed the recipe or maybe I didn't upload the pictures right away. Sometimes I'm unhappy with the pictures and wait till I make the recipe again or maybe I just lost interest, as I do with so many things and moved on to a new post, a new recipe. Many times I don't revisit these abandoned posts - I'll reread them just a couple days later and they seem like old news. Eventually I say my goodbyes and set them free with a click of the delete button. But every now and then, just once in a while, I'll revisit them. It could be that the recipe is just too good not to share or the experience returns for a second round and suddenly my words no longer taste like stale bread as they roll off my tongue. I think in this case it's a combination of the two.

On my 9 hour flight between New York and Budapest I read a book by Molly Wizenberg called "A Homemade Life". The whole thing. I dog-eared page after page to remind myself of the recipes I wanted to make when I returned home 3 weeks later and sure enough the first one I made was for slow roasted tomatoes. They are deliciously simple and so versatile you'll want to make a big batch. Mix them into pasta,  eat them with fresh mozzarella, toss them in a salad, add them to you sandwich or take Molly's recommendation; turn them into pesto. Whatever you do, just promise me you'll give them a chance okay?

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

The coriander is optional and could be left out altogether or replaced with dried basil, oregano, caraway seeds or cumin. Makes 40 Halves

20 Roma Tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)

Salt

Pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees

Cover two baking sheets with tin foil and set aside

Toss the halved tomatoes with olive oil, coriander

Line them up on the baking trays and sprinkle with a few hefty pinches of kosher salt

Grind a generous amount of fresh black pepper over the top

Place the trays in the oven and roast for 4-6 hours.

The tomatoes when the edges are shriveled but the centers are still moist and they are about half of their original size

Refrigerate in and airtight container for up to a week.

In Under 5 Minutes

I love hot yoga. Nothing makes you feel better than an hour and a half of stretching, bending, twisting, and contorting yourself into seemingly unnatural-pretzel like shapes in a 111 degree room. It can make bad day seem insignificant, a good day seem better and easily detox the excess sugar from too much cookie dough (Me, eat too much cookie dough?? Never.) The only downfall is that I don’t make it to as many classes as I would like. The schedule tends to interfere with my classes and my dinnertime. Most of the classes are 5:30 to 6:30 or 7 and by the time I get home I'm cold, ready for a shower, and starving. On a night like this there is no overlooking the value of a meal that can come together in under 5 minutes. Especially a warm, healthy one like this. Feel free to increase the vegetables and leave out the pasta for less carbs. Spinach would also make a great addition here.

Parmesan Butter Bean Bow-Ties

It helped that I already had cooked pasta in my fridge but even if you have to boil some this still comes together in no time. Serves 1

½-¾ cup cooked butter beans

1 cup cooked whole wheat bow-tie pasta

½ cup frozen green peas

1 cup broccoli (I used frozen)

½ cup chicken stock (I used homemade)

A pinch of red pepper flakes

A pinch of dried rosemary

Parmesan cheese to taste (grated coarsely)

Salt and pepper to taste

Ready? This is really complicated. Put everything except the parmesan, salt and pepper in a pot. Cooked until heated through and most of the broth is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste, pour into a bowl and garnish with a generous amount of coarsely grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy with a piece of fresh crusty bread.

To wake up early

We are on the water again. Twice now actually.

I haven’t decided how I feel about it. On one hand I’m reluctant to lose my morning workout from winter training, not to mention that hour of sleep that we lose due to a practice time of 5:20AM. On the other hand, it’s nice to be back on the water. Really nice.

I like to wake up early and get a jump on the day and early practice forces me to do just that. Although, if you ask me at 4:45AM, when my alarm rudely chimes with no regard for my desire to stay in bed, I would surely disagree. At 4:45AM, as I trudge to the bathroom to brush my teeth, back to my room to put on every layer of clothing in my closet, and sleepily gather my car keys to make the twenty-five minute drive; I would not remember why I like to wake up early. I would not remember the brisk morning air; the smooth, steady clicks of the oarlock; and the rhythm of the slide alternating with the quiet splash of the catch. I would not remember the way the water sounds sliding under the keel between parallel puddles; the way the rudder strings slip through my hands, as they guide the shell away from the dock; or the colors of the sunrise over the river.

No, at 4:45AM the only thing I would be thinking about is the nap that I would like to take after breakfast. Of course, by the time breakfast is over, it would be four hours later; and I would be wide awake contemplating, not how long to nap but instead, what to pack for lunch.

Whole Wheat Farfalle with Spring Vegetables and Quark

During busy weeks I’ve taken to grilling a pound or more of chicken breasts on a Sunday when Colin starts the grill. I can eat it all week and it puts my mind at ease knowing that all I have to do is add a pile of vegetables – lately I like them just lightly steamed. I know that sounds boring but with a few little tweaks I can have a different meal each day. I encourage you to seek out quark, not just for this recipe but in general. I’ve spoken of it before but this is the first time I actually bought it. Let me just say, wow. It’s so beyond delicious and can be eaten a number of different ways. So far, my favorite is spread on top of a few juicy strawberries for an afternoon snack.If you can’t find quark you could substitute ricotta but it won’t have that same creamy, tartness to it. In fact I think a 2% greek yogurt might be a closer replacement. Serves 2.

4oz. Whole Wheat Farfalle

1 cup frozen green peas

1 small zucchini

~15 asparagus spears

2oz. quark

6-8oz. grilled chicken breast (see recipe below)

1/4-1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese or parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking break the tough ends of the asparagus spears and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Place in a steamer pot.

Slice zucchini into half inch thick rounds then cut the rounds into quarters and add to steamer. Add peas and steam, covered until just tender (I just take the edge off and leave them pretty crisp).

Chop chicken breast into 1/2 inch pieces, set aside.

When the pasta is done drain and pour into a large bowl. Mix in quark and romano cheese. Top with vegetables and chicken and serve.

Grilled Chicken Breast

I left out the measurements because you can make as more or as little as you want.

Usually the breasts I buy are about 1/2 each so I slice them in half and end up with 40z. chicken cutlets.

All-natural organic chicken breasts

Balsamic Vinegar

Dijon Mustard

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Prepare propane or charcoal grill.

In medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, and olive oil on a 1:1:1 ratio. Mix enough to generously coat chicken and reserve extra dressing if you have any. I never end up making enough so I just mix up more as I go. Sprinkle chicken with generously with salt and pepper, pour extra dressing over chicken and let marinate a few minutes.

Grill a few minutes in each side until cooked through. Store leftovers in the fridge to be eaten all week.