Vegan Walnut Basil Pesto

The basil is in and pesto season has begun - but in my case not the traditional type. I’ve been experimenting for the past 6 months with eating small amounts of cow's milk cheese and for the most part, I still get the same reaction. However, I have noticed that I can tolerate Parmesan cheese with minimal (still some) effects. 

I pulled most of the basil from the garden this morning before the rain hit and turned it into pesto - vegan pesto. I use walnuts for 2 reasons - they are much cheaper than pine nuts and they are better for you from a health perspective. To keep things cheese free I use nutritional yeast instead of cheese -  the nutritional yeast gives the pesto the cheesy flavor and a little bit of lemon juice provides balance. 

We’re still working on using up last year's pesto but we have a new batch from the 2022 harvest that we’ll be eating soon enough.

Ingredients:

2 cups packed basil leaves (no stems)

3T walnuts 

3 cloves garlic 

1T lemon juice

2 - 3T olive oil

2T nutritional yeast

1/4t salt

3 - 4 T water (more if needed)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and mix. Divide into small containers (a little pesto goes a long way) and freeze. 

What’s your favorite way to use pesto - drop me a line in the comment section below. Thanks for stopping by!

We’re in the Swiss Chard

It’s the middle of July and the garden is exploding - we’re definitely in zucchini season (I pick at least one each day) and the chard, collards, kale, and basil are in good form. I picked the last of the sugar snap peas today and last night I pulled them out. Time to plant some cold season crops like carrots, kale, turnips, beets, beans, spinach, and more greens - yay!

The winter squash is maturing (I have 2 delicata squash that are looking lovely and the honey nut are blossoming. I love watching the bees in my early morning garden check hop from flower to flower - they are so beautiful.  

The beans are still lagging and the Japanese beetles are making havoc with them. The cucumber is flowering (with only very small cukes) and the Minnesota Midgets have So. Many. Flowers.! The black turtle beans are also exploding. Fall harvest will be amazing - I hope. 

I’ve been asked to consider taking the lead of a community garden in Minneapolis next year, although they would like to plant fall crops I’m not sure that is doable with the time remaining. I’m interested but would definitely need some help - they have over 3000 square feet (according to the writeup) but the pictures seem smaller, I guess there is room for expansion.

I harvested a large amount of chard yesterday morning with the intention of adding it to dinner. I also had 5 zucchini, one yellow squash, and some pantry items to use up - so dinner was an onion, chard, zucchini, bean, tomato, and summer squash grain bowl, which as it turned out was quite good. 

Ingredients 

1 onion - chopped 

1 summer squash - sliced and then cut in half

1 medium zucchini - sliced and then cut in half

2 1/2 C swiss chard - stems and leaves - roughly chopped

1 can of diced tomatoes 

1/2 cup veggie broth

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 

2 cloves garlic - minced 

Instructions:

In a medium-sized pan add 1T olive oil and onion and chard stems, and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Add squash, zucchini, diced tomatoes, and broth let simmer until squash starts to soften. Add chard leaves and red pepper flakes. Saute until squash is tender and chard is wilted. 

Serve over rice with pita bread and fruit. 

Salad Night

When the temps are supposed to rise to 96 in Minnesota I get up early and get my garden chores done. I watered, killed a few Asian Beetles (I left their bodies on the ground as a sign of things to come for others who might think defoliating my plants is a good idea), and then watched the bees fly from squash flower to squash flower it was inspiring. Oh, I picked the first Sweet 100 cherry tomato and let Dan eat it because tomatoes are his favorite. 

This week I will most likely pull the garlic and sugar snap peas and plant another round of carrots or beans or chard - not sure yet. In August I will plant some spinach and other cold crops. Speaking of sugar snaps - I’ve been talking to my community garden friends and they are all disappointed with this year's crop - they are not tasty; except mine are. Mine do get some shade and my Master Gardener friends are attributing the bad flavor/texture to the 100-degree days we had a while back but not sure - every year produces different results even if you think you are doing the exact same thing.

I thought about going out to dinner but when I look in the fridge I see 4 zucchini, @1.5 lbs. of sugar snap peas, and a massive amount of greens all that needs to be used before they expire. I was not in favor of turning on the stove or burners for that matter so I defaulted to - Salad Night! Three salads, two plates, and 2 hearty appetites. 

The first salad - Seafood Salad - is not a vegetarian dish but it’s super easy to make. The second - Sugar snap pea and edamame salad is vegetarian and has only 7 ingredients. The last - Dressed greens with blueberries, peaches, and feta - super easy.

Seafood Salad

Ingredients

1 pkg mock crab

2 stalks of celery - chopped

3 scallions - chopped 

fresh dill 

mayo

Instructions:

Finely chop celery and scallions and add them to a bowl. Add shredded mock crab and then chopped dill. Mix all with mayo and add salt and pepper to taste

Sugar Snap Pea and Edamame Salad

Dressing Ingredients:

2 green onions - finely diced

2T olive oil

2T fresh lemon juice

1t - maple syrup

Salt and pepper to taste

Veggies:

@ 1lb sugar snap peas - cleaned and trimmed

10 oz frozen edamame - thawed

Instructions:

Combine dressing ingredients and set aside. Steam edamame and sugar snap peas until crisp-tender. Toss peas with dressing - serve hot or cold. 

Dress Greens with Blueberries, Peaches, and Feta

Ingredients:

Leaf lettuce

Kale

Swiss chard

Collard greens 

1/2 cup blueberries

1 peach - peeled and sliced 

Feta cheese - to taste

Salt 

Pepper

Dressing:

2T - olive oil

1T - balsamic vinegar

1t - maple syrup

Instructions:

Mix dressing ingredients and set aside. Clean, wash and tear greens. Add blueberries, peaches, and crumble feta. Toss with dressing and serve.

After dinner, we headed to Frio Frio a local haunt that serves hand-crafted popsicles (I am sure they call them something else). I had a raspberry hibiscus and Dan had a blueberry & greek yogurt - a nice end to a simple and lovely meal.

Thanks for stopping by!

Zucchini, Sugar Snaps, and Chard

I know I know sometimes I don’t blog for a month and now 2 times in the same week; I can hear you saying - what’s up with her anyway? Remember I said I wanted to blog more in retirement but then I thought I was too busy? Let’s say I’m making up for lost time. 

If you saw my post last night you know we’ve got this thing going on with Mother Nature - she doesn’t want us to eat out on our deck for some unknown reason. The past 2 nights we get the table set and the food out and within 10 minutes some random cloud goes over and we have to make a mad dash back inside - yikes. 

Last night we had a delicious dinner from the garden (partially outside and finished inside); a chard salad with beets and a balsamic dressing, soba noodles and stir-fried zucchini, sugar snaps, and carrots (the carrots were not from the garden). It was simple but so delicious.

Swiss chard is one of my favorite greens - for Dan not so much. He’ll eat them sautéed with onions, lots of garlic, and white beans. My chard is going crazy and we’ve got beets in the refrigerator so I put the two together and made a dressing and - salad, done. 

Our sugar snap peas are coming along nicely. The past couple of days I’ve picked quite a few. I’ve also picked a couple of zucchini (trying to catch them when they are smaller this year). I chopped and cleaned the veggies and then tasked Dan with doing the stir fry. He added onions of course and the result hit the spot. 

Salad ingredients:

4 cups shredded swiss chard

2 large (or 3 small) beets

sunflower seeds

Dressing ingredients: 

1T olive oil

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup fresh orange juice

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Make dressing and set aside. Shred and chop chard and beets. Toss mixture with dressing, sprinkle with sunflower seeds, and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Stir fry ingredients:

1 1/2 zucchini - sliced into rounds 

1 onion - peeled and cut into large pieces 

2 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds 

2 hand full sugar snap peas - cleaned 

Sauce:

1T olive oil

1T sesame oil

1/2 T chili oil

1T soy sauce

2 cloves garlic minced 

1 knob ginger minced 

1T corn starch 

Instructions:

Prepare sauce by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. 

Prepare all vegetables. 

In a medium pan add 1 T olive oil and saute onions until translucent, add carrots and saute an addition 2 - 3 minutes, add zucchini and peas and saute another minute or two. 

Add sauce and stir fry until thickened. 

We served the vegetables over soba noodles and there are leftovers for dinner. 

Thanks for stopping by!

A Vegan Summer Broccoli Salad

Garden season is in full swing. I’ve picked a few zucchini, sugar snap peas are blooming and ready to harvest, and the garlic leaves are starting to brown (so it won’t be long to harvest). The winter squash (honey nut, delicata & acorn) are climbing the fence and I’ve counted @20 squash (between all 3 types). 

Some of the other crops are still a bit behind - the Spring weather certainly has had an impact. The tomatoes are now fruiting and with the warmer temps this week they may start to ripen. My cucumber is still trying to decide if it wants to be a plant but I have 3 hills of Minnesota Midget Melons that are flowering and the melons are coming - I am so excited!

My ground cherries are looking good and my black turtle beans have SO MANY FLOWERS. My only disappointment is the green beans, which if you know me you know is my signature crop. I plant at least 3 rounds of beans and then make coconut green beans and freeze them for the long winter months, The bean seeds I purchased were bush beans but it is obvious that they are pole beans. As the saying goes “shit happens.” 

I had an excellent volunteering weekend. On Saturday I spent the afternoon at one of the Master Gardener Learning gardens and then on Sunday I was in a booth at a local farmers market -both fun events. 

This morning I combed through my own garden and harvested food and removed pests and then headed over to the local community garden and did it all again. I am grateful I have not yet found any Japanese beetles - I hate those things. 

Last night we ordered dinner from a new Indian restaurant near us so tonight was leftover night but I had a head of broccoli that needed to get used and my cilantro was starting to bolt so I needed to do something with that. I found a recipe for a vegan broccoli salad and adapted it to what was in the pantry - the result was quite delicious and tomorrow’s lunch is ready and waiting. 

Salad Ingredients:

1 head of broccoli - finely chopped

1 cup shredded carrots

1 15-ounce can of chickpeas

1/4 cup sunflower seeds 

1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds 

1/2 dried cranberries 

1 bunch of green onions 

3/4 cup chopped cilantro

Dressing Ingredients:

2T toasted sesame oil

2T olive oil

2T reduced-sodium soy sauce

2-3T rice wine vinegar

1.5T pure maple syrup

2 cloves garlic - finely minced

1T freshly grated ginger

1T peanut butter 

Instructions:

Make the dressing by adding all ingredients to a measuring cup, whisk to combine, and set aside. 

Chop all vegetables and place in a large bowl, pour dressing over salad, and stir to combine.

Keep gardening and stay cool - thanks for stopping by!

The Salad Bar

It’s a beautiful July morning. I’m sitting on the deck, enjoying a cup of coffee and watering the garden. Later today we’ll head to the Guthrie to see Emma, which I’ve heard is lovely. 

The garden is coming along nicely, we’ve been harvesting lots of greens and I can see zucchini, summer squash, and winter squash are on their way. I’d say we will be eating zucchini next week. The green beans seem to be in a love fest with the garlic (see pics) and I’m not sure how I’ll get the scapes cut off and untangled - that is a project for later today. I may have to cut them and leave them where they are, we’ll see. 

My experiments; black turtle beans, ground cherries, and Minnesota midget melons are all doing well and with luck, the crops will be successful - fingers crossed. I noticed last night that the turtle beans are flowering - good things are on the way. 

Our friend Paith stopped by last weekend and wanted a tour of the garden - she dubbed the bed with all the greens in it “the salad bar” so we’re going with that. 

After a day of volunteering at our favorite female-owned STEM bookstore (The Thinking Spot), we came home and put together a quick dinner of mussels, garlic bread, and a salad - with greens from the salad bar. It was light, tasty, and exactly what I was hungry for. 

There isn’t really a recipe for the salad but it was filled with lots of greens (lettuce, swiss chard, kale, mizuna, collard greens, bok choy, mustard greens, and cilantro. I added tomatoes, radishes, peppers, cucumber, raisins, and olives, and topped it with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, a squeeze of spicy brown mustard, and a bit of maple syrup.

Dan did the garlic bread honors - he sautéed the garlic in olive oil, brushed the mixture on the grain bread, and then toasted it under the broiler until it had the perfect crunch. I enjoyed it with a crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc. 

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend and makes time to spend it with family and friends. Thanks for stopping by!