Walnut Basil Pesto

Using the amount of Basil shown here, with stems removed, I added a generous amount of Moroccan EVOO, 2 handfuls of chopped walnuts, about 1-1/2c grated parmesan-romano cheese blend, about 3/4c chopped chives, cayenne and black pepper, and a good sprinkle of Lowrey's Garlic Salt. 

Blend all this well in your food processor. 

I didn't do actual measurements since I wasn't planning to blog this. It turned out well though, so I'm at least sharing the idea behind the adventure.

I had some of this last night with steamed shrimp over angel hair pasta. Ohhh, it was so good!

Have fun and be bold with your cooking. . .Lin

Spicy Chive Compound Butter

I visited my Granddaughter the other day.

As I was leaving, we picked some chives from her front yard.  

They're not only a wonderful herb, but when they're an older, well-established, flowering plant, they grow to 1'-2' tall, with dusty violet colored flower orbs, atop dark green stalks. . .They're a beautiful, delicate touch to a flower bed.  Chive Flowers are edible and give a great burst of fresh onion flavor to salads, etc. . .

Softened, Seasoned Butter

Chive Compound Butter

1# salted butter
a pinch of salt
1-3t dry dill
fresh ground black pepper
1/2-1t southwest chipotle seasoning

1c finely chopped chives
5 lg. finely minced cloves of garlic

Breakfast Eggs with Sautéed Vegetables

For Sautéing 

Mix the butter and seasonings.  Add the chives and garlic.  At this point, after chilling, the butter isn't soft enough to spread.  If you'd like, you could also add some extra virgin olive oil to this mixture to accomplish that, as well as make it a little healthier.

Lemon Cilantro Chicken and Vegetables

I'm going to try using 1/2c of a good quality, single source, EVOO next time I make this. Savory compound butter is an excellent way to incorporate flavor in sautéed vegetables or meat. You could also make sweet compound butter with a little brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice for scones, quick breads and muffins...😯...Lin

A BIG Allium Adventure!!

I didn't know onions were in the Lily family!  They're also known as alliums!
I've become sort of compulsive with certain cooking and kitchen related things in the past few years.  You know how people collect things. . .well, I have quite the collection of Hall's Superior Kitchenware bowls and covered casserole dishes.  They're useful and so beautiful!  More recently, I've been buying onions, a variety of them, different colors and flavors for different recipes.  I finally decided I need to do something with them since I have so many.  Especially since a couple days ago, a friend and I made tacos for 110 people, and we chopped WAY too many onions. 😜 I split them with another kitchen worker, but we still each had 4c of finely chopped Vidalia onions!!  Oh my!

So today's the day!
I was going to make all these ingredients into a nice pot of soup. Well, problem is, I don't have anyone to share this with right now. I chopped and chopped, then mixed them all together, then realized this is WAY too much onion for a little 3 quart pot of soup! Yup, I was right, it's 12 cups of assorted chopped alliums. Garlic, Purple Shallot, Yellow Onion, Purple Onion, and of course, those Vidalias! 😄

Purple Onion, Vidalias, Shallots, Yellow Onions, Garlic in the center

The greens in the little vase, are mostly for garnish.  Garlic shoots from some cloves I planted, as well as some lovely chives I have in my yard.

I'm using 4 cups of the mixed onions for this recipe, but freezing the remainder in four 2-cup packages for future soups, stews or chili.  

4c mixed, chopped alliums

3-4T butter

2c of filtered, cold water

1t-1T Rosemary Seasoning *

2 sm.-med. new red potatoes

1-2T Chicken Better Than Bouillon

2-4 additional cups of filtered, cold water

½-1c sour cream - optional

'Sweat' the onions and butter over low heat, in a heavy-bottomed, covered pot for about 10 minutes, before adding the next group.  I decided to use a couple scrubbed, finely cubed potatoes to thicken the soup, rather than four, keeping it gluten-free.  Simmer all this together, covered, for another 20 minutes or so, adding more water as needed.

When the potato cubes are soft it's ready to be blended.  An immersion blender is wonderful for this, but you can also use a regular blender.

After blending, check flavors and make any adjustments needed.  Cool for 10 minutes before stirring in the sour cream.  Serve with minced chives, a dab of sour cream and croutons if you want. . .Lin