Arugula-Basil-Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Today's Pesto Day!
Put these ingredients, in their group, into your blender jar and pulse just enough to blend each, starting with the first. Then add the greens and pulse until incorporated. Last add the cheese and pulse until everything's chopped and combined the way you'd like. Most people prefer doing this in a food processor which works great, but somehow I'd rather pulse all this in my blender. However, this took a lot of jar scraping to totally combine. . .Use whichever works best for you.

6oz. single source EVOO

2 big garlic cloves - chopped

zest + juice of a lemon

½T salt, pepper, garlic Kinder's Blend

½c± organic sprouted pumpkin seeds

68g - 2.4oz arugula

32g - 1.15oz. basil 

2½oz. total - of five microgreens:

- pea shoots, radish, kale,

- red cabbage and basil

3oz. grated Parmesan-Romano cheese

I wasn't planning this, but the photo below shows my late breakfast - early lunch when, after blending, I discovered it wouldn't all fit in my 16oz. container. This recipe made about 20oz. In addition to fresh basil, you can use just about any greens. In the past I've used curly as well as flat leaf Italian parsley, celery greens, spinach even some beautiful carrot tops one time! I have some beautiful chard right now, but decided I might steam that to go with salmon soon.

Now a word about pasta. . .
True Italian pasta is far healthier than our typical American variety. I've been ordering it online now since in Europe they don't use GMO wheat, no preservatives and their milling process for the wheat includes more of the healthy parts of the whole grain.

I cook my pasta using the resistant starch method. If you need pasta right away you can still accomplish this by cooking to al denté stage, draining, then rinsing and soaking a few minutes in icy cold water. Then drain, combine with the sauce and reheat. Or reheat the pasta only and add the sauce.

It's SO worth the extra steps to create a much healthier version of pasta! Happy Cooking! . .😃. .Lin

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

Ohhh, no matter what variation of a Beet Salad I make, I always love it!
This might be the first time I've paired orange and beet, and definitely the first for the greens I used.

Cover the bottom of a glass pan with EVOO. Scrub and dry your beets with a paper towel. Don't peel them - root vegetables absorb so many great nutrients through the skin, so don't lose those. Cut them in similar size pieces and put them cut side down in the pan.

Brush the outsides with the oil from the pan and season with garlic salt, black and cayenne pepper. Roast in a preheated 375° oven about a half hour or until a fork inserted comes out easily.

While that's happening, make a bed of baby arugula and microgreens in a big salad bowl. Today I used red cabbage, kale and basil microgreens. Add sliced Vidalia onion, zest and segments of a Caracara orange, a big handful of sprouted pumpkin seeds and some sharp cheese (crumbled feta, blue cheese or shredded parmesan-romano work best). 

When the beets are done, cool just enough to touch and cut into chunks. Toss all this together and drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Don't make this one ahead of time.

It's better made-and-served right away. . .And then it will be
Perfect. . .and. . .DE-licious! . .Lin

Gluten Free, Seedy Lentil Protein 'Bread'

Well this continues to surprise me. The European recipe I used as a guide, used orange split lentils, which I thought I had, but mine were yellow mung bean lentils. I soldiered on, determined to try this interesting recipe. You'll need to use a kitchen scale that gives results in ounces and grams for this one since weights don't translate well to measurements with dry ingredients.

60g lentils - Grind these to flour consistency in your blender, food processor, or coffee type grinder, then combine with the following in a medium glass bowl:

6oz. warm-hot water - The recipe said 'a glass' of warm water, this amount worked for me, but you might need a little more. Let this soak a while, stirring occasionally until it cools a bit, then whisk in:

1T EVOO

2 eggs

~ Mix all this well, then add the following:

1t baking soda that's been stirred together in a small cup, with 1T apple cider vinegar

40g of ground flax and chia seeds (I didn't have my favorite mix this time so only used flax. Make sure they're ground though, not whole.

Mix all this together again, then let it soak for 10-15 minutes.

~ In a small, non-stick frying pan, dry toast until lightly browned and releasing their nutty scent:

30g EACH - sprouted pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, or 60g total of either. I only had the pumpkin seeds, so I chopped those up a bit before dry toasting. Mix the toasted seeds well with the ingredients in the bowl. Transfer the batter to a well buttered loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds, or a light shake of Everything Bagel Seasoning. Bake at 350° until risen and lightly browned on the surfaces, about 1 hour. Cool completely before removing from the pan and slicing.

I had some of this ↑ for breakfast with a boiled egg, a little chicken salad and a sliced McIntosh apple. Then again for lunch with some mixed nut butter combined with jalapeño jelly. The finished 'bread' is mildly savory. It's a recipe I'll make again, which is rare for me, and also a huge surprise. When I first tried it, I almost chopped it up and put it out for the birds and bunnies! So glad I didn't, I can already tell, this is something I'm going to actually crave!! Next time, I'll use the orange split lentils and probably make a couple other changes. (of course I will) . . . Lin

Vegetables, Seeds and Protein

Today this was breakfast. . .
It was really good, and it went together quick!

1 med. carrot

1 handful broccoli florets

Scrub the vegetables and slice into a bowl. Cover with a damp paper towel and microwave on high 2 minutes. Drizzle with 1t EVOO and sprinkle with parsley garlic salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Add to the bowl, some sprouted pumpkin seeds, a few Kalamata olives and one quartered, hardboiled egg. Drizzle the egg with a little seasoned mayo you can make ahead and keep in a plastic squeeze bottle. Mine is 1c mayo mixed well with 2-3T brown, grainy-seedy mustard and 2T or so, white Balsamic vinegar. . .Lin