Below is a winter greens pesto recipe from the Whole Foods Market website. I like the fact this pesto recipe includes the stems as there are nutrients in the stems and very often it is advised in recipes to dispose of them. Stems could be composted or taste good in a recipe. I have started growing my own basil as it will grow roots when placed in water. The issue is I do not have basil at this point. Pesto is one of the top dishes I make in my food processor. The food processor is a 1970s invention. A mortar and pestle could be used in place of a food processor and I suppose a blender would also work. A Martha Stewart pesto recipe I make often calls for much more cheese than is recipe (1/2 cup for 4 cups of basil leaves). When I make the recipe with just the basil leaves and not the stems it tastes better, but is more time consuming. This recipe uses lemon juice but the Martha Stewart recipe does not. I just purchased a Meyer lemon tree cutting and have no fruit from it yet. Supposedly it is better for the environment and healthy and feasible to have your own small potted Meyer lemon tree at home. The Martha Stewart pesto recipe also suggests toasting the pine nuts but I rarely do that. The yellow grape tomatoes in the photo are from my summer garden. The squirrels will bite the larger tomatoes but these tend to be left alone. I am looking into a better system for saving the seeds. Tomato seeds especially can be tricky to save. 

Winter Greens Pesto 
Ingredients (makes about 1 cup)

• 1/4 cup nuts or seeds, such as sunflower seeds, walnuts or pine nuts
• 2 cups firmly packed chopped raw winter greens (stems included), such as kale, chard, collard greens or mustard greens
• 3 tablespoons grated hard cheese, such as Parmesan or Romano
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

In a food processor, combine all ingredients until finely chopped. Olive oil can be poured in the machine feed tube while ingredients are chopped. Toss with choice of cooked pasta noodles such as penne or spaghetti. 

Note: Refrigerate sauce and cover with olive oil and then plastic wrap pressed onto the pesto if not using immediately. Pesto can keep for around seven days when tossed with pasta noodles. It is also a good sandwich or roasted vegetables spread. I have watched a few YouTube videos were they place a chicken in a slow cooker with pesto. Pesto tossed with pasta noodles can be frozen and then baked or microwaved later. There are pesto recipes that use sun-dried tomatoes which I have not tried yet but would like to. Pestos made with sunflower seeds will have a thicker texture and adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of water  will create a saucier texture. 

Nutritional Info Per Serving: Serving size: 2 tablespoons, 70 calories (60 from fat), 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 95mg sodium, 3g carbohydrates, (1 g dietary fiber), 2g protein.

Nutritional information for educational purposes only. Use own discretion and follow advice of health-care provider. Check product labels for the most recent ingredient information. 

Source: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/winter-greens-pesto Accessed 11/28/16 Whole Foods Market ‘Winter Greens Pesto’ 

 

This recipe requires five ingredients and I enjoy making these when I have buttermilk at home along with Martha Stewart’s buttermilk mashed potatoes. I found this recipe on a Grit magazine YouTube video. They are not overly complicated and the ingredients are simple and natural. The only thing that might be chemical is the flour and whole wheat flour can definitely be used for half if not all of the flour if desired. I am somewhat surprised these are a homemade staple as growing up we tended to have the store bought bread on the table. I definitely enjoy these and plan to make them in the future again. I tend to always use parchment paper when I bake to avoid burnt biscuits or pans with a great deal of grease stuck to them. I have used buttered pans in the past and it did not work out right. If I have parchment paper I use it as it nearly always prevents burnt cookies, biscuits etc.

Ingredients

• 3.5 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut in pieces
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions

Combine all dry ingredients. Cut butter into fine crumbles pieces and add along with buttermilk. Stir until will combined and add more buttermilk if it is not sticky enough. Place nine quarter cups on greased cookie sheet. Place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Source

I found this recipe on a Grit magazine YouTube video. Accessed January 17, 2016. The video is below.

I enjoy this recipe as it comes across as slightly different and healthier than buying spaghetti sauce in a jar. It does give you extra sauce. I like to add mushrooms and extra sausage to it. It is from the back of a Holland House Red Cooking Wine bottle. I have tried this with different wines. The cooking wine is the most affordable, however, I tasted a sip of it and thought it was very bad tasting. Definitely something you would not want to drink by itself. I have also tried it with cans of diced tomatoes and even plum tomatoes. I will stock up with the cans of tomatoes at the store. I have added canned tomatoes to rice in the rice cooker. This is a fairly quick recipe and the website cookingwine.com or mizkan.com has lots of similar recipes I am looking forward to trying.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 oz. bacon, cooked, drained, chopped
• 2 (28 oz each) cans plum or crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup Holland House Red Cooking Wine
• Ground pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste
• Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1 lb pasta, cooked

Directions

Heat oil in heavy pan over medium heat. Saute onion until soft. Stir in garlic and bacon for 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, wine and spices. Simmer on low, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasta, with cheese. Serves 6.

Source

Holland House Red Wine Cooking Bottle (cookingwine.com or mizkan.com)

Websites from some of the ingredients used:

• essentialeverday.com (can of mushrooms has recipe for individual quiche biscuits on can)
• classico.com (four cheese pasta sauce)
• bilinski.com (sun-dried tomato chicken sausage, website has recipes)
• deifratelli.com (can of diced tomatoes, has recipe for tomato beef macaroni inside label)
• marathonhealthyfoods.com (southwestern chicken patties)