Lemon Basil Pesto (Nut-Free & Gluten-Free)

This is the time of year for PESTO!  Basil is growing like crazy with the hot weather we’ve been having here (weeks of over 100 degrees).  

I love pesto, in fact I love to eat it by the spoonful.  It’s delicious alone, on sandwiches, on pasta, on eggs, on grilled veggies …

This is my favorite version that I’ve been making for many years.  It’s nut-free and has the added freshness of lemon. 

Enjoy!

Lemon Basil Pesto (Nut-Free & Gluten-Free)

Equipment:Microplane Rasp Zester or Standing Grater/Zester, Food Processor

·      2 cups fresh basil leaves (1 large bunch basil, stems removed)

·      2-3 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

·      Zest of 1 lemon

·      Juice of 1 lemon (about ¼ cup)

·      3 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil

·      6 ounces raw parmesan cheese, cut into chunks

·      ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt (See Resources)

1.    Wash and prep basil, remove stems.  Wash lemon and peel garlic cloves. 

2.   Assemble food processor – add basil leaves, sliced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, parmesan cheese and sea salt.*  Pulse until combined and smooth.

3.   Taste for desired saltiness.  Add more salt if needed.

4.   Store in refrigerator until ready to use. 

Yield: About ½ cup

Storage:Keeps well in the refrigerator for 3 days.  

*Note: If you prefer a thinner pesto, you can add another tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or if you're serving this on pasta, you can add a little amount of the cooking water to the pesto.  

This post is part of Homestead Barn Hop @ The Prairie Homestead, Fat Tuesday @ Real Food Forager, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, Real Food Wednesday @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Hearth & Soul Hop @ Premeditated Leftovers, Healthy 2day Wednesdays @ day2dayjoys, Allergy-Free Wednesday @ The Tasty Alternative, and Simple Lives Thursday @ My Humble Kitchen.

Touton Lobster Roll with Homemade Lemon Olive Oil Mayo

This photo got a lot of oohs and ahhs when I posted it to Facebook and Twitter yesterday. This is a distinctly Newfoundland twist on a lobster roll, made on a traditional touton instead of a baked roll for a delicious contrast between the sweet, tender lobster and the crusty, chewy touton. Just delicious.

I always prefer to leave lobster plain in a lobster roll with a drizzle of the mayo but feel free to toss the lobster in the mayo along with anything else you think you'd like to compliment the lobster in whatever combination you like. Some good suggestions are:

chopped fresh dill or tarragon
minced shallots
diced tomato or celery
finely diced sweet red pepper
diced avocado

Don't know toutons? Learn all about how to make this traditional Newfoundland favorite here:
http://www.rockrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/05/toutons.html

Lemon Olive Oil Mayo

In a blender or food processor combine until thick and pale in color

2 large or extra large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
A pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon zest, finely chopped

Add oil alternately with lemon juice in three parts, adding the oil very slowly in a thin stream.

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of one large lemon
This will produce a thick mayonnaise. If you want it thinner,just use a little less olive oil. You can add a tsp of  fresh chopped dill or tarragon to the mayo if desired.

Creamy Herb Chicken Salad w/ Pomegranate

I LOVE this chicken salad!  I know, there are so many chicken salad recipes out in recipe land, but this one truly is a favorite of mine.  

The pomegranate arils add such a beautiful color to the salad.  When you bite into them, the juice pops in your mouth and adds such a wonderful sweet flavor.  The creaminess comes from my absolute favorite salad dressing, which is made from ground sprouted sunflower seeds.  The combination of the herbs, the sweet pomegranate arils, the crunch from the celery and the creaminess of the dressing is absolutely divine!  

Enjoy!

Creamy Herb Chicken Salad w/ Pomegranate

Make up a batch of this to have ready for the next day.  It's perfect to serve to guests and makes great appetizers in lettuce cups for parties too!

Equipment: Food Processor, Large Mixing Bowl, Cutting Board, Sharp Knife, Medium Mixing Bowl, Small Fine Mesh Strainer

• 1 3/4 cup Creamy Herb Dressing (recipe x 3)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup pomegranate arils (juice sacs w/ seeds) + filtered water
• 3-4 celery stalks with leaves, thinly sliced
• Shredded meat from 1 whole pasture roasted chicken*
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed

1. Prepare Creamy Herb Dressing, set aside.  [Note: This dressing can be made up in advance and stored in the refrigerator.]

2. Prep and wash the pomegranate.  Cut pomegranate into quarters with a sharp knife.  Place pomegranate sections in a bowl of filtered water, then gently roll out the arils with your fingers.  Remove white pith and any other parts of the pomegranate.  With a small fine mesh strainer, strain out the water leaving the pomegranate arils behind, set aside.  [Note: The arils are ready to eat now (eat whole arils, seeds and all).  Eat or store (in the refrigerator) whatever arils you don't use in this recipe for later.] 

3. Wash and prep the celery.  Thinly slice celery stalks and place pieces into a large mixing bowl, set aside.  

4. Shred roasted chicken, add shredded meat to large mixing bowl with celery, stir to combine.  

5. Add Creamy Herb Dressing and fresh thyme leaves to the chicken-celery mixture and stir to combine.  

6. Add pomegranate arils to the chicken salad mixture, GENTLY fold in the arils (if you stir too hard, the juice sacs will open and release the juice into the salad, if it happens to some arils, don't worry, it just adds a beautiful pink color to parts of the chicken salad). 

7. Serve cold or store in refrigerator for later.  Make sure to garnish with extra pomegranate arils.  

Yield: Makes about 4-5 cups chicken salad.

Note: This chicken salad is delicious the next day too!  

Storage: Store in the refrigerator, keeps well for 2 days.

Serving Suggestions: Serve on a bed of mixed lettuce greens, place in lettuce cups for small appetizers, serve for lunch or a snack with some raw veggies.  

* If you are a Northern California resident, check out my favorite pastured chicken from Cache Creek Meat Co.  They sell at farmers markets in Sacramento, Davis and Elk Grove as well as select grocery stores. 


This post is part of Monday Mania @ The Healthy Home Economist, The Homestead Barn Hop @ The Prairie Homestead, Melt in Your Mouth Monday @ Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival @ Hartke Is Online, Fat Tuesday @ Real Food Forager, Traditional Tuesdays @ Cooking Traditional Foods, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday @ Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free Wednesdays @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker, Hearth and Soul Hop @ Premeditated Leftovers, Healthy 2day Wednesdays @ day2dayjoys, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Lunchbox Love @ Allergy-Free Vintage Cookery, and Made From Scratch Tuesday @ From Mess Hall to Bistro.

Garlic-Herb Raw Kale Chips (vegan)

Kale chips are my all-time favorite snack.  They are so delicious and a perfect alternative for potato chips.  Most kids love them too, even adults who don’t normally like kale love these kale chips. 

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Garlic-Herb Raw Kale Chips (vegan)

These make a wonderful snack or side dish.  They are packed with flavor and are always a crowd pleaser. Make sure to make a bunch because they’ll be gone before your know it. 

 

[Note: If you don’t have a food dehydrator, try these Baked Kale Chips instead.  You can also dehydrate them in your oven if you have a very low setting, it will take approximately the same time, about 8-10 hours.]

Equipment: Food Dehydrator

·   1 very large bunch of kale or 2 regular bunches

·   ¼-½ cup Creamy Herb Dressing

1.   Prep kale, wash and shake dry in kitchen towels or in a salad spinner.  Make sure to look for bugs since it’s organic.

2.  Remove inner stems and tear kale into large chunks, about 2” chunks.

3.  Add kale chunks into a large bowl and pour ¼ cup Creamy Herb Dressing over the kale.  Mix to coat, use your clean hands, they work better than a spoon.  Add more dressing if needed.  

4.  Place kale chunks on dehydrator trays, making sure they are in an even layer and not stacked on top of each other. 

5.  Dehydrate at 115 degrees F for about 8-10 hours or until crispy. 

6.  Remove and gobble them up!

I apologize for not having an end result picture of the kale chips.  I brought this batch to share at my local Holistic Moms Network chapter meeting and I forgot to take a picture first.  Oops!  What I can share is that there were no more kale chips left at the end of the meeting. :)

Yield: Makes about 3-4 cups dehydrated kale chips.

Note: I use Dino (Lacinato Dinosaur) kale, but really and kind of kale would work.  If you can’t find Dino kale, give the Curly kale a try. 

Storage: Store in airtight container.  They won’t last long though, you’ll eat them fast!


This post is part of Allergy Friendly Friday @ Cybele Pascal Allergen-Free Cuisine and Wellness Weekend @ Diet, Dessert and Dogs.

Creamy Herb Dressing (vegan)

This recipe is adapted from my dear friend Kim’s recipe.  Thank you for sharing it with me Kim!  I LOVE this dressing, it’s my all time favorite!  I have been making a lot of it lately and I never seem to make enough.  I love it on salads, on leftover roasted chicken, as a dip for raw veggies, on kale chips and even on scrambled pastured eggs.  It’s so delicious.  

Creamy Herb Dressing (vegan)

So delish!  The herbs and garlic really shine in this dressing.  I love that the “cream” base is ground sprouted sunflower seeds.  Enjoy!  

Equipment: Food Processor, Blender or Spice/Coffee Grinder

·      ½ cup sprouted raw sunflower seeds

·      ¼ cup filtered water

·      1 clove fresh garlic, grated or minced

·      ½ teaspoon dried basil

·      ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

·      2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

·      2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

·      ¼ teaspoon kelp granules, optional (See Resources)

·      ¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt (See Resources)

1.     Grind sunflower seeds to a powder in food processor, blender or spice/coffee grinder.  If you can’t get them to form a powder, that’s fine, just make sure they are finely ground.

2.    In food processor, add water, garlic, basil, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil, kelp granules and sea salt to the ground sunflower seeds.  Pulse or puree until ingredients are combined and form the creamy consistency.

3.    Store in a jar until ready to serve.    

My favorite salad lately - Organic Greens, Cucumber, Carrots & Roasted Beets

Yield: Makes about ½ cup dressing. 

Note: Recipe can easily be doubled.  If you’d like a thinner dressing, add a little more water or lemon juice to thin it out.  

Storage: Keeps well in the refrigerator.  


This post is part of Fight Back Friday @ Food Renegade, Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert and Dogs, Freaky Friday @ Real Food Freaks, Living Well Blog Hop @ Jo's Health Corner, Homestead Barn Hop @ The Prairie Homestead, Monday Mania @ The Healthy Home Economist, Traditional Tuesdays @ Cooking Traditional Foods, Real Food Wednesday @ Kelly the Kitchen Kop, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free.