Baby Kale Pesto with Pasta…Both Healthy and Delicious!

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Jodee

By Jodee Weiland

Being Italian, it was hard for me to imagine kale in a pesto. I’ve used it to make kale chips, a kale salad, and even a kale and white bean soup. But putting kale in a pesto to use with pasta was something I just couldn’t imagine, especially since I love Italian Basil Pesto.

Nevertheless, with all the baby kale I have coming from my garden, I decided I had to do something with it all, and Baby Kale Pesto…Both Healthy and Delicious is what I came up with for dinner tonight, I was pleasantly surprised when this dinner turned out to be very tasty after all.

Kale likes to grow in lower temperatures, and with the unusual cooler temperatures we’ve been having in the Midwest this summer, my kale lasted longer and grew more abundantly than I ever expected when I first planted the seeds last spring. I have had plenty of kale to use this summer for salads and kale chips, which we love. I have had so much that I have given some away to people who wanted it. But today, I used my fresh baby kale to make my pesto, and it turned out great!

Baby Kale Pesto with Pasta…Both Healthy and Delicious!

2 cups fresh baby kale leaves packed tightly
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 teaspoon chopped garlic clove or to taste
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil (more or less, depending on desired consistency and thickness)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese or more

Blend together the kale, pine nuts, garlic, salt, and black pepper until finely chopped in a food processer or blender. Gradually add oil to this mixture to attain a smooth consistency and thickness (your preference). Finally, add the Parmesan cheese into this mixture. You can add more salt and black pepper to taste once it is blended. Kale pesto can be made two days ahead or just before it is needed. If made ahead, cover and refrigerate it. With pesto recipes, I like to double the recipe and freeze some for later.

Baby Kale Pesto…Both Healthy and Delicious will quickly become a favorite, especially for those who prefer a milder tasting pesto than what one finds in a basil pesto, although both are good. Some may think, as I did, that kale would be too bitter for pesto, but the blend of garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan Reggiano cheese with the kale in an extra virgin olive oil creates a pesto that has no bitterness and plenty of flavor when served with pasta. Serve it with a nice red wine and a side salad for a very pleasant meal, as well as healthy. Try it, and enjoy!

Mom’s Italian Tomato Salad…With Basil, Garlic, and Peppers

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Jodee

By Jodee Weiland

When I was growing up, the vegetable garden was planted every summer. During the summer months, the tomatoes were coming in fast and furious. There were always plenty of tomatoes and my father’s hot peppers as well. For this reason mom would often make her Italian Tomato Salad…With Basil, Garlic, and Peppers.

A big loaf of freshly baked Italian bread to eat with the tomato salad was a must. We would eat the tomatoes and dunk our bread in the tomato, basil, and pepper juices from the salad, this sometimes being our favorite part.

This salad is unusual in that it has no vinegar or any other juices other than those from the tomatoes in water and oil with basil, garlic, and peppers. Regardless, when put together, these ingredients create a juice that is flavorful and even better when you soak it up with freshly baked Italian bread. You won’t believe me until you try it yourself, but it is really good and so easy to put together. It’s a great way to use tomatoes as a side for dinner.

Mom’s Italian Tomato Salad…With Basil, Garlic, and Peppers

Ripe tomatoes cut into wedges (as many as you want/I used about 6)
4 or more fresh basil leaves sliced and lightly chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic chopped
1 to 2 hot peppers finely diced (number depends on size and desire for heat)
Water to fill bowl up to an inch from the upper edge of the bowl or to cover tomatoes plus some
Vegetable oil (olive oil will solidify in fridge so use vegetable oil) about a half inch of oil
Salt and black pepper to taste as you eat salad

In a bowl with a cover, put your cut tomatoes, basil, garlic, and peppers. Add water to cover tomatoes, followed by a half inch of vegetable oil. Stir together. Then cover and put in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. This will give the tomato juices, basil, garlic, and pepper flavors a chance to blend together in the oil and water creating the salad juices desired.

When ready, serve Mom’s Italian Tomato Salad…With Basil, Garlic, and Peppers with the rest of your meal. Don’t forget to get a freshly baked loaf of Italian bread to serve with your salad. Then enjoy dipping your bread in the juices as you eat your tomato salad. You will love it. I know we all did and still do. Try it out and find out what I’m talking about! Enjoy!

Fresh Roma Tomatoes and Spinach Pasta…With Olive Oil and White Wine

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Jodee

By Jodee Weiland

With fresh Roma tomatoes ready to be picked in our garden, I decided to make a pasta dish using our garden Roma tomatoes and spinach.

Cooking a pasta dish with fresh garden vegetables is always an easy and delicious way to use an abundance of garden produce. In our home, a well-made pasta dish is always appreciated.

When we went to pick our latest batch of Roma tomatoes, we realized that we had more than we could possibly use. Having already given bags of tomatoes to friends and relatives, I decided it was time to be creative. That’s when I came up with tonight’s dinner selection. I used the Roma tomatoes in a pasta dish with spinach. I was also able to use some of the fresh basil from our garden, although I always have a use for the basil. With the basil, I usually make Italian Pesto and freeze batches for those winter months when my garden is under snow. But this time, the basil was used in this recipe and added to the flavor of this pasta dish.

Fresh Roma Tomatoes and Spinach Pasta…With Olive Oil and White Wine

1 pound pasta of your choice
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of white wine (I used Riesling)
18 or more fresh Roma tomatoes (you can use other tomato types if preferred)
3 chopped garlic cloves
8 to 9 basil leaves sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
2 cups or more fresh baby spinach
Grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese to taste

On the stove, heat olive oil and add garlic, fresh basil (roll leaves and then slice), and white wine. Then add fresh Roma tomatoes whole. Cook covered over a medium heat until tomatoes cook, then reducing to low heat. You can add the crushed red pepper at this time.

While tomatoes cook, prepare your pasta according to the package instructions. When the pasta is about 4 minutes from being ready, add spinach leaves to the tomato mixture. Over a medium heat, cook the spinach until it is wilted and ready. Once the pasta is done cooking, spoon the tomato and spinach mixture over the pasta, stirring it in gently. Add grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese to each serving or eat it as is.

Fresh Roma Tomatoes and Spinach Pasta…With Olive Oil and White Wine is delicious. The sweet flavor of the tomatoes mixed with spinach makes this dish not only healthy but filled with a distinct flavor enhanced by the olive oil and white wine sauce. Serve with Chianti and have a meal that not only satisfies, but delights your taste buds. If you decide to try this dish, I’m sure you will love it, so enjoy!

Learn from yesterday, live for today…

Life experiences are what make us who we are today. Come share what I have learned from my experiences about cooking, traveling, and more, and enjoy!

Category Archives: Vegetarian

Baby Kale Pesto with Pasta…Both Healthy and Delicious!

Mom’s Italian Tomato Salad…With Basil, Garlic, and Peppers

Fresh Roma Tomatoes and Spinach Pasta…With Olive Oil and White Wine