Friday Food Inspiration

Happy Rainy Friday!

We’ve needed this rain in Los Angeles and I’m personally so thankful for this cozy end to the week. Dreary days are a perfect excuse to stay in and cook something yummy. Something yummy and healthy that’ll warm you up on a stormy afternoon. Earlier this week I bought greens at the local Farmer’s Market and they are so perfectly delicious that I decided to center a dish on the two best bunches I found: celery and asparagus.

Check out my Celery, Asparagus, and Pea Soup recipe below!

What you need:

-1 tablespoon of olive oil

-1 large onion, diced

-3 celery stalks, thinly sliced (make sure to wash really well- organic greens fresh from the farmer's stand usually have some dirt on them)

-4 garlic cloves, minced through a garlic press, or finely chopped

-5 cups of water

-1 large bunch (usually around 1lb.) of asparagus, trimmed, and sliced into 1-inch pieces

-2 cups of green peas (I use frozen organic peas from Trader Joes.)

-1 teaspoon of salt (optional)

-1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Optional Garnish:

-1 or 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh dill

-1 or 2 asparagus stalks, sliced with a vegetable peeler to create ribbons

-1/4 cup of heavy cream for drizzling

What to do:

-In a large pot, head the olive oil over medium heat and add the chopped onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the celery and onion soften, about 6-7 minutes.

-Stir in 5 cups of water with the vegetables.

-Add the sliced asparagus and frozen peas to the pot, stir to mix it all together, and bring to a boil.

 -Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, until the asparagus is very tender, about 15 minutes. 

-Work in small batches and puree the soup in a Vitamix or a blender. 

(I use a measuring cup and transfer to my Vitamix in batches of 1-2 cups--- however much I can move over at a time without making a big mess!)

 

-Once you’ve blended everything together, strain the mixture through a sieve, or meshed juicing bag,  pressing down to remove as much liquid as possible. Pour the strained liquid back into the original pot. 

-Heat the strained soup until it just reaches a simmer, and then stir in the lemon juice. Stir in salt, to taste. (I like to add a little kick to mine so I also throw in a pinch of cayenne pepper.)

 

If you want to step up your presentation here’s what you need to do for the garnish: 

-Run a vegetable peeler over the asparagus stalks to make ribbons and garnish each bowl of soup with some asparagus ribbons along with the chopped dill. Once you’ve added those, you can drizzle the top of each serving with a little heavy cream.

Nutritional Info (with garnish):

Serving size: about 1 cup, 130 calories (50 from fat), 6g total fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 16g carbohydrates (5g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 5g protein.

This’ll make enough to reheat leftovers for the next couple of days. You can even serve it cold and it’s just as tasty. I hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Not Your Regular Pesto

Happy healthy Friday! Today I thought I’d share a recipe that has become an easy and healthy go-to for me: Kale Pesto! Using kale instead of basil creates a homemade pesto that is just as tasty as the classic, but even healthier. This recipe is really easy to make and uses just a few simple ingredients. Plus, it’s a great way to get in your extra greens.  Use this pesto in your favorite pasta recipes, or even substitute it in lasagna or a chicken dish.

What you’ll need:

food processor

½ cup of pin nuts

2 cups of fresh kale (firmly packed, I also remove the large stems, which is optional)

2-3 cloves of garlic

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon of pepper

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons to ½ cup of olive oil (depending on the desired consistency)

What to do:

           

Place the pin nuts in a dry skillet, and toast, shaking occasionally until the nuts are golden brown, about 3 minutes. (Be careful not to burn the pine nuts!)

Place the garlic cloves in the food processor and pulse until they are minced.

Add the kale to the food processor, then add in the toasted pine nuts, and then the salt and pepper. Pulse until the kale is finely chopped.

Add the cheese, and pulse until cheese is incorporated evenly. (Be careful not to over pulse, the pesto should stay a little chunky.)

Drizzle in some of the olive oil and pulse. Continue to add olive oil and pulse until the pesto reaches the desired consistency.

Enjoy!

What I like to do is combine sun dried tomatoes, olives, steamed broccoli and some chicken into a bowl of whole-wheat fusilli pasta, and toss everything together with the pesto for a delicious and nutritious meal.

Please share with me how your pesto comes out and include any variations you may have made in the comment section below. I’d love to hear how you like it! You’ll be surprised at how many dishes you can whip up using this twist on the classic pesto.