sometimes, i forget how much i luuurve pesto...
and then i remember!
and then i forget how easy it is to make...
and then i remember!
and then i make it using arugula and parsley, since basil isn't in season yet, and serve it over penne with roasted tomatoes and chickpeas.
and then i congratulate myself on a meal well prepared.
and sometimes i make eggs for breakfast the next day, and have some leftover pesto on top of them.
and sometimes i take a spoon and just eat it out of the jar. gross? probably. delicious? yes.
in a food processor, throw in a few handfuls of arugula and a few handfuls of parsley. add a roughly chopped clove of garlic, plenty of grated parmesan cheese, a handful of walnuts (or pine nuts, if you can afford them!) and the juice of a lemon. turn on the food processor and add olive oil until it reaches the consistency you like. salt and pepper, too. serve with ANYTHING.
(ps- i get all my ingredients from the local co-op. you should too!)
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
2/28/11
2/4/11
addicted: #2
trader joe's organic strawberry probiotic yogurt
as i get closer to my quarter century birthday, i am really trying to be on the defensive and take control of my health as much as i can. preventative healthcare is crucial, and diet is a huge factor. colon health, as old-ladyish as it sounds, is important and has been kind of a buzz topic for me lately. with a family history of colon cancer and other gastrointestinal woes, it is important for me to take care of myself as much as i can now.
i started hearing a lot of good things about probiotic yogurt, but i was not sure how down and dirty i would want to get in terms of experimenting. i haven't always been a huge yogurt fan, either. something about the texture just skeeves me. but i wanted to see what all the probiotic fuss was about, so during a trader joe's run a couple of months ago, i picked up a four-pack of the organic strawberry probiotic yogurt. they come in a four pack in itsy-bitsy little cups, perfect for me since too much yogurt in one serving turns me off. i sprinkled mine with a little granola, mixed it up and was totally surprised! i wasn't sure if the extra addition of the probiotics would alter the taste at all (in a bad way), but it was actually the least yogurty-tasting yogurt i've ever tried! i loved it, and i could notice the digestive benefits within a day or two (and i'll leave it at that...)
since they only come in a 4-pack, and we only bought one, we ran out rather quickly. the nearest tj's to us is a good 40 minute trek, so i picked up some dannon activia instead at the local grocery store. i wasn't as happy with the activia as i was with the trader joe's yogurt. for one thing, i think for dairy especially, organic really makes a difference. activia is not organic, and there were considerably more artificial-looking ingredients on the label (not counting the sciencey-sounding names of the probiotics in the yogurt, which were comparable in both brands). the taste of activia was good, but the effects were not noticeable at all. so...lesson learned: next time i go to tj's i am stocking up big time on their yogurt!
as i get closer to my quarter century birthday, i am really trying to be on the defensive and take control of my health as much as i can. preventative healthcare is crucial, and diet is a huge factor. colon health, as old-ladyish as it sounds, is important and has been kind of a buzz topic for me lately. with a family history of colon cancer and other gastrointestinal woes, it is important for me to take care of myself as much as i can now.
i started hearing a lot of good things about probiotic yogurt, but i was not sure how down and dirty i would want to get in terms of experimenting. i haven't always been a huge yogurt fan, either. something about the texture just skeeves me. but i wanted to see what all the probiotic fuss was about, so during a trader joe's run a couple of months ago, i picked up a four-pack of the organic strawberry probiotic yogurt. they come in a four pack in itsy-bitsy little cups, perfect for me since too much yogurt in one serving turns me off. i sprinkled mine with a little granola, mixed it up and was totally surprised! i wasn't sure if the extra addition of the probiotics would alter the taste at all (in a bad way), but it was actually the least yogurty-tasting yogurt i've ever tried! i loved it, and i could notice the digestive benefits within a day or two (and i'll leave it at that...)
since they only come in a 4-pack, and we only bought one, we ran out rather quickly. the nearest tj's to us is a good 40 minute trek, so i picked up some dannon activia instead at the local grocery store. i wasn't as happy with the activia as i was with the trader joe's yogurt. for one thing, i think for dairy especially, organic really makes a difference. activia is not organic, and there were considerably more artificial-looking ingredients on the label (not counting the sciencey-sounding names of the probiotics in the yogurt, which were comparable in both brands). the taste of activia was good, but the effects were not noticeable at all. so...lesson learned: next time i go to tj's i am stocking up big time on their yogurt!
10/8/10
farm surprise!
yesterday we picked up our first box from our local CSA farm, Calvert Farms. last year we had volunteered there on Saturday mornings, exchanging a few hours of labor for a beautiful box filled with delicious organic fruits and vegetables (and sometimes even flowers!)
this fall our schedules are too packed to be able to make the drive into maryland to get our farm on. but luckily we were able to join the cooperative another way. by making a donation to the farm, we get to take home one giant box of farm-fresh goodies every thursday from now until thanksgiving!
yesterday's box was stuffed with fresh, crisp apples; a HUGE butternut squash; 2 eggplant; a bundle of swiss chard; baby red and yellow peppers; fresh salad greens; and string beans. it was hard to decide what we should make with this bounty of autumnal treasures.
we sauteed a ton of garlic in some olive oil, threw in the swiss chard and cooked it down in the cast-iron skillet. then i added some garbanzo beans, a little white wine, and cooked quinoa. at the end i sliced some beets and mixed everything together. DE.LICIOUS.
jordan, the bread-meister, had made a beautiful loaf of french bread a couple of days ago. re-heated in the oven, it was perfectly crispy, and a great complement to the roasted garlic and green beans and salad he made to go with our quinoa.
the most memorable part of this first farm meal was when we had an unexpected dinner guest drop in!
as we were savoring the remaining morsels of our meal, jordan picked up his fork, ready to enjoy the last few leaves of fresh lettuce. all of a sudden, he emitted a loud (yet manly) yelp and jumped back quite dramatically from the table. it appears he wasn't the only one enjoying the delicious salad. this little guy was noshing away at the lettuce, not even seeming to mind the lemon juice and olive oil he was almost drowning in at the bottom of the dish.
we scooted lonny (as we dubbed the worm) onto the leaf, picked it out of the dish, and took him outside to relish his natural habitat. obviously, we didn't continue to eat the salad, but i would much rather find a bug in my food once in a while than eat something that i know has been drowned in pesticides! we'll just have to be a little more vigilant in our vegetable inspection and washing. i'm glad i didn't eat lonny, or else i would have felt i had betrayed my vegetarian sensibilities.
can't wait to pick up next week's box!!
this fall our schedules are too packed to be able to make the drive into maryland to get our farm on. but luckily we were able to join the cooperative another way. by making a donation to the farm, we get to take home one giant box of farm-fresh goodies every thursday from now until thanksgiving!
yesterday's box was stuffed with fresh, crisp apples; a HUGE butternut squash; 2 eggplant; a bundle of swiss chard; baby red and yellow peppers; fresh salad greens; and string beans. it was hard to decide what we should make with this bounty of autumnal treasures.
we sauteed a ton of garlic in some olive oil, threw in the swiss chard and cooked it down in the cast-iron skillet. then i added some garbanzo beans, a little white wine, and cooked quinoa. at the end i sliced some beets and mixed everything together. DE.LICIOUS.
jordan, the bread-meister, had made a beautiful loaf of french bread a couple of days ago. re-heated in the oven, it was perfectly crispy, and a great complement to the roasted garlic and green beans and salad he made to go with our quinoa.
the most memorable part of this first farm meal was when we had an unexpected dinner guest drop in!
as we were savoring the remaining morsels of our meal, jordan picked up his fork, ready to enjoy the last few leaves of fresh lettuce. all of a sudden, he emitted a loud (yet manly) yelp and jumped back quite dramatically from the table. it appears he wasn't the only one enjoying the delicious salad. this little guy was noshing away at the lettuce, not even seeming to mind the lemon juice and olive oil he was almost drowning in at the bottom of the dish.
 |
| meet lonny, the inchworm. |
we scooted lonny (as we dubbed the worm) onto the leaf, picked it out of the dish, and took him outside to relish his natural habitat. obviously, we didn't continue to eat the salad, but i would much rather find a bug in my food once in a while than eat something that i know has been drowned in pesticides! we'll just have to be a little more vigilant in our vegetable inspection and washing. i'm glad i didn't eat lonny, or else i would have felt i had betrayed my vegetarian sensibilities.
can't wait to pick up next week's box!!
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