Spaghetti Squash with Pesto

We found this weekend that the coming of fall is palpable.  What it means for our kitchen is scooping up the last of our favorite summer treats and transitioning into a new fall lineup.  I started to think ahead to how I can preserve the flavors of summer and enjoy them for a few months longer.  So in this week’s ‘Saturday’s Basket’, greens abound!  Our trip to the South of James Farmer’s Market always starts with a large coffee from Blanchard’s to help get the creative juices flowing and help us sort through what tastes we want for the week.  After we started to wake up, we picked up arugula & green beans from Victory Farms and a squash and basil bunch from Pleitez Produce.  The arugula and basil blended together make a healthy portion of pesto and pesto makes for a great freezer food. Once blended, portion the sauce into ice trays and freeze.  Pop out individual cubes whenever you are craving that summer sweetness.  Pesto paired with spaghetti squash was on plate for a great homemade Sunday dinner.  It’s an easy side dish and makes a great pasta substitute for those curbing the carbs.  Here’s the fix:


1 spaghetti squash

Olive oil

Salt & pepper


Preheat the oven to 425°.  Slice the squash in half and scoop out the strings and seeds (as you would for a pumpkin).  Place the squash on a baking dish, slice side up and drizzle olive oil over, sprinkle with salt and pepper.   That’s it!  Roast the squash until the fibers start to break down and you can easily shred the ‘meat’ with a fork.  It should fall right out of the shell when scraped.  I’ve found the easiest way to scrape the veggie out is by leaving it in the dish and holding one side with my kitchen tongs.  Shred right in the shell and then transfer to a serving bowl.


Basil and Arugula Pesto:


2 handfuls of fresh basil leaves

1 handful of fresh baby arugula

¼ cup walnuts

¼ cup parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Pinch of salt

A few cracks of fresh ground black pepper

 
In a food processor, add the greens, nuts and cheese.  While the processor is on, stream in olive oil until the pesto reaches a creamy, loose consistency.  Pesto is a preference food meaning, some like it chunky, some like it loose.  Some like it with a lot of cheese, some with a little.  It is a versatile sauce and dip and taste testing is always necessary.  On the last whirl around the processor, add a little salt (go light, salt is already a big contributor in the cheese so seasoning began with that addition) and a few cracks of pepper to taste.  The arugula will also help to give it a little bite so be sure to taste test as you go so as not to overdo the pepper.


Bring the two together by topping the roasted, hot spaghetti squash with a dollop of pesto.  Turn to coat and serve warm.  It’s a nice nod to summer flavors with a hint of what’s coming for fall.

Basket from market: basil, jalapeno cheddar bread, speghetti squash, arugula and green beans.

Macerated Melon and Basil

One more great summer recipe this week from the SOTJ market!  Love this one and it couldn't be any simpler.  We picked up a seedless Vanessa melon which yielded about 3-4 cups of melon balls. To that, I added 2 tbsp of granulated sugar and 1 tsp salt.  A chiffonade cut of basil really added depth and a refreshing flavor. The taste only gets better as the melon continues to macerate in the sugary fruit juice and because of that, I will be enjoying it for dessert again tonight!

A Bellini for Everyone!

It's the perfect summer cocktail...or winter...or Sunday brunch...or special occasion...or, I feel like having a drink, Drink. I started by putting 3 fresh peaches in the freezer over night so they would be nice and cold for blending. I also had on hand some of the basil simple syrup from the Lime-Basil Sorbet recipe. I peeled the peaches, gave them a quick chop and popped them into my blender with the simple syrup (about a cup, maybe a little more). I blended until I just couldn't blend anymore and then I added the mixture to a nice, chilled Prosecco, equal parts of both. It is sweet and sinful and something I will be enjoying throughout the weekend!

Fresh Lime-Basil Sorbet

I found this recipe a few weeks ago while I was doing some research on different varieties of basil.  One could say I am a little obsessed with the bright, versatile summer herb that can be used for anything from pizza to dessert.

Couple things to note on this recipe:

1. Delicious.

2. You must like lime.

3. You must love basil.

Here's the recipe I found and some of my modifications listed below (pics to follow shortly):

Fresh Lime-Basil Sorbet
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (8 to 10 limes)
1 cup water
1 cup simple sugar syrup (1 cup sugar plus 1 cup water, boiled then cooled)
12 whole basil leaves
1 egg white (optional)

Combine all ingredients, except egg white, into a freezer friendly container and freeze 6 to 8 hours or overnight.

Remove from freezer and allow to soften a little. Put chunks of frozen mixture into a food processor and process until all crystals have disappeared and mixture is smooth. Re-pack into container and keep frozen until needed. This will keep for up to 2 months. If you prefer a lighter, less icy sorbet, add 1 egg white during processing.  Yields 4 servings.
(Recipe from Herbal Gardens’ website)

In terms of ingredients, the only thing I modified was adding basil leaves to infuse the simple syrup (I pulled 8 leaves, gave them a quick chop and added to the water sugar mixture before it started to boil) .  Using equal parts sugar to water, I made a little extra syrup because I thought it would be a really tasty topper for fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream and I wanted to try making a lemonade basil cocktail with it.  More to come on those...

My changes in process included using my handy-dandy Cuisinart Ice Cream and Sorbet maker because I am not a patient person and it helped to speed the process up significantly.  I froze the initial liquid for about 4 hours, transferred to the blender and processed with one egg white and then transferred it to the ice cream maker.  My machine takes about 20-25 minutes to get the sorbet to a good consistency and then it only took about 2 hours in the freezer to get to that right serving temp.  I also like the texture that's created while churning away in the machine.

One last note, I think the 'yields 4 servings' is an understatement.  I was able to pack my quart-sized ice cream freezer container to the brim with the quantities listed above.  Also, because the sorbet is so tart, it is best served as a tasting rather than a heaping  scoop which means you can get a lot more than 4 servings out of this recipe.

One thing is for sure, it is a delicious and refreshing way to kick off summer!

Heart of Palm – a delicacy

I was just reading up on Heart of Palm and how it's harvested.  Things appear to be different today that even just a few years ago but I would say it's still a delicacy.  There is nothing else I can think of that matches it's texture and flavor and it's nutrient rich goodness.  This is a quick summer salad for lunch any day of the week:

1 can heart of palm

1 avocado

8 grape tomatoes

olive oil

red wine vinegar

basil

S & P

Toss it up and serve it cold!