• greg
  • cooks
    • cook blog
  • drinks
  • ferments
  • grows
  • runs
  • aws

greg cooks

nourishing the body

  • appetizer
  • beverage
  • bread
  • breakfast
  • dessert
  • dining
  • dinner
  • ethnic
    • asian
    • Cajun
    • Chinese
    • Greek
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Spanish
    • Szechuan
    • Thai
    • Vietnam
  • lunch
  • meat
    • beef
    • chicken
    • fish
  • vegetarian
  • pasta
  • Pizza

Drink your veggies

May 22, 2011 by greg 1 Comment

I have been eating more raw foods lately. Not that I am a raw food vegan by any means. I just think it is healthier to have a high percentage of plants in your diet. And raw plants tend to have higher nutrient content and think about all that good fiber. There is the added benefit that your stomach is satisfied without all the added calories and fat that often accompanies cooking. You can eat bushels of greens and not gain an ounce.

Anyway, my green smoothie of the day is a blend of cucumbers, broccoli, romaine lettuce, kale and spinach. I blended it up with a cup of Silk brand coconut milk and a bit of water. Yes, I drank the whole pitcher full and feel very full right now.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: broccoli, cucumber, green smoothie, kale, lettuce, smoothie, spinach

Summertime Pesto

July 22, 2008 by greg 3 Comments

Nothing says summer like fresh basil in the garden. My basil is just starting to come to fruition and I should have a LOT of it very soon. Of course the best thing for basil is fresh pesto. I love it on simple pasta with nothing else. Tonight I was looking for a quick meal and penne with pesto was just the thing to satisfy me. I threw in some fresh spinach too. I don’t usually do this but tonight I wanted a more hearty green pesto full of nutritious greens. My only problem this evening is that I ran out of parmigiano reggiano. I know – sacrilege! But it happened. The pesto was good but it just wasn’t quite right without it. For this pesto I used a couple heaping handfuls of fresh picked basil, a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, the juice of half a lemon, a half cup of walnuts (pine nuts are also traditionally used), salt, pepper, and olive oil – maybe 3 tablespoons. I threw it all in the blender except for the olive oil which was drizzled in until the consistency was just right. This was simply poured over the hot cooked pasta and it was mixed up and enjoyed! Ah, Pesto!

Filed Under: pasta Tagged With: basil, penne, pesto, spinach

Spring Green

May 1, 2008 by greg 2 Comments

Yes, spring is arriving here in the frozen north. I can’t wait to get digging into the dirt and get my garden planted for the season. One thing I grow in abundance every year is basil. I love pesto and can’t wait for the height of summer when the basil comes into my kitchen by the bushel. I can eat pesto on anything from pizza to sandwiches to, of course, pasta. In anticipation of the coming gardening season I made a pesto pasta dish. This is not my usual pesto as the little containers of basil I find at the grocery are way too expensive to make a big batch. So I kicked this one up by combining the basil with baby spinach leaves. So, I guess it’s a basil and spinach pesto. It was nicely flavored with the basil but the spinach tamed it down so it was not so over the top as I usually do it. I also added some chicken, mushrooms, onions and garlic to this dish along with some fresh tomato at the end. Here are more details of the recipe I whipped up for this dish. Oh, I didn’t realize I was out of pine nuts and walnuts so I used almonds instead. Turned out pretty good.

BASIL SPINACH PESTO

1 package of fresh basil leaves (about 1/2 cup loosely packed leaves)
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1/4 cup slivered almonds (walnuts or pine nuts are better)
juice of one lemon
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
extra virgin olive oil, about 1/2 cup (I didn’t measure)

All the ingredients except the oil were added to a blender. The ingredients were processed while drizzling in the olive oil to make a loose sauce or paste. You could add a bit of water too if you want to cut down on the oil. A wooden spoon was carefully used to stir the leaves in the blender while processing. The pesto sauce was set aside until needed.

OTHER SAUCE INGREDIENTS

1 pound of sliced boneless skinless chicken breast
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic chopped
5 large button mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
2 chopped fresh tomato

To a hot large pan (I used a wok, actually) was added about a tablespoon of olive oil. The onions and mushrooms were added along with a bit of salt and pepper and sautéed until fully cooked. The garlic was added toward the end of the cooking. The onion and mushroom mixture was removed from the pan and the chicken slices, seasoned with salt and pepper, were added. Once the chicken was cooked through the onion mixture was added back to the pan.

Meanwhile in a large pot of boiling water a 1 pound package of thin whole wheat spaghetti was cooking. Once it was cooked to al dente the paste was drained and added to the chicken and onion mixture. A splash of the pasta water was added to prevent burning in the pan. The pesto sauce and fresh tomatoes were added and the paste was tossed to mix everything well. This was turned out into a serving bowl.

Filed Under: chicken, pasta Tagged With: pesto, spinach

archives

  • July 2011 (1)
  • May 2011 (2)
  • April 2011 (1)
  • February 2011 (1)
  • September 2010 (1)
  • August 2010 (1)
  • July 2010 (2)
  • June 2010 (2)
  • May 2010 (1)
  • March 2010 (1)
  • January 2010 (8)
  • December 2009 (2)
  • November 2009 (1)
  • August 2009 (1)
  • July 2009 (3)
  • June 2009 (2)
  • April 2009 (3)
  • March 2009 (20)
  • February 2009 (14)
  • January 2009 (4)
  • December 2008 (17)
  • November 2008 (4)
  • October 2008 (2)
  • September 2008 (5)
  • August 2008 (2)
  • July 2008 (6)
  • June 2008 (7)
  • May 2008 (11)
  • April 2008 (7)
  • March 2008 (6)
  • February 2008 (12)
  • January 2008 (16)
  • December 2007 (10)
  • November 2007 (8)

Return to top of page

Copyright © 2025 ·Delicious Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in