Bitter Green Pesto Pasta

Everything green is not golden. There ch have been several posts and vlogs lately discussing how pesto wasn't always basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and parm. Pesto apparently was made with various greens and a mixture of different nuts and cheeses. Following the lead from a British food vlog on ways to use all parts of bitter green, a Swiss Chard Pesto Pasta was made. It was not the British vlog recipe because I didn't save the video and I couldn't find when I needed it. Of course.

Modifications Made:

Parsley was omitted and a pinch of red pepper flakes were added.

Scaled for Likability

Before you go off on a tangent about how pesto is always basil, the issue with this pesto was the chard was not fresh and it was bitter from being in the fridge too long. Leaves had gone limp in the fridge and the stems were not removed before pesto was made. Just goes to show you sometimes fresh is best. It's not like there wasn't bunches of fresh chard in the garden. Overlooking the soggy chard, the pesto had perfect coverage on the pasta was the correct balance of cheese to greens, and was wonderful with the red pepper flakes.

Pesto pasta will be made again, and yes with chard, but leaves will be fresh, stems will be omitted, dark olive oil will be used for a stronger flavor, and walnuts will be ground first in the high powered blender before all other ingredients to create smaller pieces without mushing the chard.

Not sure if this pesto would work with tube pasta but it held up well to noodles and I am sure it will hold up well to bow tie or spirals, too. and would be great cold with antipasto toppings.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese ...

Eating Waffles

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