Broccoli Raab Pesto

Broccoli Raab Pesto

About half a pound of broccoli raab greens
1/2 cup of pine nuts
Three medium cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup of water or lemon juice
Salt to taste

Blanch greens in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse in cold water. Reserve 1/4 cup of cooking liquid for use later in recipe, if desired. Drain and squeeze all excess water from greens and coarsely chop. Add greens, garlic, olive oil, nuts and water to Blendtec and pulse until well blended. It may take awhile to get completely mixed--when it looks well integrated and creamy, it is ready.

This experiment came about as a result of a great deal at the Farmer's Market that resulted in two gigantic bunches of broccoli raab, and a Christmas gift of pinenuts (I had let my family know there are certain kitchen items I consider somewhat of a luxury). The bunches were so big that I was having trouble fitting them in my crisper drawer, and the leaves were getting unhappy fast. So I chopped off the upper parts of both bunches, saving the lower stalks for another use (though a number of stems still made it in, and probably don't hurt), and put them to work in this recipe.

I was impressed by the bright color and thought it tasted great and not much different from basil pesto. So far we've used it on vegan pizza, and as a garnish on a blended white bean soup.

Prickly Pear Pear Smoothie

2 prickly pears, peeled and sliced (this is a helpful guide with nice pictures)
1 large Bartlett pear, quartered and seeded, then roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, trimmed and chopped
1 medium head of romaine lettuce, washed and torn or chopped into large pieces
about 1 cup of water

Add all ingredients to Blendtec, water last. Run on Whole Juice cycle twice (add ice cubes on the last cycle if you want ensure a perfectly cold drink) and serve.

One advantage to frequently perusing the Reduced for Quick Sale (RQS) Rack at Harris Teeter is that you often find things for very cheap that you might not normally buy -- in my case it's usually some interesting produce often associated with Mexican cuisine. I got a bag of prickly pears for dirt cheap and immediately thought of trying them in a smoothie (along with the extremely ripe marked down organic pears I also got from the rack).

Peeled prickly pears have a smell that reminds me of berries. They also contain numerous edible but not exactly chewable seeds which would probably be nearly impossible to remove. I found this ruby-colored green smoothie very tasty. I thought the prickly pear complemented the carrot, though the Bartlett did overpower a little and I could have added more lettuce, as it was very sweet.

P.S. The next day I made this again and added several more leaves of lettuce and more water, and it was even better.

Cashew-chatel Cheese

2 cups raw cashew pieces
1/3 cup large flake nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons of miso paste
juice of half a lemon
1/2 - 1 cup water (to desired consistency)

Add all ingredients to Blendtec. Based on the recipe for Peanut Butter in the Blendtec Recipes Book, cycle blender up to Cycle 1, and allow to finish cycle. (It may appear as though nothing is happening.) Then cycle up to Cycle 5 and allow to run full cycle. Between cycles, scrape mixtures towards the blades. You will notice that the mixture near the blades gets creamier and smoother with time. Repeat process until mixture reaches desired consistency. Adding water may speed the process but will make it thinner. I added about half a cup of water and my "cheese" was spreadable, but a little thinner than your average nut butter right out of the blender. A day later we discovered it had firmed up closer (see picture above).

This turned out well, and went great on a freshly homemade bagel---"cheesy," thanks to the nooch, with a nice texture. The sweetness of the cashews really still comes through, more miso probably wouldn't hurt. You could also replace some of the cashews with cooked white beans, but I would recommend making your nut "butter" first, and adding the other ingredients later, as it can be a challenge to get the nuts thoroughly ground up. Soaking the nuts overnight might also ease the process.

Jalapeno Mojito Hot Sauce

roughly a pound and a half of jalapenos, trimmed but not de-seeded
the juice of about 12 limes
salt to taste
a few sprigs of mint, about 1/8th of a cup
a quarter of a medium yellow onion, peeled

Simmer the jalapenos in water for about 5-10 minutes--if you like heat, consider setting some aside and adding a couple raw at the end. Drain and add to Blendtec, followed by remaining ingredients. Pulse to desired consistency, then store in clean jars or bottles and refrigerate. Let rest for a day before serving.

This came out really hot. Next time I might cook the jalapenos longer (when I made it, I cooked all the jalapenos except half of one which was left over from something else). But it's still good, very thick with a lot of jalapeno flavor, not just heat. I will probably use it sparingly as a garnish and also perhaps try cooking with it.

Best Anniversary Gift Ever

Yes, he built a "Blender Muffle" from foam and cardboard. It's perfect for my morning green smoothie; I can hit the pre-set cycle button, slip the muffle over the Blendtec and let it run the 50-second, loud, grinding "Whole Juice" cycle course.



The photo doesn't do the craftsmanship justice, but my eardrums (and my roommates' sleep patterns) will benefit greatly.

Hot Sauce

just under a pound of peppers, I used some very spicy banana peppers
juice of one lime
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon coarse salt
7 cloves of garlic, peeled
two small tomatoes
couple tablespoons of chili powder (mostly for color)

Trim and chop up peppers and tomatoes. Big pieces are fine. I didn't bother seeding the peppers because I like heat, and also, it reduced the chances of hurting myself on the juice. Add all ingredients to Blendtec, liquids last. Pulse for about 10 or 15 seconds, until well-pureed. It will be frothy. Transfer to deep saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Transfer to clean glass jars or bottles and refrigerate.

Hot Salsa

6 vine tomatoes, quartered
2 medium jalapenos, 2 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, split and seeded
1 medium to small onion, quartered
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried ground coriander
1 tsp salt
the juice of three limes

Add all ingredients to the Blendtec jar, juice and spices last. Pulse five times. Chill over night.

Sorry, meant to get a picture later but then we ate it all. Turned out quite nice!