Cheap & Tasty Kale Pesto

I don’t know why I’ve not thought to do this before now.  I spent five pretty fun years working in a funky restaurant in my late teens where one of my favourite things to eat was a grilled cheese sammich with pesto…and somehow I have not had one since.  Really?!

How did this happen?!

Probably because I’m too cheap frugal to make real basil pesto and it’s not something I think would be good from a jar. 

I’ve made spinach pesto in the past so I thought kale would probably work too.  Turns out I’m right…it’s super yumm-o!  Of course, it also turns out that I did indeed see the idea on Pinterest, so I can’t claim full recognition for this genius idea.  Dammit.

But at the very least I whipped up my recipe before I looked at my boards and confirmed my suspicions that I truly don’t have any original ideas. :)

Kale and Almond Pesto

yields 8 servings, 1/4 cup each

inspired by Raw Food Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch fresh kale, washed, trimmed from stems, and torn into large pieces (approximately 8 loose cups)
• 1/4 cup whole almonds, pan toasted
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• juice and zest of half a lemon
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup pecorino cheese, grated (parmesan or asiago would work too!)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• optional: pinch of cayenne

Directions:

1. Using a food processor or good blender chop the almonds.  Remove and set aside.  In the same processor chop the kale. 
2. Add the almonds back to the processor along with the minced garlic, lemon juice and zest, a liberal sprinkle of salt and pepper, and cayenne (if using).  Whirl in processor until well minced and mixed. 
3. Set processor to low speed and drizzle in olive oil slowly to saturate.  Scrape down sides if necessary, then add grated cheese and whirl just to combine.

Note:  I kept the olive oil quantity light to help keep the calories down, but if you want a true wet pesto add more oil.

MyFitnessPal tells me this recipe works out to around 135 calories per serving.

Personally I think the almonds are what make this work, but the fresh, rich taste of the kale lends itself quite well to the mix too!  Whatever it is I think I might like it better than regular pesto.  It’s probably because almonds and kale are a fraction the cost of basil and pine nuts.  Cheaper tastes better!

Now my mind is spinning with ideas for this bowl of green goodness.

Start by mixing a large scoop of the pesto with a spoonful of olive oil mayo, then slather it on your favourite bread (you know mine was Squirrelly) with a layer of old white cheddar and make yourself the bestest grilled cheese EVER.

Yes, EVER.  Possibly better than that dreamy sammich of my teen years.

What are your favourite uses for pesto?

I plan to make pasta with goat cheese, pesto bean dip, and about six more of those sandwiches.

Americano Gratis

Why isn’t this post starting with a cup of coffee?

Because apparently I’m some sort of nutjob that decided that since she forgot to set the coffee maker on Tuesday night she’d try to get through her Wednesday morning conference call without caffeine.

Remind me NEVER to do that again.  Word.

Mango and yogurt does not equal deeeelicious coffee.  Duh.

Thankfully this lovely little receipt survey I took part in does indeed equal deeeelicious coffee.  Even better…free coffee.

I sipped an Iced Vanilla Americano while Chibi and I soaked up some [very sunscreened] rays, then headed home for a refreshing lunch.

More iceberg salad with blue cheesey goodness.  Served up with blurry egg salad on an English muffin.

Afternoon pick-me-up.  Fabulously evil TJ’s chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels.  Thanks a lot, Alecia.  I’ll blame you when I don’t fit into my bikini.

Because all I bought in the grocery department this week was veggies and a pack of bacon, dinner involved another English muffin sammich.

BLAT.  Bacon, Laughing Cow, avocado, and tomato.

Peas and cukes.  Crunch.

And the perfect finish to a gloriously sunny day…Creamsicle for the win. 

Admittedly after spending more than two hours working on my contract job and another hour+ sorting more paperwork I was hungry again.  A teeny bowl of cereal with UVAB hit the spot before I fell face first into bed.

If only cereal was a sleep aid.  Hello 2am.  I hate you.

Monday Sun-Day

Summer must finally officially be here because hot breakfasts are a thing of the past.  Yogurt and berries, yes please.

Of course, hot coffee is always on the menu!

After catching up on weekend work emails and such I decided to forego the gym and take Chibi to the park instead.  OK, I was taking myself to the park and brought Chibi along.  :)

Into my bag went a blanket, my books, my iPod, water, dog treats, fresh English peas in the pod and fresh Okanagan cherries!

What was missing from that list?  SUNSCREEN. I do this every year. Gah.

Thankfully it’s already fading out so I don’t look totally ridiculous.  But man, when will I learn?  Today I moisturize like a mad woman.

After working away a little more I threw together a late lunch.  Bacon, tomato and avocado on a squishy cheese bun.  I die. 

Afternoon pick-me-up…

After work I decided to finally tackle a stack of paperwork I’ve been procrastinating on for months weeks.  My dining table usually looks something like this…

But now looks like this…

At least is it’s all spread out in my face like that I can’t ignore it!!

Found a few little gems in my patio garden…

Realized around 8pm I hadn’t made dinner, but I wasn’t overly hungry so settled for a banana.

And a blue Creamsicle.  Total impulse purchase this weekend, but at $3 for the box it’s a good hot day treat!

Off to lather up in coco butter! 

A Couple of Days

Hey Alexandra, is that Philadelphia Starbucks mug prominent enough for ya?  eh?  :) 

Banana, mango, coconut smoothie.  Um, yum.

Leftover Twisted Tater Salad.

Best thing to ever happen to rice crackers?  Chocolate chips of course!

Tiffaney got all mad at me because I didn’t post a blog Tuesday night…LOL…I was on a date!  We had dinner at Glo Restaurant & Lounge and it was really quite delicious.  It doesn’t hurt that they have a pretty awesome patio too.

Organic bananas do taste better by the way.

So does iced coffee when the sun is shining.

Herby gifty for the kitty.

Another Canucks game means another potluck dinner with the girls.  In keeping with my theme of Summery type foods I decided to make chicken salad sammiches this time.

On whole wheat kaisers I put a mixture of roasted chicken breast, celery, green onions, orange pepper, dried cranberries, Greek yogurt, olive oil mayo, Dijon, fresh basil and s&p.  Topped with sunflower sprouts of course.

Game watching took place at Tia’s.

Three girls and two dogs. 

Wook at that whittle face!!!  Soleil…

and Bentley…

Along with my sandwiches we had perogies :)  and Tia made Jenna’s Black Bean Quinoa Citrus Salad…

Even all that delicious food couldn’t help save our Canucks. Another sad game for our boys. Good thing they are coming home for Game 5…it’s time to get back on track! I’ve completely lost my last two smack-talk Tweetfests against Elizabeth and Ali!!

Late night work snacks. 

Headache deterrent.  H2O thank you very much.

Go Canucks Go!!!