Avocado Pesto with Dandelion Greens & Pasta

What do you do when your home city is struck by a senseless act of violence?
Try a new recipe and get back to blogging, of course.

At some point I'll use a real camera, but for now
food pics from the phone will have to do!

This one's inspired by Chef Chloe's recipe, but I made some tweaks.  Soooooo Good!  This is some of the creamiest, richest pesto I've ever tried.




2 Avocados
1 bunch fresh Basil
1/2 cup pecans (mine were roasted an salted, but raw ones would have worked fine)
2 fresh lemons
1/2c (plus enough for to saute the greens) olive oil
1 bunch dandelion greens
1 handful grated salty cheese, like parmesan or asiago (optional if you are going vegan)
1/2-3/4 lb of pasta (I used gluten free pasta, but any kind would work)


Boil the pasta in sea-salted water.

Meanwhile, cut open the avocados and mash them up.  Cut open one of the lemons and squeeze all the juice into the avocados.  Blend in the olive oil, basil, pecans, salt and pepper with a food processor or immersion blender.

Saute the dandelion greens in olive oil.  Dandelion gets really bitter, even when cooked, unless you use something to take away the acidity.   The other juiced lemon, salt, pepper, and handful of cheese will help cut the bitterness.

Drain the pasta, add the greens, and toss with the rich and delicious pesto.  Fab!

Chocolate Oat Apricot Nut Bars

Adapted from a recipe from Whole Living Magazine.  These bars are REALLY YUMMY.

Fruit, nuts, chocolate, coconut, oats and salt.
What could be better?

2 c dried apricots
1/2 c raw pecans halves
1/4 c unsweetened coconut + more for sprinkling
1/4 c quick oats (If you need this recipe to be gluten free, choose GF oats)
sea salt
1 1/2 oz melted dark chocolate (80% or more cocoa content)


Preheat the oven to 350 and break the pecan halves into pieces.  Pour the oats and the coconut onto a cookie sheet and then pour the pecan halves on top.  Bake for 5-6 minutes until toasted and aromatic.  Be careful not to burn.  When done, take out of the oven and cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, put the apricots in a food processor with a dash of the salt.  Pulse until sticky and ground. Cool the toasted stuff and then mix into the apricots until well blended.

Line a pan with parchment paper and then press the mixture into the pan until flat.  (In my household, thinner bars are more popular, so I use a large pan.)

Drizzle the chocolate over the bars and then sprinkle with coconut.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until firm.  Remove and slice into bars.  I store these in an airtight container in the fridge.

Spicy Curried Quinoa and Greens with Semi-Caramelized Sweet Potatoes

This recipe is amazing.
I can honestly say that the meat lovers in my home don't miss it in this one at all.

I make the quinoa with homemade pastured chicken stock so that we can get the nutrients from the pastured chicken, but for those of you of the vegan or vegetarian persuasion, you can easily make it with water or vegetable stock.  Keeping the skins on the sweet potatoes retains the nutrients and fiber of this delicious root. Remember, the best vegetables for your body are ones grown without chemicals, so try to get veggies from a farmer or source that you trust.  This recipe has been adapted from one I found on the Boston Organics website.  Enjoy!

If you want a vegan version of this,
use mango chutney instead of yogurt.

Spicy Curried Quinoa with Greens and Semi-Caramelized Sweet Potatoes

4 medium sized sweet potatoes
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 chopped onion
2 cloves shallots or garlic
2-3 inches fresh ginger, chopped
2-4 tablespoons spicy curry powder
3 cups leafy greens (such as kale, chard, collards, dandelion greens) cut in thin strips
2 carrots, chopped
11/2 cups quinoa, rinsed in cold water
3 cups water or stock
3 tablespoons olive oil
Squeeze of lemon
Organic Yogurt or Mango chutney on the side

Wash the sweet potatoes and slice them 1/4 inch thick.  Then cut them in half so that you have half-circles.  Toss them with salt, pepper and olive oil.  Place them on a baking sheet covered with tin foil or parchment paper. Put the dish into a cold oven (this is important, as the gradual rise in temperature helps bring out the sweet potato flavors and gives the roasted veggies the semi-caramelized quality).  Turn on the oven to 450 Bake for about 30 min. until dark orange and soft.  At this point, you will start with the quinoa on the stove. Flip them and bake another 15-20 minutes until the other side is done as well.

While the potatoes are roasting, in a medium pot heat up the olive oil and sauté the onion in it. Then add the garlic or shallots, ginger and the curry powder and saute until sizzling and fragrant. Now add the carrots and the greens.  Add the quinoa to the pot along with 3 cups stock or salted water. Simmer under a lid until all the liquid is absorbed about 15 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork, season to taste and add the olive oil.  Add a squeeze of lemon. Put the quinoa on a platter, top with the sweet potatoes.  Serve with chutney or yogurt.

serves 6.

Maple-Pecan-Coconut Granola

This granola is delicious, and even popular among the folks I know who are not into health food.  If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, just be sure that you get your oats from a gluten-free source.  

If you like your granola to have chunks of oats and nuts, the key to keeping that consistency is in the turn between bakes.  Use a flat spatula and simply flip the oats once, keeping the chunks intact.  Stirring the oats instead of turning them will separate the oats and get rid of the chunks.  

This recipe was adapted from the Whole Foods Market Anniversary Cookbook.

Maple-Pecan-Coconut Granola

Serves 6-8

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup unsweetened organic coconut, finely shredded

Pinch of sea salt

2/3 cup maple syrup

6 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil plus enough to grease the pan

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Blend the oats, flour, coconut, and salt together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, oil, and vanilla until completely incorporated.  Add to the oat mixture, stirring well to coat.  Place mixture on a large pan that has been greased with coconut oil.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Pull the granola out of the oven and add the pecans, turning the granola once to mix them in.  Continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes.  Allow the granola to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place or in the refrigerator.