Arugula Pesto

 What to do with a whole bunch of arugula? Make Pesto

I for sure prefer basil pesto, but my better half does not. He did like this however. Popped it on some noodles and sprinkled parmesan over it.

• 5 cups arugula
• ¼ cup walnuts
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼  cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Put the arugula, garlic and walnuts in a food processor. 

Process until fairly smooth. 

Slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream while running the food processor

Add the Parmesan  and process more.

 Stir in the salt and pepper. 

Pour over cooked pasta or bruschetta and enjoy!

I froze the left overs since we are out of town soon.

From https://www.tulsakids.com/what-to-do-when-you-have-too-much-arugula/#:~:text=If%20your%20arugula%20is%20going,imagination%20can%20come%20up%20with.

Impossible burger Shepherds Pie

 

• 4 tbs butter, divided
• 12 oz Impossible Burger
• 2 med shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 8 ounces brown gravy ( See bottom: I made https://www.jamieoliver.com/videos/how-to-make-vegan-gravy-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/
•              salt and ground black pepper 
• 3 cups mashed potatoes 
• 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1   Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Step 2

  Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cook and stir the meatless ground beef with shallots and garlic until browned and crumbly and shallots are soft, about 10 minutes. Add peas and carrots, gravy, salt, and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes.

• Step 3

  Spread the mixture onto the bottom of a 10-inch 7x11 baking dish. Spread mashed potatoes evenly over the top. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese and dot with remaining butter.

• Step 4

  Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the cheese and butter have fully melted, about 20 minutes. Top with parsley and serve.

Original recipe can be found here.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/282279/impossible-shepherds-pie/

Gravy

A large handful of brown topped mushrooms. Saute in hot pan without stirring.

Add half a large onion, chopped roughly  You want the onion to brown not sweat

After 2-3 minutes, add 2 carrots chopped.

Then some thyme and 2 bay leaves.

Sprinkle the whole mixture with flour for a little thickening.

After 2-3 minutes add a stalk of celery chopped

Then a squirt of black coffee

And a touch of soy sauce.

Add a cup or two of stock and simmer.

The actual recipe says to crush everything and filter out the pieces.

I just added everything into my shepherds pie.

Pretzel Bake Off

 So, we were getting ready for the super bowl, and Dave decided we should bring pretzels. He bought pizza dough, I had my home made pizza dough and then I made pretzel dough. All the pretzels were acceptable, but the Alton Brown Pretzel was sublime

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-soft-pretzels-recipe-1948242

Total time: 2 hours   Prep 30 min  Cook 25 min       Yield 8 pretzels

Ingredient

1  1/2 cups warm water

1 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

1 package yeast

22 oz all purpose flour, (4 1/2 cups)

2 oz butter, melted

Vegetable oil, for pan

10 cups water

2/3 cups baking soda

1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp water

Pretzel Salt- wish we had some.

Directions

1. Combine the water, sugar and  salt in the bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. 
2. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. 
3. Add the flour and butter and, mix until well combined. 
4. Knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, (4 to 5 minutes.)
5. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. 
6. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for  1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
7. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. 
8. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
9. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan.
10. Turn the dough out onto an oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. 
11. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. 
12. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. 
13. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
14. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. or until they float.
15. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. 
16. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Too bad we only had margarita salt.
17. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. 
18. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.]