Eating your Greens

In honor of St. Patrick's Week, here are a couple of really great "green" recipes to enjoy year-round. 


Dairy-free Pesto Pasta
*For the dairy-free pesto: 2 cups fresh basil, 1/2 cup pistachios, 1-1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt, pinch of black pepper, 1/4 cup + 2 TB. olive oil. Place all ingredients in a food processor. Process to desired chunkiness. 
*Pasta: cook 1/2 pound (8 oz) of fusili, rotelle, or penne pasta, as directed. While pasta is cooking, prepare vegetables.
*Vegetables: In a large pan, heat 1 TB. olive oil. Add 1 cup coarsely chopped artichoke hearts and 1/2 cup frozen mixed bell peppers. Lightly season with salt & pepper; cook 5-7 minutes until peppers are heated through. Add cooked pasta directly to pan. Add 1 diced tomato (or 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes) and pesto. Toss all together, let pesto heat 2-3 minutes. Serve! Feeds 4.  


You can add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese just before serving or keep the dish vegan by omitting the cheese. I promise that if I made this pesto for you and didn't tell you it didn't have cheese, you'd never guess. We love the added crunch and protein of the pistachios and, while we both love cheese, sometimes it's nice to give the digestive system a bit of a break. This recipe would be great for people with dairy allergies. Pesto recipe from "Raw Food Real World."


Creamy Asparagus Soup
*Cut tips from 2 lbs. of asparagus 1-1/2 inches from the top. Reserve. Cut the rest of the stalks into 1/2-inch pieces. 
*In a large pot, cook 1 medium-large, chopped onion in 3 TB. of unsalted butter over med-low heat, until softened. Add asparagus and salt & pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add 5 cups chicken broth, leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp. dried thyme. Cover & simmer until asparagus is fork tender, 15-20 minutes. 
*While soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling water 3-4 minutes, or until just tender. Drain & set aside.
*Puree the soup in a blender until smooth, then return to pot. Add 1/3 cup heavy cream or greek-style yogurt and juice of 1/2 a lemon. Check for seasoning; salt & pepper to taste. 
*Garnish with asparagus tips. Feeds 3-4 as a "main" dish. Recipe adapted from SimplyRecipes.com. 


The first night I made this soup, we had a salad with it (greens, grilled chicken, feta cheese, walnuts & dried cranberries). The second night I ate it as a very light dinner, accompanied by an english muffin. This is a very delicate & delicious soup. I was nervous that it would be a bowl of slap-you-in-the-face asparagus, much like split pea soup tends to be (although I do like a good pea soup), however, we were really pleasantly surprised at it's gentility. Asparagus is one of the healthiest foods on earth- a true power food- helping with gastrointestinal problems, diabetes, kidney function, fertility and fetal health. It's an antioxidant, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory. Amazing! If you went through the Chicken Salsa Soup recipe, you'll notice that I'm substituting greek-style yogurt for sour cream and heavy cream quite often. You'd never know the difference in taste but the yogurt has considerably fewer calories, more protein and helpful Live Active Cultures that keep your intestinal flora bountiful (which in turn boosts the immune system, etc.).  Enjoy!