Carrot Top Pesto

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Carrots in the summer are so beautiful. Every farmer’s market stand has them on display with their frilly, green tops still attached. They’re just too pretty to get rid of! Carrot tops have a light carrot-y flavor, but are a little pepper-y like arugula. The green tops are perfect blended into a sauce like a carrot top pesto. Carrot top pesto is great for some hot, long noodles or mixed into a smaller pasta for a pasta salad.

I used mine with some capellini pasta. The pesto was thinned out with some pasta water and some frozen peas were added! You can also just make a Basil Pesto if you aren’t feeling too adventurous to try carrot tops. 🙂

Ingredients:

Carrot tops: I think the carrot tops here can really be substituted with a multitude of herbs to make a beautiful sauce. Sub with basil for a more traditional pesto or go wild with parsley and cilantro.

Pine nuts and walnuts: I like the combination and flavor of both! If you could only pick one, I would not skip the pine nuts.

Pecorino romano: my favored salty hard cheese!

Lemon juice: You can substitute this with any acid! I used a Meyer lemon vinegar too and it was lovely.

Olive oil: I got a coupon to try this new one, Colive, that is very tasty but also has a beautiful mission.

so beautiful!
toasted nuts
blitzed
add greens
olive oil
pesto!

Carrot Top Pesto

Print Recipe
Minimal waste pesto using green carrot tops for a carrot-y, pepper-y sauce.
Course Main Course
Keyword carrot, pasta, pesto

Equipment

  • 1 blender or food processor

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 1/3 cup walnuts
  • 2 cups packed carrot tops
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  • Toasted your pine nuts and walnuts in the oven until golden brown and fragrant. They can be toasted in a pan or in the oven at 350F for 3-5 minutes.
  • While toasting, wash your carrot tops and trim off any leafy bits that are wilted or dry. Cut into smaller chunks to more easily fit into a food processor or blender.
  • After nuts have toasted, add nuts, garlic, and cheese to blend first until into a smaller grit.
  • Add carrot tops and pulse until mostly blended.
  • Continue blending and drizzle in olive oil. Reduce or add additional as necessary until achieved desired consistency.
  • Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
  • Mix into some pasta or serve alongside some bread or crackers!

Try this pesto with Pesto Roasted Potatoes

Steamed Kailan (Chinese Broccoli)

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I miss the days of dimsum where the push carts would come out and you could see the hot steamer baskets coming around with yummy treats. In the past year, I’ve only been to one dimsum restaurant with carts in Vancouver, B.C., but nothing in the Seattle area. My dimsum must haves include the classics like siu mai, har gow, and of course a vegetable, the steamed kailan (Chinese broccoli). Outside of dimsum, kailan is one of my favorite vegetables to eat as a side.

This summer was the first time I had seen kailan at a farmer’s market, so I had to get some. I would think kailan is not as popular of a vegetable for the general public, so the local farmers might not opt to grow it. Kailan is usually served in its full stalk typically with plain oyster sauce drizzled over the top of it, but sometimes it’s a little too thick or a little too salty, so I like to make my own sauce, sans oyster sauce! This sauce can also be made vegan for our plant-based friends.

Ingredients

Hoisin sauce – Use a vegan hoisin sauce to make this vegetarian recipe entirely vegan!

Sesame oil – This is toasted sesame oil! The dark, fragrant oil not the light version used for cooking.

fresh kailan
sauce
into the steamer
lid on
steamed!

Steamed Kailan

Print Recipe
A dimsum classic to make at home.
Course Side Dish
Keyword chinese broccoli, dimsum, kailan, vegan, vegetarian

Equipment

  • 1 steamer

Ingredients

  • 1 lb kailan
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Instructions

  • Clean and cut any tough ends off kailan.
  • Steam kailan 15-20 minutes depending on thickness of the stalk until tender. You could also microwave them for 4-5 minutes.
  • Mix together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil.
  • After kailan is removed from the steamer, drizzle sauce over top and toss to mix.

Have some with Shrimp & Snap Pea Stir Fry and some 10-Minute Soy Ginger Noodles.

Horseradish Potato Salad

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Now that summer is in full swing, it’s officially barbecue season! A barbecue is really defined by your grilled main dish and then an absolute excess of side dishes. One of my favorite side dishes in the summer is potato salad. A cold side is so refreshing on a summer day. This potato salad is made a little more exciting with the addition of horseradish. It adds a little bit of a tangy kick that has you reaching for a little bit more.

Ingredients

Potatoes – I think russet potatoes or red potatoes would work best with this potato salad.

Eggs – hardboiled!

Horseradish – I recommend using a horseradish cream instead of just plain horseradish. I find the prepared horseradish cream to be less bitter while still having great horseradish flavor.

potatoes
start in cold water
onions
pickle stack
eggs
mix!

Horseradish Potato Salad

Print Recipe
The perfect side for a summer barbecue.
Course Salad, Side Dish
Keyword potato salad, potatoes, vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 6 russet potatoes medium sized
  • 6 hardboiled eggs
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp horseradish cream
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup chopped pickles or relish
  • 1/2 cup yellow onions chopped
  • 1/4 cup scallion greens chopped
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  • Peel potatoes and chop into large cubes, ensuring all pieces are around the same size. Do not cut them too small as they will break into smaller pieces as the potato salad is mixed.  
  • Put chopped potatoes in cold water and bring mix to a boil. When potatoes come to a boil, add 2 tbsp of salt and mix. Boil potatoes under fork tender.
  • While potatoes are boiling, chop yellow onions into a small dice, and add to a boil.
  • Drain potatoes and add to the top of the yellow onions to cool. The hot potatoes will help steam the onions a bit so they have less of a sharp bite.
  • If not already peeled, peel hardboiled eggs while potatoes are cooling. Chop hardboiled eggs into 8 pieces each and add to the potatoes.
  • If using pickles, chop them into the same size as onions and add to the mixture.
  • At this point, potatoes have cooled significantly. Add in mayonnaise, horseradish, and mustard, and mix together.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste and mix in chopped scallion greens last.
  • Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Looking for more sides for your next barbecue? Try Pasta Salad or Shrimp Cocktail.

Curry Chicken Salad

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I love getting the roast chickens at Costco for an quick and easy batch of pho, but sometimes it ends up being too much chicken and I don’t know what to do with the rest of it. The chicken itself can be a little bit bland and dry depending on the day, so I like to use it in other dishes when I can. After rifling through some refrigerator scraps, I found enough to make a *fancier* chicken salad – curry chicken salad!

This curry chicken salad is nicely flavored from the curry powder pre-mix of spices, has crunch from the celery, a little zip from the raw onions, and some sweetness from the apples. It’s perfect between two slices of toasted bread, inside a pita pocket, or on top of some crunchy greens!

Ingredients:

Sour cream & mayo: I find the sour cream to be a little bit lighter since it has a little bit of tanginess to it already. The mayo addition just makes it a little more creamy. Feel free to use all mayo if you like.

Curry powder – ezpz, skip if you don’t want it

chicken
other ingredients
start mixing!

Curry Chicken Salad

Print Recipe
Creamy, spiced, and crunchy chicken salad for when you have leftover chicken.
Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Keyword chicken, curry, salad

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked chicken
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 celery rib
  • 1/2 medium apple
  • 1/4 cup diced onion
  • salt & pepper

Instructions

  • Prep all your ingredients by dicing the cooked chicken into small bite sized pieces. Dice your celery, apple, and onion as well.
  • In a bowl, mix together chicken, celery, apple, onion, sour cream, and mayo. Sprinkle in curry powder and garlic powder to ensure no big "clumps" of spices.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Mix well and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Enjoy!

More salad-y type things? Try some Pasta Salad or The Work From Home Salad.

Puff Pastry Danish

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After visiting a bakery that had such amazing pastries, I was craving some fresh, buttery, flaky pastries at home. I still had puff pastry leftover from making Asparagus Puff Pastry Twists, so I figured I would use the rest to make puff pastry danish. Danish pastries typically use a yeasted laminated dough to give it extra springy layers, but frozen puff pastry is so much more accessible!

Most sweet Danishes I’ve encountered are typically just cheese or a cheese topped with some fruits. I love the creamy fruity mix, but feel free to opt out of the fruit if that doesn’t interest you.

Ingredients

Puff pastry – any store bought works great, but be sure to defrost your sheet of puff pastry in the refrigerator overnight to ensure it’s easier to work with

Fruit – I used my Strawberry Rhubarb Jam to top this off, but you can use pieces of fresh fruit or any other fruit jam or preserve you have your hands on. I think some fig jam or strawberry preserves would be divine.

cheese mix
cut
stab
cheese
fruit
baked

Puff Pastry Danish

Print Recipe
Quick & easy at home fruit & cheese danish for a satisfying home-baked pastry
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword danish, puff pastry
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 sheet puff pastry
  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup fruit jam/preserves optional
  • 1 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 egg

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400F
  • Make your cheese mix by mixing cream cheese with sugar, salt, and vanilla. Set aside.
  • Unroll your puff pastry from the packaging and lay flat.
  • Cut into 6 even pieces.
  • Using a fork, stab the center area of each plank of puff pastry to prevent the center filling area to puff too much and risk your filling oozing out.
  • Divide cheese filling among 6 puff pastry planks. Leave about a 1/2 inch border along each puff plank.
  • Top the cheese with~1 tbsp of fruit jam/preserves.
  • Brush the edges of the puff with heavy cream to help browning, egg for shine, or a mix of both for browning and shine.
  • Bake for about ~15 minutes, until puffed on the edges and golden brown.
  • Allow to cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

More baking? Try Blackberry Rhubarb Muffins or Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Egg Salad

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I think it’s summer now in the PNW so that means more time outside. Egg salad is a perfect prep item for on the go sandwiches for that next hike adventure or for a quick dinner when it’s too hot to turn on the stove or the oven. A couple scoops is also perfect on top of a bed of greens or wrapped in some lettuce for a light lunch or quick snack. Recently I’ve been liking this in my Scallion & Chili Crunch Focaccia.

Ingredients

Hard-boiled eggs: I have a certain way that I like to prepare my eggs to get a perfect hard-boil without that green ring on the yolk that gives them that chalky texture. If you overcook your eggs for this, honestly you would never be able to tell since they get mashed into the dressing for the eggs anyway.

Anchovy: Shhhhhh secret ingredient! You’d never guess it was in there and it just gives the egg salad a more salty and savory flavor!

Onions: I prefer sweet onions, but if you had to pick a different onion, I would pick red onions.

Celery: Don’t skimp out on these! They give your egg salad more texture for endless eating.

boiling
take out those yolks!
mash
mix
refrigerate
assemble

Egg Salad

Print Recipe
Perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs go into this egg salad with a secret ingredient!
Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Keyword egg salad, eggs, sandwich

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 2 filets anchovies
  • 1/4 cup sweet onion diced
  • 1/4 cup celery diced
  • pepper
  • salt

Instructions

  • To hard-boil the eggs, start with cold water in a cold pot. Put your eggs in the water and turn on the stove.
  • When the water comes to a rapid boil, turn off the heat and allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for an additional 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, remove the eggs from the hot water and transfer to a cold water bath to stop cooking.
  • Peel eggs, removing egg yolks and placing in a separate bowl. Don't worry about breaking the egg whites!
  • In the bowl with the egg yolks, add mayonnaise, mustard, and anchovy filets.
  • Mash egg yolks and filets into the mayo and mustard.
  • Dice egg whites and add to the mayo mix along with the celery and onion.
  • Taste and season with pepper and any other salt if necessary.
  • Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  • Assemble your sandwich or salad and enjoy!

Other eggs: Soy Marinated Soft Eggs or Cheesy Egg Strata

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

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Spring is rhubarb season! My usual rhubarb plug unfortunately dug up all their rhubarb so now I have to go to the grocery store for rhubarb. Last year featured a Blueberry Rhubarb Jam, but this year I’m really into the strawberries. It doesn’t feel like strawberries should quite yet be in season yet, but it seems every grocery store has them on sale.

One of my favorite uses for strawberry rhubarb jam is to swirl it into my breakfast bowl of yogurt and granola for a perfect start to the day.

Ingredients:

Rhubarb – I know there are a lot of people that don’t like rhubarb, but honestly I don’t think you can “taste” rhubarb here. It’s really just adds color and tartness to the jam.

Strawberry – I used an entire pound of strawberries for this, but feel free to reduce the recipe down for a smaller quantity. I kept the strawberries large (I only quartered them) to leave more fruit texture in the final jam.

strawberries
strawbs & rhubarb
jammy

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Print Recipe
Vibrant sweet, yet tart jam full of yummy rhubarb and strawberry.
Course Dessert, Side Dish, Snack
Keyword jam, rhubarb, strawberry

Equipment

  • heavy bottom pot

Ingredients

  • 2 cups rhubarb diced
  • 16 ounces strawberries quartered
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

  • In a heavy bottom pot, add all ingredients on medium heat and gently stir.
  • Rhubarb and strawberries will begin to cook and sugar and salt will dissolve.
  • When mixture begins to simmer and all fruits have wilted, continue simmering for 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
  • Allow mixture to reduce about half-way.
  • Allow to cool completely and transfer to storage container.

Looking for more rhubarb? Try Cinnamon Apple Rhubarb Loaf or Blackberry Rhubarb Muffins.

Baked Potato

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Definitely not an ad in anyway, but Safeway has been sending me coupons for free things every couple months. In the past it’s just been a free beverage or a container of yogurt, but this time it was 10 pounds of potatoes! Also silly me, it was a nice day so I walked to the store and walked back with the potatoes. What am I going to do with all these potatoes? I’ll bake some first, and maybe boil, mash, or put some in a stew later.

Ingredients

Potato – I like russet potatoes for making a baked potato. The skin is tougher so it doesn’t disintegrate in the oven. It also crisps up nicely in the oven if you like to eat the skin!

Toppings – My favorite baked potato toppings are sour cream, green onions, and Parmesan!

oil & season
post-bake
cut in half!

Baked Potato

Print Recipe
An easy side that gives you crispy skin and a fluffy interior
Course Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
Keyword baked potato, potatoes

Ingredients

  • potatoes
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • toppings of choice

Instructions

  • Clean and thoroughly scrub any quantity of potatoes you're planning on using. You'll want to make sure they're well cleaned so if you end up eating the skin, it isn't gritty.
  • Preheat the oven to 400F
  • Pat dry and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
  • Stab potatoes with a fork so they can release steam as they cook.
  • Thoroughly coat each potato in olive oil, and generously season the exterior with salt and pepper. I like using ~1 tsp of salt per potato and then a few generous cranks on the pepper mill.
  • Bake for ~45 minutes, until you can easily insert a fork through the potato.
  • Cool for a few minutes and then slice through completely. Fluff the interior and add your favorite toppings!

If your oven is already on, might as well bake some My Favorite Focaccia or Savory Asparagus Galette.

Soy Marinated Soft Eggs

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Last week was a major heat wave in the Seattle area with temps in the 80-90sF. I know, I know, this is nothing compared to the 120F+ that gently roasts you in Phoenix, but not having any air conditioning definitely changes things! Producing as little heat as possible during the day was the goal. Boiling some eggs only takes a couple minutes in the mornings when it’s still cool from the sun being away. These soy eggs were consumed in just a few days with some rice cooker rice, seaweed salad, and kimchi for a no-stove meal.

After you’re done, don’t throw away the marinade! You can save it for a nice stir-fry or marinate something else with it.

Ingredients

Eggs – I like soft-boiled eggs for this, but if you don’t like a gushy yolk, you are more than welcome to hard-boil them!

Sugar – White sugar can be substituted here, but I would use a tablespoon or so less in case it’s too sweet. Adjust as you please!

boil eggs
cool down
brown sugar
saucy
marinate!

Soy Marinated Soft Eggs

Print Recipe
Marinated eggs with a gooey yolk perfect on top of a bowl of rice.
Cuisine Asian
Keyword eggs, soft-boiled

Ingredients

  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sesame oil
  • 1/4 cup green onions

Instructions

  • Put a pot of water on the stove to boil.
  • When water is boiling, carefully lower eggs into the water.
  • Boil for 7-8 minutes for a soft boil.
  • While boiling, prepare a bowl of cold ice water to put eggs into after they are boiling to stop the cooking process.
  • While eggs are cooling, make your sauce! Mix together soy sauce, water, sugar, sesame oil, and green onions, ensuring the sugar has completely dissolved.
  • When eggs have cooled completely, peel and place them into a container.
  • Pour the marinade over the eggs, gently stirring to ensure some marinade goes between every egg.
  • Leave eggs in marinade at least 4 hours. Enjoy!

Eat with 10-Minute Soy Ginger Noodles or Congee (Using Day-Old Rice)

Scallion & Chili Crunch Focaccia

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Summer is here and that means that farmer’s market season is in swing! I’ve been traveling quite a bit already this year with more travel plans in the future, so it didn’t make sense to commit to a CSA for the summer. I’ll be bopping around the city to all the different markets to find all the seasonal farm fresh goodies.

The other week I went to my first farmer’s market of the summer, the Snohomish Farmer’s Market! It’s located right in the downtown Snohomish area and there are so many vendors there that I circled multiple times. Spring onions were wildly large and I ended up with a lot more than I thought I could eat. These spring onions were Walla Walla sweet onions, the Washington competitor to the South’s Vidalia onion. These ended up being so fragrant and tasty mixed into a focaccia.

Ingredients

Spring onions – I used the Walla Walla ones I found at the farmer’s market, but this bread would still be lovely with onions that you may find at the grocery store.

Chili crunch – I’m loyal to what I think is the OG crunchy chili sauce, the Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp, but this could be substituted for any other chili oil. The Momofuku sauce is delicious (and expensive) and I’ve also heard the Trader Joe’s variation is lovely. If all else fails, mix together some chili oil with red pepper flakes and that works too!

big onions
i made a double batch
sliced scallions!
overnight rise
stretch + drizzle
looks so pretty!

Scallion & Chili Crunch Focaccia

Print Recipe
Course Appetizer, Snack
Keyword bread, chili oil, focaccia, onion, scallion, spring onion
Cook Time 25 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups warm water
  • 4 1//2 tsp yeast dry active
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 4 tsp salt
  • 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sliced green onion
  • 4 tbsp chili crunch
  • 4 tbsp olive oil + extra for pan/bowl

Instructions

  • Bloom yeast in warm water and honey. Mix together and allow to sit until mixture begins to foam.
  • Add flour, salt, and slice scallions. If using a stand mixer, use the hook attachment.
  • After mixing, I usually will leave the dough in the same bowl, pour some oil into the mixing bowl, targeting the sides of the bowl, making sure to coat the ball of dough. I use the spatula to separate the dough from the sides of the bowl to ensure that the oil has a chance to drip between all parts of the dough and the bowl.
  • When ready to bake, generously coat a sheet pan in olive oil and empty dough onto sheet pan.
  • Let come up to room temperature ~30 minutes.
  • Using hands, spread and stretch dough to cover entire sheet pan. Dimple dough with fingers.
  • Mix together chili crunch & olive oil and drizzle over the top of the dough.
  • Sprinkle top with flakey salt.
  • Bake for 20-30 minutes at 450F until crispy and browned.
  • Enjoy!

My classic breads: My Favorite Focaccia or Sourdough