mindful nourishment Archives | sweet miscellany

adaptable green pesto | via the sweet miscellany blog

Pesto is one of my favorite go-to meal starters so I’ve created an adaptable recipe so you can make it to suit your tastes and the season at hand! Nutty, herbaceous, savory, and bright, pesto is the perfect balance of flavors all wrapped up in a pretty verdant-hued package.

I find it curious what constitutes comfort food from person to person. Sometimes there are memories and stories attached while other times it is something that feels deeply nourishing. Of course “nourishing” is not to be confused with words like “healthy”. In my humble opinion, nourishment runs on a deeper level, satisfying body, mind, and soul. Whereas a bowl of kale might be “healthy”, a bowl of macaroni and cheese or your favorite childhood cereal can be nourishing.

Times of stress and uncertainty, like those we find ourselves in at the moment, often require imbibing our own version of comfort food. Mine tends to fluctuate throughout the year along with the seasons, but one constant is pesto tossed with something carb-y (usually pasta). It’s incredibly easy and quick to put together (just throw everything in the blender!) and I can change it up based on what I have. I think the flavor is what makes it comfort food for me: nutty, herbaceous, savory, and bright. It’s the perfect balance of flavors all wrapped up in a pretty verdant-hued package.

Before we get to the recipe, let me say that this is not traditional pesto by any means. Rather, it’s a pesto-like sauce that that just so happens to also be green! Since I make it based on what I have seasonally, every batch tends to be unique. For instance, the batch photographed was made with half of an avocado rather than olive oil because the store was wiped out of olive oil when I ordered groceries a couple of weeks ago. In addition to my favorite combinations, I’ve included recipe suggestions below in case you’re looking for inspiration for enjoying your pesto!

My Favorite Pesto Combinations & Recipe Suggestions

+ I love using sunflower seeds in the summer. They go really well with baby spinach and flat leaf parsley.

+ Pecans and sage make for a good fall/winter combo along with baby spinach or arugula.

+ Pecans and cilantro are a really delicious combo, especially when paired with earthy root veggies like beets and carrots.

+ Pumpkin seeds make a delicious combo with cilantro as well! I love using this combo as a dip for tortilla chips.

+ Since cashews have a natural sweetness to them, I love them paired with pungent herbs like basil and mint.

+ Tired of pasta? Make these oat flatbreads and top them with your pesto and whatever roasted veg you’ve got. Or, spread your pesto on pizza dough before adding the rest of your toppings.

+ If you love snacking on raw veggies, try mixing your pesto with sour cream or plain unsweetened yogurt for a creamy dip.

+ Eat a lot of sandwiches or avocado toast? Use your pesto as a sandwich spread.

+ If you love lasagna but don’t like tomato sauce, use pesto between the layers instead.

Adaptable Green Pesto

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 1.5 cups 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups of greens and/or herbs: baby spinach, steamed kale, baby arugula, radish greens, carrot greens, nettles, basil, parsley, sage, etc.
1/2 cup toasted nuts or seeds: cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, etc.
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (or Parmesan cheese if you aren’t vegan)
juice and zest of 1 small lemon
sea salt to taste
1–2 minced garlic cloves or 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (or, you can use the flesh of 1/2 of an avocado along with 3-4 tbsp of water in its place)

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Instructions

Add everything to a blender and blend until relatively smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. Store your pesto in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes

The batch photographed is kale and blue spice basil from my garden with cashews and half of an avocado in place of the olive oil. I ended up adding 1/4 cup of water to allow it blend a bit better.
If you’re using tougher greens like kale, I recommend steaming them lightly beforehand.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Category: sauce

a simple winter season sip + a tea meditation | plant-based magic via the sweet miscellany blog

Though I’ve been using herbs as a support system in my life over the past several years, this year I decided to dive deeper. I began the year reading books by Rosemary Gladstar, Rosalee de la Foret, and Paul Beyerl. I took copious notes on the herbs I read about and added my own after noticing how I experienced them in my body. I ordered several varieties of medicinal herb seeds to experiment with in my garden. I wanted to cultivate a deeper relationship with them by noticing how they responded to various temperatures, the soil they liked, and how much sun and water they required. And I wanted to be able to watch them grow from seed, observing every stage of life. Over the course of the year I began to notice how my needs changed with the seasons and what herbal allies worked best. And in doing all of this I realized how much there is to continue learning about. To continue experimenting with. To continue evolving and shifting.

One of my biggest herbal allies this year has been tulsi. I learned throughout the course of the year that it grows prolifically in my garden if given the chance. And every time I’m outside in the garden, if the breeze blows and I’m down wind from the tulsi, it carries the uniquely spicy, floral, and licorice-like scent to my nose. And it makes me pause, close my eyes, and smile. In the warmer months I used tulsi fresh as it was abundant, making sun teas, hydrosol, and even adding it to my food. As much as I was using fresh I was also harvesting to dry for use in the colder months.

Aside from really enjoying the taste and smell, tulsi has been a lovely support for my nervous system. It encourages me to slow down, check in with my breath, and cultivate presence. It gives me a boost when I’m feeling run-down, and it allows me to relax when my nerves are a bit frayed. Along with lovely chamomile, tulsi is the herb I’ve been turning to most as we move towards winter and the holiday season.

Since this time of year seems to always be accompanied by stress, I wanted to offer this simple herbal tea to sip on as well as a short meditation you can do while making (and enjoying) the tea. The goal of the meditation is to help you feel a bit more grounded and present while the herbs in the tea work on your nervous and digestive system. The tea meditation can be done any time of the day you feel you need the support. Though I have a specific tea blend listed below, please feel free to do this with any tea blend you like.

Winter Season Sip + Tea Meditation

for one serving you’ll need: 1 1/2 tsp dried tulsi and 1 1/2 tsp dried chamomile

Carefully select your mug. Maybe you choose a favorite that is aesthetically pleasing or one that feels right in your hands. Add the tea/herbs to your teapot (I tend to use a small french press). Close your eyes and smell the tea. Notice what thoughts or emotions might bubble up. Can you think of at least 3 words to describe the scent?

Set your water to boil. While the water is coming to a boil, close your eyes and notice the pace of your breath. Inhale, exhale. After five or so breaths, begin to even out the breath, making both inhale and exhale of equal length. Continue this even rate of breath. Allow the sound of the whistling kettle to draw your awareness to the present moment and open your eyes.

Pour 8 to 12 oz of the just-boiled water over your tea. Set a timer for the steep time of your tea (for this blend it will steep 10-15 minutes). As the tea steeps, close your eyes once again and this time check in with your body. Relax your shoulders. Release any clenching in your jaw, glutes, fingers, or toes. Can you feel for the back of your head balanced over the back of your heart and the back of your heart balanced over the back of your pelvis? Can you feel your feet evenly weighted on the floor, from front to back and right to left? Stand with ease. The longer you stand imagine your feet like roots, providing support for your body and connecting you to the stability and nourishment of the earth. Yield to the gentle sway that begins to happen in your body. As the timer sounds, open your eyes.

Strain your tea and pour it into the mug you’ve chosen. Sweeten or amend it as needed, then find a cozy spot to sit. Allow yourself the time and space to enjoy your tea without distractions. Savor each sip, noticing the flavors and how they may evolve as they hit your tongue. After the last sip, move on with the rest of your day.