sweet miscellany

seasonal plant-based recipes

Adaptable Green Pesto

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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.

adaptable green pesto | via the sweet miscellany blog

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.

adaptable green pesto | via the sweet miscellany blog

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 | via the sweet miscellany blog
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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

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.

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)

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

Did you make the recipe?

I love to see what you’re making so feel free to tag me on Instagram @courtweststudio!

Loquat Butter

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Ripe loquats are cooked down into a thick and lightly sweetened vegan and gluten free fruit butter. You can leave it plain or add flavorings like ground cinnamon or vanilla!

Loquat Butter | via the sweet miscellany blog

I’ve always been fascinated by fruit trees. When I was a kid, I used to love sneaking fruit off our neighbor’s loquat tree, running away to enjoy them in the secret of the playhouse in my backyard. It was thrilling, both the sneakiness and the taste of those golden fruits. I remember telling my dad that I regularly pilfered loquats and his straight-faced reply was something along the lines of “well I hope you don’t swallow one of those seeds because if you do, a loquat tree will grow in your belly”. It didn’t stop me from eating them but it sure did make me obsessively remove the seeds from there on out.

Loquat Butter | via the sweet miscellany blog

We’re currently in the middle of loquat season here in Houston. They’re among the first fruits of the year to come into season not counting all of the lingering citrus fruits that cling to trees in late February and early March. There are several loquat trees along the trail I regularly walk so I’ve been enjoying watching their life cycle from the first blooms in November to the limbs heavy with round, yellow fruits today. Loquats, also called Chinese plums, taste like a mash-up of plums, apricots, and tart cherries. Though the name sounds similar, they are not to be confused with kumquats which are a citrus fruit.

Loquat Butter | via the sweet miscellany blog

I had a moment of sheer delight when I was gifted a large bag of loquats earlier in the week. It occurred to me, standing there simultaneously snacking on them and spitting the seeds aside, that I had never made anything with loquats. So, I figured a fruit butter was in order! It’s a damn tedious process to remove the seeds but I have a feeling you’ve got some extra time on your hands at home these days.

Loquat Butter | via the sweet miscellany blog
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Loquat Butter

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  • Author: Courtney West
  • Total Time: 60-90 minutes
  • Yield: dependent on amount of fruit used
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Ripe loquats are cooked down into a thick and lightly sweetened vegan and gluten free fruit butter. You can leave it plain or add flavorings like ground cinnamon or vanilla! 

Ingredients

  • ripe loquats
  • fresh lemon juice
  • sugar, honey, or maple syrup to sweeten
  • any other flavorings you’d like (cinnamon and ginger are good options but if you want to add vanilla extract, make sure to do it at the end of the cooking process)

Instructions

Rinse your loquats if you haven’t already. Cut off and discard the blossom end and seeds/seed membrane from every loquat. This is the tedious part! You can look at it like a working meditation.

When you’re done processing all of your loquats, add them to a blender with a splash or two of water. Blend the fruit until you get a puree. If the blender doesn’t seem to be blending the fruit easily, add a splash more water.

Measure out your puree then add it to a large pot (you want a large pot because the mixture will sputter as it cooks and this will prevent you and your stove top from being covered in loquat juice). For every cup of puree, you’ll add 2 tsp of fresh lemon juice and 1 tbsp of your sweetener (I used organic cane sugar) to the pot with the puree. For instance, I ended up with 3 cups of puree so I added 6 tsp lemon juice and 3 tbsp sugar. If you’ve decided to use any spices, add those now as well.

Heat the mixture over medium. Cook it over medium, stirring every minute or so, until most of the liquid has cooked out and it has the consistency of thick applesauce. The cooking process ending up taking a total of about 30 minutes for my batch.

Store your loquat butter in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (or freeze it to save some for later). For reference, I started with 3 cups of loquat puree and ended up with about 1 3/4 cups of butter.

Ways to enjoy your loquat butter: swirled into yogurt or oatmeal, on toast, on sandwiches, on ice cream, baked into breads and muffins in place of pumpkin puree or mashed bananas, dolloped on thumbprint cookies, or dolloped onto a soft chocolate cookie as shown in the photos 😉

Notes

  • Fruit butters are essentially low sugar fruit purees that have been cooked down to evaporate a good deal of the moisture and intensify the natural flavors (think apple butter). Luckily loquats are lower in overall moisture and really high in pectin so they don’t take too terribly long to cook up into fruit butter! The recipe is formatted so that you can adjust the amount of sugar and lemon juice based on how much loquat puree you end up with. Feel free to add in any spices or flavorings that you want! 
  • For every cup of puree, you’ll need 2 tsp of fresh lemon juice and 1 tbsp of sweetener
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30-60 minutes
  • Category: sauce

Did you make the recipe?

I love to see what you’re making so feel free to tag me on Instagram @courtweststudio!

Loquat Butter | via the sweet miscellany blog