I promised in my last post that showed how to make fresh basil pesto using a food processor that I’d put together picture book directions showing how to hand-chop basil pesto if you don’t have – or don’t like cleaning – a food processor and, boy, I hopped on it with a “let’s get it done right now” right after taking a good hop on the bike.
Ha! Hunched over a bit because I use the tip of my nose to fire my cellphone camera when I shoot recipe action shots.
I have to say, having made hand-chopped basil pesto for the first time this week, I’m a big fan. I love the coarser texture and chewy, nutty, soft crunch and, of course, fresh full-on flavor – and freedom of not having to clean food processor parts. Here’s how I used it right away for a post-ride lunch: with chickpeas, tomatoes, mixed Italian cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes.
Here are the needed ingredients: 1 Bunch Fresh Basil, 4-5 Garlic Cloves, Handful of Your Favorite Nuts (I used no-salt walnuts), 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt, Crunch of Black Pepper, Grated Parmesan Cheese, Olive Oil, Shot of Balsamic Vinegar (optional but adds a punch of flavor)
Here’s what you need for equipment: Water Basin, Cutting Board, Strainer or Colander, Large Sharp (Chef’s) Knife, Bowl, Large Spoon
Click this link or any picture on this page for complete step-by-step hand-chopped basil pesto picture book directions.
I introduced pesto in my last post as in ingredient for Warm Overnight Oats with Chickpeas, Pesto and Cheese. That post elicited a request from a friend to repost the Basil Pesto picture book recipe I put together 10 years ago that you can jump to immediately by clicking any picture on this page.
One big heads up/warning right off the bat: you’ll need a food processor to make fresh pesto like the processor shown below in the equipment picture or any other model or brand. If you don’t have one, try to borrow one from a friend or family – and even offer to share the pesto you make with them. If, however, you can’t access a food processor, please bear with me. I’ll shoot and post a hand-chopped basil pesto recipe next.
In the meantime, for those of you with a food processor good to go, here are the ingredients you need to make fresh basil pesto: 1 Bunch Fresh Basil, 1 Garlic Bulb, Grated Parmesan Cheese, 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt, Crunch of Black Pepper, Olive Oil, Handful of Your Favorite Nuts (I usually use either a lightly salted version of roasted almonds, no salt walnuts, or lightly salted mixed nuts instead of pine nuts usually called for to make pesto for both flavor and because pine nuts can be hard to find), Shot of Balsamic Vinegar (optional but adds a punch of flavor).
Here’s a shot of the equipment you’ll need. The wide bladed chef’s knife below is just used to smash the garlic skins open to make peeling the garlic easy.
Another big heads up: definitely give the fresh basil a good hand scrubbing rinse as shown in the photos below to make sure to wash out any sandy soil that might stick to the basil leaves, which otherwise makes enjoying fresh fully-flavorful pesto a lot crunchier than it needs to be and less enjoyable.
Again, click this link or any picture on this page for complete fresh basil pesto step-by-step picture book directions.
Last post showed how to make a sweet overnight oats recipe: overnight oats with grapes, yogurt, jam & kefir. This post puts a savory twist on those same overnight oats – all very easily and fantastically flavorfully.
I’m what a I call a “peripatetic eater”, or someone who bounces from table to kitchen just a bit during a meal. And you know the deal here: FLAVOR RULES! So, though I liked this dish with just the ingredients above and as shown below,…
…I liked it even better – and made it look more photogenic – by just adding chopped jalapeños and sun-dried tomatoes…
…to make this.
As I say in the recipe and often here, a recipe is only a guide. The real fun is trying different ingredients to make the flavor of a finished dish all your own both regarding flavor and any dietary restrictions you might have.
Click this link or any picture on this page for a full step-by-step picture book recipe.
As I mention in the first tip that you can almost see in the above banner, “overnight soaking” really means soaking oats for at least 12 hours – 24 hours is best – to make the most of both oat nutrient and fiber benefits. And this very quick, easy and fully flavorful overnight oats with grapes, yogurt, jam and kefir recipe is a great way to boost those benefits.
Here’s all you need for ingredients: overnight soaked oats, grapes (or any fruit), yogurt, your favorite jam, kefir (optional, but a great source of probiotics) and raisins (or any dried fruit).
As always, what you see above are only suggested ingredients – and they taste great together. But, the real key to making the most of this recipe, and any recipe, is making it all your own by adding or substituting ingredients to suit your taste and/or support any dietary restrictions you might have.
Click any picture on this page or this link for a full picture book recipe.
There’s no such thing as a particular “superfood”, or one food that will work miracles on your body to make you feel stronger, become healthier and prevent disease all on its own.
The real “open secret” is enjoying a varied diet rich in whole foods – whole foods are key – and oats, with their highly nutritious, gluten-free and fiber-rich properties plus their equally versatile use, which corresponds beautifully with my often-used “imagination is your only limit” line, are a great food to make part of your quality-of-life enriching eating habits.
For more information about the nutritional value of oats, which includes digestive support, heart health benefits, blood sugar moderation and weight loss/maintenance properties, and more, click this link to Healthline’s “9 Health Benefits of Eating Oats and Oatmeal”.
When it comes to simplicity, convenience and maximizing both nutritional and digestive advantages, water-soaking oats for at least 12 hours is the best and easiest way to enjoy rolled oats and open them up for use in either sweet or savory dishes like what you see below: oats with grapes, nut butter, yogurt and jam (left) and oats with chickpeas, ricotta cheese, tomato and avocado (right).
For easy-to-follow step-by-step overnight water-soaked oats picture directions, click this link or any picture on this page.
Next up: Easy-to-make overnight water-soaked oats with fresh fruit, nut butter, yogurt & jam
No one, no matter what they say – even with best intentions, can empower you. Only you can empower you. The reason: empowerment doesn’t come from without or outside you. Empowerment comes from within. Yes, you can get help to learn the skills you need. But that help itself won’t empower you. You then have to internalize what you learn and make those learned skills a living part of you – and that is nothing like what you see in the magically blissful and freeing but cliched, unrealistic images below.
No. Real empowerment starts with awareness that will probably be uncomfortable to acknowledge. That’s exactly how it has been for me on many fronts, including cooking – and that’s normal. That awareness means knowing, really knowing and feeling inside you completely, that you want to empower yourself in a specific manner, like develop the self-confidence to stand up for yourself, overcome a particular fear, manage emotions better, forgive others, forgive yourself, or, right here, adopt life-promoting eating habits and feel confidently comfortable in the kitchen making meals that support those quality-of-life enriching habits.
Awareness is step one, and it’s an empowering first step in itself because it requires you to admit, with strength, your want and need to change.
The next step is finding trusted, verified guidance that really can help you learn and adopt the skills you need. That guidance can come in the form of a friend, a mentor, a course, a book – or a resource like this site when it comes to empowering yourself in the kitchen. Just bear in mind, and this is most important, that taking on trusted guidance can only provide you with the skills you need to empower yourself. The rest: learning, adopting and internalizing those skills so that you can apply them in real life circumstances, is up to you exactly as well-recognized spiritual and secular leaders and teachers have said completely correctly forever, “I can show you the path, but you have to do the work”.
Don’t let that four-letter “work” word stop you. The work is entirely achievable and noble, and you have the no-kidding power to do it, especially if, just as it is necessary when building any foundation, you take it one doable step at a time.
When it comes to empowering yourself to make and enjoy quality-of-life enriching foods, I look forward to helping you develop the skills you need, all step-by-step and in pictures – and, most of all, having fun doing it!
As mentioned in the first “Tip” you might be able to see in the banner shot above, “simple to exciting” is all about improvising on a base or foundational recipe to make it your own by adding or changing ingredients so that what you end up with suits your taste and/or your dietary needs?
If you’ve already checked out the base – and fully flavorful – warm apple fruit topping I posted last time, you’ll see that all I did to add flavor in the “simple to exciting” recipe was add blueberries and raisins.
As always, those two additions are only suggestions. You can replace them – or add to them – however you like to make the recipe your own. The purpose of putting together and posting this “simple to exciting” recipe is to show directly how improvising works. And, really, aside from suggesting other ingredients to spark your imagination, the most important guidance in the base recipe and the “simple to exciting” recipe is the order in which to add ingredients to the pan, which, for the most part, is also no absolute golden rule. Yes, though it is better regarding texture to add firmer fruits, like apples, to the pan first before adding softer fruits, like berries, because softer fruits take less time to cook than firmer fruits, you certainly won’t ruin the recipe if you accidentally add one firmness of fruit before the other.
That said, please click this link or any picture on this page for the full warm apple fruit topping from simple to exciting picture book recipe – and have fun! Regarding fun,…
…here’s how I had it last night for dessert: microwave warmed with a crumbled piece of chocolate chip cookie, Greek yogurt and jam. Killer!
Next post: Only you can empower yourself – from an entirely positive perspective!
If you put your ear really close to the device you’re using to read this, you might hear the sound of screeching brakes. And rightly so.
Last post showed how to make a warm apple cranberry fruit topping. Nothing wrong with that recipe. The problem was me jumping ahead of the game – and including an ingredient, that outside of my freezer, is out of season. I should’ve started with the base recipe – with readily accessible ingredients – instead of asking you to improvise right off the bat.
Here is that base warm apple fruit topping recipe that requires these commonly found ingredients: apples, butter, fruit juice, vanilla extract, salt, jam, ground cinnamon.
Here is all you need for equipment: cutting board, frying pan, sharp knife, tablespoon and large spoon.
As mentioned in the first tip in the recipe, this topping can be used as a side dish or on hot or cold cereal, waffles, pancakes, French toast, yogurt, or ice cream. Imagination is your only limit!
Here’s how I used it the other day when I made and shot this recipe: as a side dish with pan cooked pork loin. I’d never done that before but what a fantastically flavorful sweet and savory combo…
…especially with a good shot of feta cheese. Killer!
Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete picture book recipe.
Next up: how to add just a couple different ingredients to improvise on this recipe very easily – and fully flavorfully!
This easy to make fruit topping tastes great and can be made with different fruit combinations to your taste.
Last group of posts showed how to make quick & easy salad dressings and then how to use them with just as easy to make, fully flavorful microwave warmed spinach & apple or spinach & pear salads.
Considering we still have a good dose of winter ahead of us, let’s stick with the warm fruit theme. And when it comes to the cold, there’s nothing much more comforting than the smell and rich flavor of freshly warmed apples and cinnamon.
And as the the first “Tip” in the recipe says, this fresh, fully flavorful warm apple cranberry fruit topping goes great right out of the pan or chilled on hot or cold cereal, waffles, pancakes, French toast, yogurt, or ice cream. Imagination is your only limit!
Regarding imagination, you’ll see an easy opportunity to improvise. When I shot the warm apple cranberry fruit topping you see here, cranberries were in season. I don’t think you’ll find cranberries in the store now. That means either blow right past the part of the recipe dealing with fresh cranberries and skip them entirely or substitute fresh cranberries with any available berry-type fruit like blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. Just note that if you use any of those berries, toss them in the pan after you’ve started to cook the apples as those berries are much more tender and require less cooking time than fresh cranberries.
Having said that, here’s what I used to make need to make the original recipe:
Here’s the equipment needed:
Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete warm apple cranberry fruit topping picture book recipe.
Next post: an easy variation on this fruit topping. All easy, all flavorful!
Here are the ingredients I used to make the warmed spinach and apple salad.
All I did to improvise on that salad was substitute a fresh pear for the apple and use dried apricots instead of dried cranberries, as shown below.
Nothing changes regarding needed equipment. Here’s all you need: microwave oven, microwave safe bowl, colander or strainer, sharp paring knife and cutting board.
One of the keys to this recipe, just like the warmed spinach and apple salad, is warming the spinach and pear in the microwave oven only until the spinach leaves just start to wilt as shown below, which took only 1 minute in my 1200 Watt microwave oven. As I say in the recipe itself, cooking time will vary depending on your own microwave oven’s Watt power.
Click any picture on this page for a complete, easy to follow picture book recipe.
May 2nd, 2025 
