When Tate and I bought our house last September we knew it wasn’t our “dream home”. Our plan all along was a starter home, something very affordable with enough space and good qualities to make us comfortable for at least a few years.
After 10 months in our house, I already regularly day-dream about our next house; the one with the big kitchen and open floor plan that’s situated on a quiet neighborhood street. I also love our home.
I didn’t want our wonderful lake weekend to end on Sunday but I was excited to get home and get into the garden.
The weekend heat wave took a toll on our two dozen tomato plants (!) and half a dozen cucs but everything seems to have survived our 54 hour absence.
July and August are harvest time in many parts of the country (all parts of the country?) and my backyard is ripening as we speak.
I wanted to make a dish that could be a meal in it’s self, made great leftovers, was cold, and utilized what I had garden-fresh.
Pesto Potatoes
Makes 2 big or 4 medium servings
The potatoes.
- 4 medium diced organic white potatoes*
- 1 medium chopped onion
- handful of cut green beans (G)
- several handfuls of washed and chopped organic greens*, leave them damp after washing (I used a combo of chard and beet) (G)
- 1 organic bell pepper* (G)
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
*Potatoes, greens, and bell peppers are on the “dirty dozen” list of top pesticide-contaminated produce, please choose organic for the health of you and the health of our food source overall.
In a non-stick skillet melt coconut oil over medium low heat. Add potatoes.
Stir. Add onions. Stir. Cover. Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes.
Add chopped green beans and stir. Once the potatoes are almost soft begin adding your damp greens a small handful at a time.
Stir until the greens begin to wilt and make room for another handful. Continue until all the greens are incorporated into the potatoes.
Add peppers and garlic.
Stir and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Let the potato mixture cool and get started on your pesto. Alternately, you could use a purchased pesto for this recipe.
Pesto.
- 2 cups packed basil leaves (I used Sweet Dani and Purple Ruffles) (G)
- 1/4 cup plain organic yogurt
- 1 tablespoon tasty, quality, extra virgin olive oil
- zest from 1/4 lemon
- pinch of red pepper flakes
Pack everything into the food processor and whirl away until finely chopped.
Empty the contents of your skillet into a large bowl. Add 4-5 ounces feta cheese, pesto from processor, a cup of cherry or chopped tomatoes (G), 2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and mix.
(G)=from my garden! 🙂
Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, garnish with a few tomato slices, and dig in! Or let this salad sit in the fridge and get even more flavorful as the potatoes soak up the pesto. I am looking forward to eating it for lunch tomorrow!
It’s mid-day already and I do believe my opportunity to run has come and gone for today. I’m a little stiff in my hips from two Pilates classes last night (one teaching, one taking) so perhaps yoga will serve me better today anyway. And dancing! I get to teach two dance classes this afternoon, my regular
ACAC class and a demo/audition class at a local dance studio.
Gracefulfitness 
