It may be winter outside but it’s spring in my house. My garden last summer was a total disaster, I obviously had no clue what I was doing and while I was gone for 5 months, let’s just say that McGyver and Thing 2 didn’t give it much attention. I yielded a couple of radishes and some Thai red peppers, that’s it.
Disappointing to say the least. But then there is Pinterest to help out. As in, this is so easy just stick some cloves of garlic in water, sprout them and eat their green tops.
And my organic grocery store helped. Sprouts, any one can grow these just follow the instructions that are no where to be found. Thank goodness for facebook friends and a little internet research.
More Pinterspiration: starting celery (which is doing quite well so far) and green onions. Harvest the green tops and they grow back, it’s like a chia pet. What about the super cool skull head shot glass?
It’s no secret my dear love of all that is lemon. I’ve been trying to grow a Meyer Lemon tree in my house. It’s slow going but producing (nothing to harvest yet…the lemon is from the grocery store).
Although not grown in home, this watercress is a plant. One of the live veggies you can buy at the store. McGyver picked it, I’ve kept it in water and it has thrived quite well. Until we ate it of course.
What do you do with homemade pasta that kissed the floor, sprouts, garlic and green onion tops, some watercress and some sugar snap peas that are on their last legs? You make spring on a plate.
The pesto was garlicky, lemony and grassy. If you closed your eyes, shut out the snow, you got the sense that you were wandering through a field with just a hint of lemon blossom wafting through the air. The pasta felt like grass blades caressing my tongue, the sugar snap peas were crisp like an early spring day, lemon brought the sunshine and the goat cheese provided some creaminess and tang for a perfect balance to the sharp garlic taste and the grassiness of the sprouts and watercress.
I will keep growing my sprouts and sprouting my garlic and onions, if for no other reason than to make this pesto again. I’ll probably skip having the pasta fall on the floor though.
- 8 ounce dried pasta, cooked al dente
- 1 cup sprouts
- ¼ cup chopped garlic greens or scape
- ¼ cup chopped green onion, green part only
- ½ cup watercress
- 1 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced
- ¼ to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- Toasted breadcrumbs, optional
- In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add sprouts, chopped garlic greens, green onions, watercress, and lemon zest and juice. Pulse four or five times then turn on. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until well blended and smooth but not oily. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Place sugar snap peas in a microwave safe container with 1 tablespoon water. Cover and microwave for 1 to ½ minutes or until peas are bright green and tender crisp. Plunge into an ice bath of water to stop cooking, drain.
- In a large bowl, toss pasta and pesto sauce together. Stir in drained sugar snap peas and crumbled goat cheese. Top with toasted bread crumbs if desired.
Pasta that kissed the ground 🙂 This looks like a Spring-y dish. I didn’t know garlic would grow in water. We planted some in the garden to no avail. Can’t believe we’ve still got 3 months until we can plant outside!
I was surprised that the garlic grew in the water, then I realized..heh, I’m just forcing a bulb! I wonder if I planted it if it would grow into a full head? I may experiment…
What a fabulous pasta dish nd pesto! Healthy and flavorful.
Cheers,
Rosa
I applaud your creativeness in making this dish with your spring time greens. It looks and sounds delicious. I’ve just put some green onions in water. I’ve been wanting to grow a Meyer Lemon tree. I thought I’d wait until Spring, keep in outdoors this Summer and then bring it in next fall I’m glad to hear that yours is doing well inside.
That is how you grow garlic, plant one clove and it grows into a head. I would think that since it is already sprouting, you would have a head start if you plant it!
Jody I plant a lot of garlic, in the fall it’s best to plant an un-sprouted clove, you want it to wait till the spring to start to sprout. If you plant in the spring for a fall harvest I would think that already sprouted garlic would be perfect. There is also some literature out there that promotes eating sprouted garlic for increased health benefits!