Herbed Ice Cubes and Garlic Scape Pesto

If you have left over pesto, greens, or herbs, which, after blending the heck out of everything in your CSA box you are sure to have, just pour it into an ice tray, freeze it, and pop it out.  Then place cubes in a plastic bag and store in your freezer.  Cubes become an instant sauce for pasta, salads, casseroles, pizzas, etc. whenever you need it! Just stick it in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 50% power or heat gently in a small pan over low heat until defrosted.  Add to whatever you like: pastas, pizza sauce, casseroles, tortillas pies, tofu scrambles,  veggie burgers, etc.

 Top cubes are Green Lantern Pasta Pesto (almonds, cilantro, garlic, lemon zest, big hit with my kiddo) 

and the darker ones are Spinach Cilantro Cubes (spinach and cilantro :-)

You can blend and store any herb or green or combination of both this way.  Just combine half the volume of herbs/greens with half the volume of water and/or oil, blend, and freeze.  Add some salt if you want.  

You can do parsley, basil, cilantro, mint, marjoram, the list is endless. 

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So, onto the CSA box...the only way I could think to make a dent in that HUGE bag of garlic scapes was to blend the heck out of them.  Basically, this is Groundhog Pesto with Scapes instead of garlic, and with organic arugula and almonds.  You can use any greens you have, and of course, any nuts or seeds.

Garlic Scape Pesto

1/2 cup Nuts and/or Seeds (I used almonds today)

1.5 cups chopped up Garlic Scapes (this is about eight large scapes)

Zest and Juice from one small Organic Lemon

2 tsps Kosher Salt

1 cup hot pasta cooking water (but grab at least 2 cups to thin it out later if needed)

2-3 cups Greens and/or Herbs

(today I used organic arugula that I bought last week before the CSAs started and some basil and rosemary from out back :-)

1/4 cup olive oil or any other oil you feel like using

Put everything in a VitaMix or Blendtech or high-speed blender in the order listed.  Blend about 30-60 seconds.  Add more pasta water as needed.  If using a food processor, add everything up until the pasta water and pulse until finely chopped, scraping down as needed.  Add hot pasta water gradually and pulse until incorporated.  Add greens and stream in oil with food processor running.  Taste for salt, seasoning, etc. and add what you feel like!  Add beans, tofu cubes, grilled seitan, or more veggies to top it if you like!

 Escapin' scapes.  Tonight in my home this pasta was, "Yoda's Green Light Sabers."

Now, what?