winter pesto

This variation on pesto is great for the winter months. It incorporates spinach, which can be found in season this time of year and which you can grow in your kitchen window without too much trouble. The spinach gives this pesto a slightly heartier dimension that's perfect for the cold season, but the flavor of the basil (which I find preferable to that of spinach) still prevails. I use this pesto the same way you would the standard basil variety - over pasta, tomatoes, roasted vegetables, or spread on sandwiches. Lately I've been enjoying it drizzled over pizza for a little added flair.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic (3 for serious garlic lovers)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

juice from 1/4 lemon

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

2 cups packed basil

1 cup packed spinach

lemon zest

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Allow the pesto to sit for about ten minutes before serving in order to let the flavors blend.

raspberry white hot chocolate

So here's a spin on homemade hot chocolate for those hibernal days when you don't want to leave the house and you just want to curl up next to the fire with a soporific mug of cocoa. I'm more of a dark chocolate person most of the time, but this white chocolate concoction was so comforting tasting that I think I may have been converted. The raspberries fill you with a nostalgia for summer while the white chocolate undertones carry you away into a dreamy winter wonderland.

Ingredients

1 cup white chocolate, chopped

4 cups whole milk

1 Tbsp vanilla

4 Tbsp raspberry syrup (recipe below)

Directions

Over medium heat, warm the milk and the chocolate, stirring so as not to burn the chocolate.

When the milk is on the verge of simmering, remove from heat and add the vanilla.

Pour the hot chocolate evenly into 4 mugs and drizzle each with a tablespoon of raspberry syrup.

(makes 4 cups)

raspberry syrup

Ingredients

1/2 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

Directions

Simmer ingredients over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring and pressing the berries against the pan. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth into a glass, pressing the liquid through the cheesecloth with the back side of a spoon. The thick raspberry mixture that will be leftover from this process can be served the next morning as fresh jam.