The good, the bad and the very pretty!

I'm taking the week off and having a mini-vacation in DC. Today, I did a very short bike ride and will go swimming in the afternoon. However, yesterday and today I'm having a kitchen clean out of sorts.
MONDAY
I had some mustard greens in the fridge that looked like they were on the verge of going bad. Typically, I saute greens or blanche them. So fuss, no muss and usually very tasty. I had heard that mustard greens are stronger in flavor than kale or chard, so I searched the internet and found a recipe by a chef that I like and thought I'd try something different with the greens this time: Mustard Green Gratin. Not only would it require the greens, but the ricotta I had in the fridge. On paper, the recipe had everything I like -- a bit of kick and cheese. But I'm not sure if I cooked it too long or not enough but it came out dry. Part of me wants to try this recipe again, tweak it a bit so it comes out cheesy-er, hte other part of me says, "Don't waste tasty greens on this again!" The dessert came out better. This idea is courtsey of my co-worker KR. She brings in these cookies with a Peanut Butter Cup center. Needless to say, i can't limit myself to just 1 or 2. I used a basic chocolate chip cookie dough recipe, but stopped short of adding the chocolate chips. The dough went into a mini-muffin try, about 3/4 full and I cooked it longer than I would a cookie, about 13-15 mins. Once the muffin-shaped cookies were out of the oven, I pushed the peanut butter cups into the center. The only problem is getting the cookie out of the pan. I tended to smush some. I suggest letting them cool in the pan longer normal -- and if you use liners, like I did, they still manage to slide out.

TUESDAY
This morning I made a Chana Punjabi recipe I found, I think, on The Wednesday Chef blog. It was a great way for me to use up my dry herbs/spices and didn't require me to buy any more. Tomatoes, chickpeas, lots of dried spices in pot!

While I waited for the Chana Punjabi to simmer away, I used the rest of my fresh herbs and slivered almonds. I've had some good pestos, including a basil-walnut pesto. So, I figured what's wrong with a basil, parsley and almond pesto? I added a clove of garlic, some salt and pepper, and fresh Parmesan cheese to the basil, parsley and almonds. The results?
This turned into that !

Lunch is served!