Making Pesto

This is the last time of the year to collect your basil before it dies down. After you’ve collected the seeds for next year (as shown on my 8/17/13 blog post) gather a bunch of leaves and make some pesto. It’s a wonderful addition to a dinner gift. A little pesto, some pasta, bread and wine in a basket makes a great house warming or hostess gift.
Pesto is so easy to make. Here is a simple pesto recipe from Ina Garten.
Pesto:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Place the walnuts, pignoli, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.




You can store it in a glass jar in the refrigerator or put it in a plastic container and freeze it.

photo credit: CK Worley

Wash the leaves, dry them with a paper towel and store them in the refrigerator. As long as they stay dry they will keep for a few days until you're ready to use them.

Everything is relative. And every triumph, problem, fear and experience becomes bigger or smaller depending to what you compare it to.
by HENRIK EDBERG

Fun bits and pieces - Keeping kids busy during cocktail hour, Large eggs or x-large eggs in recipes, bunny and porch garden

Here is a fun thing to do if you have a pea gravel patio and a dinner party where you have kids as well as adults in attendance. I throw beads, shells, marbles and little plastic toys into the patio. It doesn’t matter if they stay out in the weather or if they get mixed up in the patio pebbles. The more mixed in the better. While the adults are having cocktails and conversation the kids are busy treasure hunting. At the end of the evening I let them choose one "found treasure" to bring home with them. They love it and it works like a charm!



Ever wonder what the difference is between a large egg and an extra large egg. Here it is. I heard Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) say that she only uses extra large eggs in her recipes. It would be good to find out if a recipe used regular, large or extra large eggs when it was invented. I heard Mario Batali say on “The Chew” that he uses large eggs in his recipes. Something to wonder about indeed.



I visited Mom the other day and we met Jane who lives on the same floor. She is an organic gardener and once had a large garden when she lived in a house. Now that she lives in an apartment she still gardens only it's a patio garden. Jane uses organic soil and even waters with bottled water. She grows mostly flowers and herbs. Once a gardener always a gardener.



One last thing. I saw this cute little fellow while I was walking home from the gym. He lives in a grassy area between the gym, a parking garage and an assisted living facility. Little wonders never cease to amaze me.