For years, even though my mother got a Cuisinart in the 70’s, I was afraid of pesto. Now I make it with abandon.
Today I made one with all the herbs in the community herb garden I sparked a couple of years ago. Yesterday I went to see it and it was doing well. A few plants were beginning to go to seed so I trimmed them as it’s a mighty cold winter here so two months of fresh herbs here is a big deal, for me at least.
I used sage, thyme, basil, cilantro, parsley and chives from the garden. I added arugula, salt, pepper, ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, olive oil and an often overlooked dry cheese (ran out of Parm). I didn’t want to add more olive oil so added a handful of cherry tomatoes for flavor and moisture.
I baked the folks downstairs 1″ wheat bread toasts with thyme and olive oil to dip into our community well. I also wrote a piece for the elevators – there’s a new thing every week and the guy who writes them just quit. Hopefully, if they print it, more residents will go to the herb garden and bring their scissors to cut a few leaves. No scissor fighting! Sounds like NYC and “umbrella wars!”
Make pesto out of anything you have that goes together. Just add a bit of seasoning, olive oil and grated cheese and you’ve dinner over pasta for you and the kids. Now I’m not going to crush everything in a large mortar with a pestle, or my molcajete (yes, I have one). $10 in Tijuana and I could have gotten it for less if I’d bargained. I’ve been toting this heavy thing across the country for years and mainly use it to display fruits and veg. I use my KitchenAid food processor we received as a wedding gift from my in-laws nearly 13 years ago. It’s quick and easy to make pesto and you really can’t go wrong if your taste buds are on track.
There’s a lot to be done in the community with local foods. I create gardens, and my lending library is yet to be finished. We will leave here. For where I do not know. The leaves are changing and so may we. I may stay until I have perhaps 100,000 hits. That may be in a couple of weeks. It’s a niche blog but you already know that.All for now. Cheers! Dee
Cooking with Dee 