Lemon Basil Pesto

This is my herb pot. I couldn't fit all the herbs into my herb garden, so there are a few pots of herbs in the front garden. This picture was taken after planting on 6-10-10; the pot has a Creeping Rosemary, Lemon Basil, Genovese Basil, and Italian Parsley. At some point last week I realized that the Lemon Basil was trying to flower, and the parsley wasn't very far behind. My Mom never quite knows what to do with the more unique herbs that I grow, so the catch-all solution seems to be pesto.

This is what I started with; mostly Lemon Basil, a little Genovese Basil, and 4 or 5 sprigs of Parsley. After removing all the stems and bug-eaten leaves, I had approximately 2 cups of leaves. My parents just got a food processor, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It did a pretty good job, but if you like smooth pesto, I'd recommend doing a larger quantity. I prefer slightly chunky pesto, and the texture is nearly perfect for me. Normally, I chop everything by hand, then put a little at a time into our 2 cup food processor. The flavor is good though. I've heard that making the heat from food processor blades can generate enough heat to wilt the basil and cause pesto to lose a lot of flavour.

The recipe I use can be found here. I only use this recipe for quantities, though. I completely change the directions. Here's what I do:

1. If I remember, I toast the pine nuts lightly.  My how-to link seems to have vanished, but basically you just throw them in a small fry pan over medium heat. Keep them moving so they don't burn. They should be toasted in under 10 minutes, if I remember right. They will give off a sweet aroma, and start to brown. Just don't over-toast (burn) them! 
2. Next wash the Basil (or other herb/green) and remove all the stems. This is the fun, messy part. Start chopping! Chop into the tiniest bits possible. 
3. Chop your garlic. Or use a garlic press. I prefer chopping - I learned this from watching the Food Network - sprinkle a little salt on your garlic (about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon) then start chopping/smooshing with knife that has a wide blade. The salt helps break the garlic down, and I think it draws more flavor out of the garlic. It doesn't have to be minuscule since it will be processed further in the next step.
4. In your food processor, combine the pine nuts, cheese, garlic, and enough oil to make a thick paste. At this point, you want to get the pine nuts and garlic to the size you want them to be in your finished pesto. 
5. Alternately add more oil and basil leaves. Because the processor I usually use only holds two cups, I have to add about 1/3 cup of leaves at a time. Don't run the processor for long amounts of time, just pulse until things break down. Once all the basil is in, you can run it for a bit longer, just until the desired consistency is reached. 
6. Enjoy your pesto, or freeze it. I freeze mine in saran-lined ice cube trays. Once the 'pesto cubes' are frozen, I just slide them right out and store them in a freezer safe zip top bag. Be sure to label your bag!

I have also made Radish Leaf Pesto, Zucchini Pesto (best slathered on chicken!), Garlic Scape Pesto, and Cilantro Pesto. I'm not sure where I got the Cilantro Pest recipe from - I may have used this one and simply substituted Cilantro for Basil. Googling produces many yummy-looking recipes as well.

My Favorite Recipes

Here are some links to the recipes I've been using this summer:
Pesto
I chop the basil with a chef's knife so it won't lose as much flavor, then put everything but the oil and basil in the food processor and blend until mostly smooth. Next add the basil, blend a little then slowly start adding the oil. I've lowered the amount of oil used to 1/3 cup. This tastes ok with walnuts, but if you can afford the pine nuts, go for it! I have only used freshly grated cheese for this, and always pack it down a bit.
Zucchini Pesto
Keep a close eye on the walnuts while you're toasting them - they will burn; ask me how I know.
Toasting Walnuts:
Preheat oven to 350 (I used a toaster oven - maybe that's why they burned)
Place nuts in single layer on rimmed baking sheet
Bake 5-10 minutes until golden brown - they may be more golden than brown and will continue to brown after removal from oven.
Chicken Pesto ~~ I made this one up: Preheat broiler; make pesto, spread on chicken, broil until thoroughly done, turning halfway through. Be sure the chicken is at least 6 inches away from heat source.
Grilled Potato Skins
I find that to serve 4 I need to double or triple the recipe; or just buy a five pound bag of potatoes and use all the ones that are big enough. I don't make extra topping as it's usually more than enough. Also, I can fit 4 potatoes in the microwave with no problem. On a gas grill, cook over med/hi heat until cheese melts and just starts to bubble.
I've also adapted this recipe for the oven: Follow beginning of recipe. After brushing with butter place on baking sheet in 425 degree oven until skins begin to crisp; about 5-10 minutes. Add Picante sauce, cheese and bacon, and return to oven until cheese is melted. Add tomatoes, onion and topping, and serve!
Note: Since I don't usually have scallions on hand, I use a pinch of dried onion and put it on right after brushing on the butter. Also, we put the tomatoes, scallions, and topping on the table so people can use as much or as little as they like.
Grilled Potatoes
This is a good recipe for when you don't have time for grilled potato skins. The recipe is a ways down the page. Be sure to read the section about parboiling.
Pizza Sauce
You need to scroll down a ways for the recipe. Since I didn't have any fresh oregano, I stared at the spice shelf in the cupboard and pulled out anything that sounded like it might be good in the sauce. I also put in some fresh parsley, lovage, and winter savory.

Culinary Fun, Tomatoes, and To-Do Lists

Did you all enjoy your Labor Day Weekend? I know I did. We had a wonderful picnic on Monday, complete with hot dogs, sausage, baked beans, and (my specialty) grilled potato skins. I even got to use a fresh-picked tomato! Tuesday I made Pesto Chicken for dinner. It turned out really well, as did my experiment of putting some pesto on tomato slices and broiling them.

I have good news, and no, I didn't save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico(R). The slugs seem to have vanished from my garden! I'm not sure what persuaded them to leave, but I don't really care, as long as their gone.
My tomatoes have finally started to ripen. The Mrs. Benson tomatoes are very large, weighing between 8 and 15 ounces each. So far I have not gotten any Brandywine tomatoes; the ones that ripened got blossom end rot. I'm somewhat surprised since Brandwines are supposed to be very easy to grow, and not prone to disease. I guess end rot is exempt since it's not a disease, but a calcium deficiency in the fruit. If I can get to the garden center some time soon, I will try to find a calcium spray for the leaves, so more calcium can get to the tomatoes. In the meantime, I've been trimming the plants of unnecessary leaves and runners in an effort to keep the leaves from absorbing all the calcium. I'm also fertilizing and watering the plants more often.

Due to the cooler weather most of the flowers have slowed their seed production, but I'm still getting seeds from Calendula, Cosmos, Anise Hyssop, and Salvia plants. On the To-Do List this fall is revamping my flower garden, and finishing the new bed around the mailbox. The bed around the mailbox will be getting Lavender and Rose Campion. I'm not sure what else is planned for it. For my flower bed, we are going to put in a mix of peat moss, top soil, compost, and sand. We're also going to reshape the border to make it look more like a circle than a wavy line.

Farewell For Now~
Sarah

Vegetable Garden Becomes Slug Buffet

Tuesday was unseasonably cool, and when I was out gathering some Basil for dinner, I found slugs all over it, and the peppers. So, having solved the mystery of what was eating my plants, I started researching how to get rid of the slimy little things.

Ortho's Bug-Geta was recommended in several places, and since we had some on hand I'm trying that. Also on the list of things to try: coffee grounds, salt, cleaning up any debris on the soil, trimming any leaves that are on the ground. And if all that doesn't help I'll find something else to try.
Yesterday I put out the Bug-Geta and applied Sevin as I read that it can also help deter slugs (and whatever else might want to munch on my peppers).
This morning was hot, humid and sticky, just the sort of weather slugs enjoy. So I took a metal can from the recycling bin, put some salt in the bottom, and started picking slugs. Ugh. I went out again this evening and found some more. In case you're wondering why the salt, slugs are mostly made of water and the salt dehydrates and kills them.

I finally got around to making my pesto - it was delicious, but time consuming to make. It would help if we owned a food processor, but I made do without. I also burned the walnuts the first time I toasted them...anyway, I put it on some chicken, put it under the broiler for a few minutes, and Viola! A meal everyone likes.

My flower bed is surviving, but not thriving. I get a few seeds now and then, but not as many as I'd hoped for. I noticed that the Calendula mix that I gave my Mom is growing much better than my Flashback Calendula. Probably due to a slightly shadier location.
The Pennyroyal is still alive, and seems to be adjusting well. It rained today, so maybe the ground will be soft enough to dig a hole for the Horehound - it's still pretty droopy.

I finally got all my pictures organized, so now I can start going through and decide which ones look good enough to put on the internet. Which reminds me, it's about time for another photo shoot of the gardens...which means I'll probably have another hundred or so pictures to sort through and label by the end of the week.

It seems I won't be running out of things to do for a good long while...maybe I'll get caught up on everything in time to start planning next years garden.

Keeping Busy~
Sarah

Revenge of the Chippies

The chippies had their revenge while I was on vacation. The garden was dug up in numerous places. If they don't stop soon, I may have to take more drastic action, so chippies, beware!

In spite of the chipmunks, everything is growing well. The tomatoes are nearly as tall as I am, and starting to ripen. The beans are pretty much done, as is the zucchini. The lettuce, scallions and radishes are growing slowly, possibly from all the shade the tomato plants provide. The peppers are very large with multiple fruits on each plant (my family's never grown peppers very successfully before) so I'm excited about that. Several of the peppers have been bored into; the peppers seem ok though, so I'm going to leave them and see what happens. The Spicy Basil plant keeps growing and I've got enough to make pesto again; this time I'm going to try a slightly different recipe - it calls for zucchini. Should be an interesting culinary adventure.

My perennial garden died while I was gone. I'm not sure if it was from a lack of water or if the soil is just to rocky there. I planted some Coleus there last week, and it seems to be ok so far.

The flower bed is doing well, although not as well as I'd hoped. It rained today so maybe that will perk things up a little. I've been able to save a few seeds, but the plants are not growing very fast. I finally got around to planting my Pennyroyal - it wasn't doing very well in the container. The Horehound isn't doing very well either. Since it's part of the mint family I don't want to plant it in the garden and then spend all spring pulling it out. I found an old (clean) paint can and am going to put some holes in the bottom for drainage, plant the Horehound in it, and then 'plant' the paint can.

That's pretty much all the news. I spent today working on my plant files. I keep an index card for every plant I grow, and some of the ones my Mom and sister grow. At last count I had nearly 45 cards. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have gotten around to organizing my pictures and I can get them up on the internet.

Farewell for now ~
Sarah

So Many Things To Do, So Little Time

I've been pretty busy the past few weeks. I spent 8 days in Raleigh, NC with my sister and grandparents, visiting my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin. It rained the entire time we were gone, and I could not believe the size of the plants in the vegetable garden. Hopefully I can get some pictures up this week. I'm leaving again next Monday to visit my Great Aunt and Great Grandma in Chicago.

The Japanese beetles seem to have disappeared, so we decided to take down the bug bag and not invite more trouble. The Japanese Maple looks pretty bad, and it lost a lot of leaves. I hope it survives. I also noticed that despite all the rain, the 4 o' clocks have not grown at all, and the Cleome isn't doing that great either. The soil must be to rocky for the roots to grow well.

All the veggies have flowered, and some tiny tomatoes and beans are starting to grow. I had enough Spicy Globe Basil to make pesto, and it tasted wonderful!
The Calendula finally bloomed, although I expected it to be taller. The Cleome plants are producing seeds, as are the Cosmos plants. Again, I expected the Cosmos to be taller. Maybe it's because of the late start I got planting everything.

So, on the agenda for this week: fertilizing some of the flowers, collecting seeds, starting a third planting of radishes and possibly scallions and lettuce, finding a recipe for all the zucchini that grows as soon as your back is turned, and getting all my pictures posted in my online photo album.

Farewell ~
Sarah