Pesto Recipe

Since I've had a request for the recipe I figured I'd just post it here for anyone interested:

Pesto

2 C. Fresh Basil (firmly pressed into dry measuring cup...not smashed)
3 T. Pine Nuts
2 Cloves Garlic
1/2 t. salt
dash of pepper
1/2 C. Grated Parmesan cheese (fresh if possible, not the stuff in the green canister)
1/4 C. Grated Romano cheese (again the fresher the better)
2/3 C. Olive Oil
butter

To prepare: Toast the pine nuts in a small skillet in a bit of butter. Wash & drain basil- remove stems. Put all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Freeze or refrigerate until ready to use. (Shouldn't keep in fridge beyond about 5 days.) Don't worry if a brownish layer settles to the top of the pesto after being in the fridge for a while...this is normal. Just stir it up and it will be fine.

For those of you new to pesto, it's super yummy on noodles or to be used a dip for bread or any other number of uses that sound good. I even used a little on top of a baked potato in addition to the normal toppings. If used on pasta adding additional cheese to the top finishes the dish. Be sure to know that a little pesto goes a LONG way. Don't use too much.


Hmm...this makes me happy just thinking about it. You can imagine what we've had the last few days!

Ray of Light- Fresh Pesto

So this "Ray of Light" is much less deep then some of my others, but mmmm...but what's better than a home that smells like fresh pesto! Ahh...yes, in fear of losing all of it to the freeze that is coming this weekend, I harvested all of my basil and made 5 batches of pesto. I don't think it's the most cost effective way to go (good cheese isn't cheap), but it sure tastes a lot better than what you get pre-made in the store. So that's what's making me happy right now. YAY for herbs!

Ray of Light

Today is a special occasion...you get pictures! Not often does a picture apply or seem appropriate to what I'm saying, but today it is.

This will shock my family, especially my father, but today my "Ray of Light" has to do with gardening or the bounty of the harvest.

For anyone that really knows me, they know that I hate dirt & bugs...therefore I'm not a big fan of gardening. I do believe it is a commandment from our prophet so I do it. I've kind of gotten off easy in the past because I really couldn't do much more than a pot here or there (the joys of apartment living), but now that we have a real yard and one with a garden plot built in by the previous owners, I really had no excuse.

So with the help of my parents, husband, and little sister Ruth, I planted my garden...and low and behold, it's actually growing and quite well I might add.

As you can see, the pumpkins have taken over. Just to the left of the sunflowers my "cucumber" plant is going like crazy as well (it was supposedly a cucumber plant, but it ended up being a zucchini...and ANYONE that has grown zucchini or has lived by anyone that has grown a zucchini they know they're prolific, to say the least.)

Here are some of my zucchinis. I FINALLY got smart and started picking them A LOT sooner. We can only eat so much zucchini and we only have so much room for it in our freezer.

And I've been SO proud of my little bean plants. These 2 pictures show just one picking from them!

I am truly thankful for the bounty from my garden. I am thankful to a wise Heavenly Father that commanded us to grow a garden. I am SO thankful for faithful parents that didn't give up on me...I seriously would beg to do the dishes so I didn't have to weed the garden...I'm not sure my dad was so sure I'd ever get the gardening bug. I may not like gardening, but I do have a testimony that it is what we should be doing...even if that means I have to face the spiders and dirt that come with it.