Oh, Pesto!

This is the season when my obsession with food preservation begins. Usually, by mid-August, I have strawberries and blueberries in the freezer, maybe some jam or preserves canned and I am thinking about finding piles of tomatoes to make into salsa and sauce. Since we've been in transition and are just now settling down I haven't stored any of the brilliant colors and intense flavors or summer for the colder, blander months.

Until today.  As you can see above, I took a pile of deep green, fragrant leaves and forced them to mix, blend, and become one with ingredients that would complement them perfectly.  Any protest at having to give up their individuality was drowned out by the sound of the food processor and if they didn't want to combine with pungent parmesan, toasty nuts, and smooth olive oil, they clearly did not know what was good for them.  I've made, eaten, and frozen lots of batches of pesto but to my taste buds this one had the perfect ratio of basil, garlic, salt and oil.

We'll eat some on fresh pasta with ripe tomatoes.  I'll probably spread some on bread for a snack.  I've packed the pesto in wonderful little wide-mouth half pint jars.  Each jar is exactly the right size for a batch and they will be perfect for keeping pesto in the freezer until the time that fresh basil is scarce.  It's my treasure trove of garlicky green gold.


I am sure that I don't need to say much more about pesto.  It's one of summer's many small delights. Enjoy!

Perfect Pesto
4 cups of gently packed basil leaves
4-5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup toasted nuts (pine nuts, almonds, walnuts or none at all)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
I/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Place basil, garlic, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a food processor and whir until it makes a uniform paste, but you can still identify individual ingredients.  With the food processor on, gradually pour in the oil until it is smooth and pureed to your liking. Season to taste.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge for several weeks or the freezer for several months. 

Make Lemonade

Now that we live in the mid-west, I am really missing the cooling ocean breezes of coastal Maine.  I know it has been a hot summer pretty much everywhere. We all sweat and swelter and think that it must be hotter here than anywhere else.  I certainly miss my days by the lake, but at the same time I think it is crucial to enjoy the season no matter what it gives you.  In a few months I will be piling on the layers, shivering and wishing for those humid golden days of summer.

Last weekend, we dripped our way through an art fair, stopping frequently for cold drinks in the shade. In the midst of unpacking and settling into our new location I was tired from the heat, the newness of our surroundings, and all the unknowns of our life here.  After perusing the the unique and interesting art work, we wandered back to the car in a daze wondering where to find respite from the heat.

Then, we stumbled upon a lemonade stand.  With a sign painted in vivid blue and yellow and two cheerful, though sweaty, children, it was the perfect antidote to the fatigue of the day. It transported me, momentarily, to the time in my life when summers seemed endless and priceless.  Whenever we felt like it, my sister and our friends and I would mix up a can of lemonade concentrate in a pitcher, haul out the big old chest cooler and some cups and practice our entrepreneurial skills.  I'm sure we had a sign of some sort, but our primary form of advertising was yelling, "Lemonade Stand" at the top of our lungs.  We didn't live in a neighborhood of closely spaces houses and sidewalks, but we hoped someone would hear us and come by for a glass.  Our best customers were the mailman and our neighbor who lived just up the hill.

Ray and I placed our order and each got a large blue cup with a bendy straw, ice, and cool sweet lemonade.  It was a dollar a cup and we gave them three: I learned early on from my customers that you always pay a little more than is asked at a lemonade stand.

Lately, I've been making basil lemonade at home.  I was inspired by a drink I had at a bar last summer which had lemonade, basil and some sort of liquor. In this case, I omitted the alcohol. I love the contrast of the sweet, tart juice with the savory green flavor of the basil.  Its simple and refreshing, especially if you don't have lemonade stand near by to cool you off and make your day. I just mix up a batch of lemonade* and add eight or ten ripped up basil leaves.  I let this cool in the fridge, giving the basil time to infuse the lemonade and then serve over ice.  Cheers to cool drinks on hot summer days!

*Usually, I just mix up a can of lemonade concentrate. This is quite sweet, though, so I would like to try making it from lemon juice next time.

Imperfect as Pie

A few days ago, I set out to bake a pie. We were having a party with veggies and corn to grill, black bean salad, watermelon gazpacho, fresh mozzarella with tomatoes and basil, and lots of good friends and family to eat with us one more time before we move away.  Of course we needed dessert and since blueberries are perfectly in season, I knew what I would make.  I always have high expectations when I start out a project, whether in the kitchen or anywhere else.  It had to be a pie, not a gallette or a crisp and it was going to be the best pie I have ever made.  

I flipped to a crust recipe from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book.  I measured, sifted, cut in butter, let the crust chill for a while in the fridge all the while imagining that this pie would surpass any other that I have made before.  For a long time, I have wanted to add "great pie maker" to my list of skills but I haven't really put my nose to the grindstone so much as baked the occasional pie and hoped that it would be as good as I dreamed. 

Sometimes following the recipe and hoping for the best doesn't go as far as a little common sense.  I knew the dough would not stretch into a top and bottom crust holding all of the juicy berries.  Still, I rolled and patched and then relented and made a single crust pie, open-faced with the blueberries staring out, keeping no secrets.  

When you mix a delicious group of ingredients, its hard to go terribly wrong, but there is always room for improvement on my part. The pie was a good taste of summer, even if it was not what I had expected when I started out. When I am cooking, my results are rarely exactly what I had imagined, but that's not always a bad thing. This is true for most things in life.

I served  this pie at our party which happened to be on our one year wedding anniversary.  A year ago, Ray and I thought we knew where we would be right now.  We had an idea that we would be farming and hiking on the west coast this summer.  Our plans have changed a few times since then. I don't think I would have predicted that a year after our wedding we would be moving to Minnesota. I am sure that, as time goes on and where ever we end up, the process of working together to plan our future and making these decisions is probably the best part. 

Now we are starting the next chapter of our lives together.  I can't wait to unpack our kitchen and start cooking and I have a lot of sewing projects in mind.  I'll be looking for a job, hopefully making new friends and exploring a new part of the country.  In this case I don't really know what to expect.  I'm interested in pursuing my passions as intensely as I can, in grabbing opportunities if they come my way, or seeking them out if they don't appear as I might expect them to.  I plan to write lots of letters and take some classes.  I have a new fiddle to practice playing and I haven't stopped dreaming about our farm I'm just focusing on the road we're taking to get there. 

In the past couple of weeks I've been spending time in the quite woods by a lake. 

 

Jumping in and swimming.

Attending nightly showings of the sunset.



Splashing in cold, cold, clear water.



Watching the clouds go by.

I hope you've been enjoying summer, wherever you find it.

Hi. Its still summer, we're still in transition.  I'm about to spend a couple of weeks with my family at a lake in western Maine where I plan to relax, hike, swim, kayak and enjoy being here.  I have been neglecting this space, but I haven't forgotten about it.  As I've mentioned, we're in a long transition period and I am as equally excited to unpack boxes and settle in to our new place in St. Paul as I am insistent on enjoying and making the most of the rest of our time here.  I've been thinking a lot about future plans and where I am going in this next chapter of my life and what I will do to keep creating and writing in this space.  I don't know how it will all turn out, but I know that I am still on this road.  I just need some more time to let things settle before I can write and share here regularly.

In the mean time, I have been working a bit more on photography and on capturing moments.  Have you heard of the beautiful blog, habit?  I've been enjoying the photos and words that women write about the moments of their days.  There is something simple, poetic and connective about what I have seen there.  This month they are generously sharing the process with anyone who wants to via a flickr group.  I have been enjoying taking part in the process and seeing what others share.  I'll be away from my computer while at the lake, but I hope to continue noticing and maybe capturing some of these small moments.

I hope you enjoy and celebrate summer in the small, the every day, and the extraordinary!

Happy July!

In the past week I have been doing a bit of baking, partly in hopes of sharing them here. There was a strawberry shortcake which fulfilled my strawberry and whipped cream dreams, but the cake wasn't all I had hoped for.  I've also been trying to experiment with cocoa nibs, but no recipes yet.

I have been enjoying farmer's markets, piles of immensely sweet strawberries, flavors of summer: the snap of biting into a fresh pea pod, and tastes of freshly made cheese. There is a festival air that comes when everyone is out enjoying the beautiful day, admiring artists creativity and the bounty of what has been harvested.

Its just in the past couple of weeks that there are actually vegetables and fruits at the market and it is certainly something to celebrate.  What summer foods have you been celebrating?

Fresh, Colorful, and Crunchy

Between trying to spend as much time as possible with family and friends and looking for an apartment and a job in the new place we will be moving to, I haven't had much time to cook, garden, sew or do any of my usual activities.  I am enjoying these couple months of in between time, working and visiting with people, but I am also looking forward to when we are somewhat settled again.

One of my dear friends is also moving to the midwest this summer.  She and her husband will be leaving soon and this past weekend they had a little party to say farewell.  When I asked what I could bring, she asked for fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce.  I was surprised by such a specific request until she reminded me that they were part of the appetizers at our wedding and her husband had really enjoyed them.  Her husband is not the most adventurous eater so I could not hesitate to honor his wishes for something fresh, colorful and crunchy.

I've made fresh spring rolls a few times, they are so easy to put together, they look beautiful and they are fun to eat.  It occurred to me that they would be a perfect substitute for the ubiquitous veggie platter at a party since they are simply little packets of veggies nestled around a dipping sauce.  These are an ideal way to show case the freshest most flavorful vegetables, ideally using what is in season, and perfect as part of a summer meal.

Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce
There are many different possibilities here -- I wouldn't use more than three or four different types of vegetables for a batch, but you can use different combinations depending on what you like.  Some that work best: carrots, cucumbers, spinach, lettuce, sprouts, mushrooms, bell peppers and herbs like cilantro, basil and mint.  Below I have listed the amounts and vegetables that I used.

1 package rice wrappers (available at many grocery stores and certainly at Asian Markets)
1 red bell pepper very thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper very thinly sliced
1 carrot sliced into matchsticks
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup chopped cilantro


For the sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 cup warm water

Once all your vegetables are cut, prepare a clean work surface (a cutting board works well).  Fill a dish that is larger than the diameter of a rice wrapper with an inch of warm water.  Place two rice wrappers together in the dish and gently press down to submerge them.  Wait a few moments until the wrappers become totally softened and transparent.  Carefully remove them together, and spread them flat together on the work surface (this takes a little practice, if a few wrappers don't work out, just try again).  Submerge two more wrappers in the water.  Place a small handful of spinach leaves on wrapper (just above 6 o'clock on the circle).  On top of the spinach, add 6 or 7 carrot slices, and two or three pieces of each kind of pepper.  Sprinkle some cilantro on top.  The pile of veggies might not be totally neat and that is fine.  Fold both sides in to contain the veggies slightly.  Then fold the bottom of the wrapper over the veggies.  Hold the veggies in the wrapper and roll them from the bottom to the top so that they are all tightly wrapped in the roll.  It might take a few times until this process becomes simpler, but you'll get it!  Place the finished wrap on a plate and continue the process until all of the filling has been used.  Leave the rolls on the plate while you make the sauce.  

For the sauce, combine all of the ingredients except the water, until smooth.  Add the water, a little at a time, until the sauce has the consistency of a thick salad dressing.  I like it best when it is easy to dip into but it doesn't dribble all over the place.  Before serving, cut the spring rolls in half and arrange them on a platter with the sauce in a bowl in the middle.  They can be made several hours ahead of time, just refrigerate them uncut and covered so they don't dry out. 
This recipe yeilds about 14 spring rolls and enough sauce to dip them in.