Fresh Basil Pesto

We put the garden to bed this weekend.
There was a giant purple crate full of pesto to process.
Sadly, none of the canning books we own had a recipe in it because of the cheese and pine nuts that are in it. It's not recommended to freeze pesto because of the fats and the changes in consistency. We however are not afraid of making pesto cubes in the freezer. We plow through pesto in our house. So I looked in the Joy of Cooking and found a recipe with the hearty idea of add vegetables to cook with the pasta. I'll have to try that sometime, but last night we needed to pound our the pesto fast. We settled on preparing Jamie Oliver's recipe from The Naked Chef.















I'm not even going to post a recipe in this post, because truly, what ever pesto you choose to make (we used our food processor and do like using lemon juice) you will undoubtedly tweak and add to it before serving. So, go harvest and pick your basil and find a pesto recipe today! Enjoy for longer than they tell you you can!
























Action shot!
(notice dehydrator in the back ground - had fresh dried herbs on the garlic bread with dinner)
Spread and press pesto into ice cube trays.
Cover and set in freezer.
















Once frozen through, crack the cubes out of the tray, air tight seal them in a new bag and place back in the freezer.

Simple Curry

 

I tweaked a recipe from Tasty Kitchen (which turns out to be from my lovah Jamie Oliver) and came up with this yummy curry. It hit the spot for me as I was nursing a cold on some dreary rainy spring evenings. Easy and delicious.

Ingredients
One bunch Scallions, thinly sliced white and light green parts only
One medium onion, finely diced
One bunch Fresh Cilantro, coarsely chopped
3 Tablespoons Roasted Sesame Oil
10 to 15 teaspoons Curry Powder (the more the merrier on your tongue)
2 Tablespoon Butter
2 cans Coconut Milk
2 large pinches Kosher Salt
the juice of one Lemon
2 blocks Extra Firm Tofu (pressed to Dry And Cut Into 1-inch Cubes) OR 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
*** adding a dollop or two of sour cream or plain yogurt will cut the spice if you over do it***
Serve over cooked rice.

Directions

1. In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
   
2. If you are making rice, start it now.
   
3. Add onions and scallions and simmer until translucent.
   
4. Add tofu/meat and cook/brown.
5. Add cilantro and stir to combine.
6. Add the curry powder Stir everything together.
   
7. Add the butter. Continue to stir and cook for 20 to 30 seconds more.
   
8. When it’s all simmering nicely, add the coconut milk.
   
9. While stirring often, bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 2 minutes.
   
10. Finish the sauce by seasoning it to taste with salt and then stir in lemon juice.
11. Turn off the heat and serve over cooked rice.