Sweet & Savory Tuesday - Presto with the Pesto!

                                                        


INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups fresh basil leaves
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• Dash of kosher salt, optional

DIRECTIONS:

• When selecting fresh basil, make sure to remove any seed pods which have formed in the very top of the plant

• Place basil leaves inside food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped
• Add the garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan Cheese
• Process until smooth

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

• Prepare noodles (I used spelt noodles, but spinach noodles would be delicious as well), and serve with Pesto

• Pesto is great on pizza crusts, slices of baguette bread or fresh tomatoes, crackers, mixed with sour cream to be used as a veggie dip, and on rolls the herbal river.
• Pesto can be frozen and eaten at a later date.

If you have other serving suggestions, I would like to hear from you!  Please leave a comment.  We enjoy hearing from our blog readers.

Happy Dining & Enjoy the herbs of summer!

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Sweet & Savory Friday - Planter to Potato

I simply love being able to step outside my patio door, walk about ten feet, and snip some fresh chives for my baked potato!

In the featured photo, I cooked a medium sized Russet Brubank potato at 350 degrees for about an hour and fifteen minutes, turning it at the half way mark. After testing the potato with a knife inserted in the center to make sure it was thoroughly cooked, I added real butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, and home grown chives.  Every small scoop was scrumptious!  

To get the real scoop on potatoes grown in our great state of Idaho, please visit https://idahopotato.com/frequently-asked-questions.

Back to the chives for a moment.  Herbs are so easy to grow, especially if the area you have to work with happens to be very small.  In this particular container featured in the photo below, I have planted rosemary along with the chives. Herbs are interesting in that several of them can be grown together in a very small space.  It's best to do your homework in advance to learn which ones need more sun than others, so you don't end up positioning one that forms too much shade for another one.

If you don't happen to use all of your fresh herbs during the summer and fall months, you can harvest and dry them for storage inside air tight containers. Your winter soups, stews, and other domestic endeavors will be enhanced by your collection.

Happy Herbing & Eating!

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