Basil & Pesto--Hints, Tips, and Not Just For Basil Any More

Today my sister in law sent me the link to an Organic Gardening site on the internet. This link was basically to a page on basil and how to make pesto instead of drying excess basil, as in the drying process so much flavor was lost.

YES!! It was a great little article on basil and pesto in particular.  I love pesto, and I make and freeze it every summer. I have recently found out  that if you quickly blanch the basil leaves, then they don't turn brown. I've been less than enthused in past years when the bright green basil turns a muddy brown within a short time of processing it. Tastes fine, but doesn't look so great. So a quick blanch in boiling water, then remove the leaves to paper towels and let dry a bit before making pesto, and it stays bright and green and beautiful in the refrigerator or frozen, and the taste is just as fresh and has no degradation at all.  So try that too. I'm going to try like they said on this web site to just process it with the basil and olive oil making a paste and freeze it in ice cube trays. Then I can drop one into roasts, sauces, soups, etc. and flavor it the way I want without the garlic and parmesan  getting in the way if I want to do something less traditional.

 I noticed their recipe called for basil, garlic, cheese, and olive oil...no pine nuts.  While pine nuts, or pignoli, are traditional, I don't use pine nuts in my pesto...they are just too expensive...but instead, I use basil, garlic, olive oil, Parmesean Romano, and walnuts. It tastes great!  My friend Priscilla (a frugal woman who loves organic and quick foods that taste good), turned me on to using walnuts a few years ago, and I've been doing it ever since.

 I've also done a wonderful pesto using pumpkin seeds, cilantro, garlic, cotija cheese and olive oil.  Really really good--especially on fish. Or mixed with sour cream or cream cheese (softened with a T. of milk to make it more easily dipped or spread) as a dip or spread on toasted baguette. Or spread it on flour tortillas, then put on some shredded chicken, a little more cheese, fold in half and grill for a great quesadilla. Or make a tostada and put refries on the shell, then spread the cream cheese and cilantro pesto mix on it, then shredded lettuce, chopped fresh tomatoes, and some green chili salsa. Oh sooooo good.

 So those are my tips for basil and pestofor the day! Okay making myself hungry now, so think I’ll head to the freezer to pull out some pesto.  

The Spring Equinox~~Spring is Here!

purple and white hyacinth sentinels
(pink not yet blossomed)

Ahhh, the first day of spring.  No more winter, no more cold; birds, blossoms, sunshine…yeah, right!!!  The only signs of spring around here happen to be the beautiful hyacinths that burst forth 3 days ago, along with the yellow and orange daffodils and pink azaleas that I didn’t even know I had.  But they give us hope. Hope that spring may truly just be around the corner. Because the gray cloudy skies, 50 degree temps, blustery cold winds and the forecast of rain and snow sure don’t give you any hint or hope!

yellow daffodils all in a row

Spring fever had me captured for a few days. Last week we had some beautiful warm days in the high 60s and low 70s.  The sky was its usual magnificent blue, and it spurred me forward to work more in the gardens. So far I have garlic coming up, planted more garlic and spring onions along with shallots (way too expensive in the store so bought some sets and thought we’d see how that goes).  Also have removed and ugly cedar bushes, tearing ground cloth and disgusting pieces of bark from one of the front side yards, in now in its place is a semi-dwarf nectarine, and five rose bushes…3 new and 2 transplanted from large pots where they have been growing for 3 years. And this week a fabulous pear tree was also given a home out of a pot and into the ground by the large granite boulders that surround our home. I trimmed back overgrown hawthorne bushes and took out a couple of pine tree saplings, along with trimming the branches up about 6’ on another pine tree and removing some dead growth, so now the 2 lilacs in that area can get sun and be happy enough to bloom. Hopefully they will all be happy in their new homes.

Azaelea flowers popping

So while we take the tomato, pepper, jalapeno, green bean, fennel and other seedlings and small plants in and out each day to get their dose of sun and warmth, we hurry along each day so that I can soon be out actually putting them in the ground. And I pour over seed and plant catalogs, marveling at the atrocious prices, and hoping I can find local and less costly substitutes locally. I must get potatoes in the ground along with beets and peas, so maybe this rain will finish up on Monday and warmer temps will help spur me along to actually get those cold weather/early spring crops into the ground.  Right now I have glass tumbling in the rock tumbler hopefully turning into beautiful sea glass to dress my beds and pots, and I will go put on my coat and gloves and give the new transplants a bit of a drink just in case all we get out of this is wind, cold, and a few spits of rain. 

Plum Tree in Bloom

Come on spring!

Gardening Fiascos and A Delicious Gallette

          I’m beginning to think that maybe I do NOT have a green thumb and pursuing my dream and goal of beautiful gardens yielding blooms, abundant veggies, and fabulous fruit are a pipe dream.  Especially after the  "putting up the fence around the rhubarb plot", and the "planting fruit trees and cut the Cable One cable in half" fiascos of yesterday.  I'm thinking gardening may not be my forte!  Yup, the cable, thought to be a root, was pried up and split right in half. I couldn’t believe how quickly Cable One was here and how nice the cable guy (Joe not Larry) was about fixing it so we wouldn’t get charged for putting in a new line.  But the pear tree definitely cannot go where I wanted it to go, so now I have to figure out a new home for it.  And homes for the blueberries and thornless blackberries. 

           The fence around the little plot for the rhubarb is sad.  The chicken wire is not straight, has curves, one of the posts is definitely tipped and not level, and there are tons of wire ties holding the chicken wire to the posts.  I sure hope it keeps out the javelinas, as it may just be a short puzzle for them before they bash it in and get right in there and eat Roy’s beloved rhubarb.  We’ll just have to wait and see.  I found out from Aaron, the sweet young man from VT who was digging the holes for us and felt so horrible when he severed the cable, that the local zoo sells “tiger pooh” that you can scatter around and keep them away. I know too you can buy panther and mountain lion urine on line to spray around the garden and that will keep them at bay too.  Jeez, wouldn’t that be a great job??  What do you do for a living? I follow big mean cats around and catch their peepee in bottles.  Yikes!

           And another glorious day in Northern AZ tody. I’m looking out the windows and there are little birds everywhere, and a big fat squirrel is running all over the big boulders that raise up out of the ground like monolith granite beings.  Anyone know how to set up a web cam outside so I can catch the squirrels and chipmunks on video? They are too funny…well, until they start eating my tomatoes, tomatillos, squash blossoms, etc. The boulders truly are spectacular. Several in the backyard look like whales rising out of the sea…3 of them look just like a pod, and then there’s one little one that I am going to paint dark blue and white so it really looks like a fabulous sea creature in my faux beach house’s garden. I’m going to scatter beach glasses in blues and whites on the ground around him to make him look like he’s poking his nose up out of a little piece of ocean right here in Prescott. 

           The peppers, tomatoes, and basil seeds I planted last week are beginning to sprout!  Now if I can keep them from getting all spindly, and keep them alive, I may actually be able to transplant them in May, and since I planted WAY too many for just us, I’ll share them with friends and family.

           To keep us all fed while busy, I made a Gallette. Gallettes, frittatas, and quiches are all great dishes to make ahead and serve warm or at room temperature.  They are made with eggs, cheap available protein sources throughout the world and especially loved in France in their cooking. When people think French food, they always think of complicated buttery sauced items with wines and sherries that take lots of skill and time. But French food throughout time has been food using what’s available, what is fresh, and what is not only good for you, but usually not expensive. The baked egg recipes are especially good when you need to have something you can serve with pride to company or family but that you need to be able to put in the oven and not be rushing around trying to prepare something at the last minute. 

I chose the Gallette today, as frittatas use bread and with the wheat intolerance I have, not a good choice, nor is the quiche with its flaky brown crust. But I didn’t make quiche, mainly because Roy has this thing about men not liking/eating quiche (I’m rolling my eyes here folks and shaking my head). I used ham and cheese, onions, chives, and chervil for seasonings, along with salt and pepper. 

HAM AND SWISS GALLETTE

Loose recipe instructions would be: 

8 eggs beaten with 1 T milk      ½ small onion diced     
3 green onions diced                 Chives, diced
1 medium potato sliced into thin even slices                                  

3-4 slices swiss cheese          ½ c. diced ham           
fresh chopped parsley            1 t. chopped garlic                
1 t. chervil, fresh or ½ t. dried            

olive oil

Saute the diced onion along with the chopped garlic in a bit of olive oil. I used Blood Orange Olive Oil from Olive U here in Prescott, a fantastic store in the Bashford Court Atrium.  They have so many different flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars it’s amazing. You can go in and enjoy yourself tasting before you buy.  It’s as good as any candy store in my opinion!

           End of commercial, back to the recipe. Once the onion and garlic are sautéed until translucent, throw in the chopped chives, and remove all to a small dish, leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible. You may need to add a bit more oil before frying the potatoes.  Line the pan with thin slices of potatoes in a nice even layer….I do this in a circular style, overlapping the slices about half way over each other, tucking the last slice underneath the first slice.  This makes for a very pretty presentation.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, along with the chervil. Lower the heat and cook slowly until almost done and barely brown. You may add a little water and cover to steam so they don’t get too brown too soon.  You want them done before going to the next step. 

           Once potatoes are done, scatter the cooked onion/garlic mixture over the top, and arrange slices of Swiss Cheese over them in a single layer, scatter pieces of diced ham over the cheese, and scatter some chopped green onion over the ham.  (For my vegetarian friends, scatter little spoonfuls of goat cheese along with thinly sliced pears instead of the ham and swiss…outstanding!!)  Slowly and carefully pour the egg mixture around the edge of the pan and then working into the middle to thoroughly cover the cheese/ham/onion layers.  Dust with a bit of salt and pepper and a dash of cayenne pepper.  Put a lid on the pan, and put into a 350 degree oven until the center is done, but watching that the edges of the eggs do not burn or turn brown. 

           Once completely done, remove from the oven, let stand 3 minutes, then invert onto a pretty plate.  You’ll then see why I wanted the potatoes in a circular design, because they are beautiful and brown and gorgeous.  Sprinkle with a bit of chopped fresh parsley and green onions, and serve in big wedges with thick slices of French bread toasted and spread with butter and jam. For lunch or dinner, a fresh salad of baby greens dressed with a Champagne Vinaigrette, and a bowl of fresh fruit with a little whipped crème and sprinkle of finely diced preserved ginger makes a complete, satisfying and delicious meal. 

Is There A Dr in the House, or Where is Dr. House?

          My shoulders & upper back ache, along with the backs of my thighs. I have a red flush on my face, and my biceps hurt. When I try to move, my body shouts in disbelief that I'm actually making it work.  Should Dr. House be called in? Is this the beginning of a string of ever worsening symptoms to some life-threatening disease with a name longer than supercalifragilisticespialadocious? Will they need to take every test imaginable, drain me of blood for testing, and use all the newest techniques and machinery known to the medical world while consulting with the best diagnosticians that can be found?  Why am I hurting so badly?

          OH, that’s right.  I began the spring gardening yesterday!  Finally, I get a day of sun, warmth and no wind when I’m off work. It was magnificent.  I pulled all of the covering out of the herb bed, and after removing the dirt scattered by Mr. Guayo’s digging, I found that the thyme, rosemary, lemon balm, and oregano definitely made it through the winter and are greening up.  Possibly the marjoram, but not sure on it yet, as felt like roots were tight, but no greening. Now I’ll just have to plant parsley and cilantro in there, and it’s good to go!

Last week after the snow melted, I checked the garlic and low and behold beautiful new green sprouts everywhere! So I watered the garlic and then cleaned up the herb garden.  Roy helped me pick up, carry, and set up 5--40 pound bags of garden soil into a couple of the raised beds that the previous owners had built and which actually drew me to this house. I filled two large half wine barrel planters with a potting soil/garden soil/compost mixture after drilling holes in the bottoms for drainage. While I had the drill in action, I went ahead and drilled holes in the dish drainer. Why? Because……it didn’t drain right!  Guess they didn’t get the concept of dish ”drainer”?  
Once the soils and amenities were in place, I planted shallots, dug up and weeded one of the other raised beds, and filled in the holes where Guayo the digger dog from hell had dug out around the septic clean out and a couple of the large pieces of flagstone.  I refilled them using a mixture of soil and cayenne pepper. Hopefully that will deter him from further digging. (Report from 2 days later...didn't help a bit with Guayo nor for deterring the javelinas from digging in my Star Gazer Lily pots)

          Roy and I went to Home Depot and picked up 6'x3' fencing and I made sure it was in place around the herb garden and the new plot with the shallots planted. I’ll have to fence in each of the 8 raised beds already in place, just to keep the little pup out of them. And more beds are in the planning.  I also got carried away and purchased Big Boy and Early Girl tomatoes, pole beans, and yellow sweet peppers. Then I remembered it was the beginning of March and these particular items couldn’t be planted outside until after all fear of frost was gone. Now common gardening knowledge is not to put out warm weather plants until after Mother’s Day, or at least May 1.  So we now are babysitting plants for 2 months…outside in the sun for 6 hours a day, then back in to stay warm.  Oh well.  Plus now there are 72 peat pots with the seeds of red, yellow, orange, purple, and white bell peppers; cherry tomatoes, and jalapenos. This coming week, more yellow pepper seeds will be planted…yellow peppers are my favorite!  Plus if I get too many, I’ll give them to friends, or sell them!

          I see these beautiful gardens, overflowing with neat rows of vegetables, verticality in tall plants with colorful under-plantings, and arches filled with blooms and greenery. They entrance me and I would love to build one, plant by plant, structure by structure, until each spring I have blossoms, birds, food, beauty, and a place to sit and enjoy—after I pull weeds, trim, and tie! I think I’ll send in a plea to Jamie Dhrurie in The Outdoor Room to come over and make this happen for me, because as sore as I am today, I’ll be dead before I get it to look like those photos in magazines!

          But the gardening is done for a few days as a new cold front and possible storm is on its way in. As the clouds thicken, the temps drop, and the storm moves in, my body reacts accordingly…the aching joints and muscles that come with every change in barometric pressure have me taking acetaminophen and/or ibuprofen,  The unusual symptom is right jaw TMJ pain.  Not the usual weather-related joint pain, but something new and interesting. Hey, maybe it will get bad enough to stop me from chewing.  One can only hope. Or  maybe I've been clenching my teeth while I'm digging, hauling, hoeing, and working to make my garden a miracle.

Making The Best of Sales--Cheese!

Right now milk is on sale at our local markets. $1.59 a gallon last week, and $1.69 this week. Although we don’t drink tons of milk, and we certainly don’t have freezer space to freeze it for later use, I do take advantage of these sales by making cheese. Yup, cheese.  Cheese is expensive although a little can go a long way (but usually doesn’t in our house as we LOVE it), so if I can take advantage of a great sale to make cheese cheaply, I do it. You can make a pound of mozzarella or 2 pounds of cream cheese from one gallon of milk, and you can decide whether you want it to be full fat, 2% , 1% or skim. I recommend 1 or 2%...skim sometimes doesn’t have the nice consistency.

Now you might be saying, I can’t make cheese…it’s too complicated, too time consuming, you need all kinds of equipment, etc.   Not so say me. First of all, I LOVE making cheese. A dream of mine is to have a couple of nice nanny goats and be able to make goat cheese for personal consumption and income supplementation. And yes, I DO know how to milk a goat…and cows for that matter too. Growing up in rural AZ (Cornville) had a few funny advantages!  It is a matter of heating milk, putting in a curding agent (buttermilk and liquid rennet or citric acid), and letting it do its thing. Now mozzarella takes a bit more work as you need to pull and knead it to get the consistency, but cream cheese is amazingly easy and scrumptious!

You can go on line to get ingredients needed, but I have never had any trouble finding them at my local natural food stores. If you want to read a great account of making mozzarella and have a fabulous recipe for making it, read Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal Vegetable Miracle. It’s a great account of their year of living either off their own land or as locavores from their neighbors and community farmers at their farmstead in NE America. 

But for now, try the cream cheese recipe. I put chives and herbs de provence in the batch I made this weekend, but there are other suggestions in the recipe, and use your imagination for others your family may enjoy..

SWISS STYLE CREAM CHEESE

½ c. water                                   1 gal skim milk                 ¼ c. buttermilk

3 drops liquid rennet                 salt to taste

Heat milk to 180 degrees F.  Dilute liquid Rennet in water. Cool milk to 85 degrees F. Add buttermilk and Rennet solution and stir well. Cover with a towel and leave at room temperature 12 to 18 hours until firm curd forms and a little whey appears on the surface.

Gently lift curd with a large spoon, placing it in a large square of double cheesecloth or special dairy cloth. Lift four corners ( I did this over the sink and squeezed a bit to get a lot of the whey out first)—tie corners around a dowel, wooden spoon, or other kitchen utensil, and hang in a large stock pot so bottom does not touch the bottom of the pan. Leave for 2-3 hours, pouring off whey if it gets too deep and touches the cheesecloth. When most of the whey is drained, put cheese into a bowl, add seasoning (salt, chives, green onion, jalapenos, crushed pineapple, strawberries, whatever you like). 

Beat with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Chill before serving.