Pesto

The furnace came on this morning. The temperature outside was a chilly 42 and there is the possibility that we will get frost tonight. Now you know why Michigan girls have a fickle love for Autumn. It's beautiful while it lasts, but the cold comes all too soon. I'm not ready to give up my flowers, the hostas, or the sweet tomatoes that are ripening in the garden.  I was determined that I wouldn't lose my basil.  It's like green gold and the crop was especially lovely this year.  I have already cut it twice and made pesto.  Earl harvested the rest tonight and I got it whizzed up in the food processor and ready for the freezer. It freezes like a dream. You know the wonderful spicy smell of fresh cut basil? That is exactly what this pesto smells and tastes like in the dead of winter, thawed and tossed with hot pasta or piled on a burger or sandwich. 

I got the recipe from a little book called "In the Kitchen with Rosie: Oprahs Favorite Recipes." It's the only recipe I use from that book but it was worth the price.  Easy as pie and very few ingredients, oh, and no oil. I like my pesto oil free, but if you want to add oil do it, it won't hurt it a bit. Here's the recipe:

Rosie Daley's Pesto

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup pine nuts (or you can use walnuts, just as good)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1-5 cloves garlic (I like 2 cloves)

Whiz everything up in your blender or food processor until smooth.

That's it. I freeze it in 1/2 cup plastic containers, just the right amount for a batch of pasta.

We cut most of the zinnias too, I won't leave them out in the cold.

What are you harvesting right now?

Art & Apples

What a busy weekend! Saturday dawned gloomy and rainy but we had high hopes it would clear up later in the morning. This weekend was the Art & Apples festival in a nearby town and Earl had perfected his Carmel Apple cheescake recipe for the baking contest.  We got up early and headed for our Saturday morning coffee date at Panera, discussed the days plans over coffee and a bagel and came home to put the finishing touches on his entry.

 By the time we reached the park the sun was beginning to break through the clouds and within minutes it was shining brightly.  There were so many delicious looking pies and desserts we started to wonder just what one has to do to get the honor of judging in one of these contests!Just look at those cute apple cake pops! It all looks good, and we knew it would be a tough competition.

 And speaking of competition, it didn't take long to realize this was ours, the guy in the white cap, I stealthily snapped his pic to show you. His name was Kevin and he was a professional baker, and his entry was a cheesecake too! Hmmmm....

 I kept a close eye on the judges as they tasted their way through the entries. The older lady was careful to give nothing away by her expressions. The guy who was judging was the local Mayor and was focused on eating . He wasn't giving much away either. But the cute brunette, a local newscaster, took one bite of Earl's entry and exclaimed "Oh my gosh!" I thought he had a good chance after that.

 I was right. Congratulation on winning Best Apple Dessert sweetheart!

 The prize? A handmade pie plate and blue ribbon, but the fun we had with this was even better.  After he won we went out to lunch to celebrate, hung out in the bookstore for a while, he helped a friend set up for a party and then we went home and baked two pies for the potluck our church had Sunday to install the new Pastor. I think we finished the pies around midnight. Whew! Whirlwind weekend but it was all good. It's back to work this morning and the week ahead is full of possibility. Enjoy your week full of possibility too. I hope your weekend was as good as ours!

September

"By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer."
- Helen Hunt Jackson

  And here we are, the last weekend of summer. I know it isn't officially Autumn until the 23rd, but the days are getting shorter, the nights cooler, the trees redder, and school is back in session. I admit a love/ hate relationship with the season. The trees are all too soon bare and brown and if you have ever experienced a Michigan winter, well, you know where my slight melancholy comes from. 

On the other hand, apples and pumpkins and cooler days that allow lots of baking and stews and other good cooking soften the blow of the grey days ahead.

This weekend Victoria heads back to school for her senior year. We are taking her back Sunday, a two hour drive in a van with no air conditioning and predicted temps around 90.  What was that I said about cooler weather?  Then home and back to our normal routine. The house will be emptier and things will settle into the autumn schedule.

 What's that you say? You want to know what the photo above is? Oh, that is Earl's latest project. You see, there is a big Art Festival called Art & Apples, held this time of year in a local park .  They are having a contest for apple recipes and Earl has decided to throw his hat in the ring.  Or should I say his cheesecake? His Carmel Apple cheesecake? Yeah. He's still perfecting the recipe, and I can't promise he will share, I know, that's mean isn't it? But there are lots of recipes online if you search. I never heard of apple cheesecake until he started looking for an apple dessert recipe.  Let me just tell you, apple cheesecake, it's one of the good parts of Autumn ♥
Have a great weekend, enjoy the last days of summer!

Spreading the Word on a Special Giveaway

 

As many of you know, PJ @ Seens From The Backs Of My Eyelids, has a brother, Henry, who lost everything he owned to fire on Saturday, July 24, 2011. The outpouring of help for Henry was so overwhelming, PJ would like to thank you all in a special way.

On next Wednesday evening, September 7^th, she will have the computer randomly select three names from her Wednesday blogpost this week.

The first name selected will win a $100 e-certificate to Amazon.com.

 

The second name selected will win a $75 e-certificate to Amazon.com.

The third name selected will win a $50 e-certificate to Amazon.com.

All you have to do to enter the drawing is be a follower of PJ, leave a comment and MAKE SURE THERE IS A LINK TO YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT. Easy peasy, right?

Before the end of the day on Thursday, September 8^th, PJ will contact the winners and before the end of the day on Friday, September 9^th, she will have the e-certificates sent from Amazon to the winners.

 

So head on over to PJ's and enter to win!

 

 

Taming the Perfection Monster

We entertained family last night. This weekend is the family "Non-reunion" (so named because a certain someone avoids anything named reunion like the plague. He is totally fooled by the non-reunion renaming, lol) With family members from far away in town that we just couldn't wait to see, we invited them over for some special time together.

May I admit here that this time I was a little stressed? I didn't plan well and with no time to make things fancy I was feelin' cranky. We bloggers tend to do that I think. Make everything a production worthy of Cecil B DeMille with our cupcake flags and tablescapes and whoop-de-doo fancy touches. Truth be told, I love a reason to make things special. But putting that kind of pressure on ourselves can make us entertain less can't it? Does it make us anxious before the guests arrive? What's the deal with that? Because really, getting together with family and friends is about these....

 Laughter....

smiles...

 Enjoying tarts that leave a whipped cream kiss on your lips:)

Hugs after a satisfying meal.

 Gathering firewood with the littlest kids

So you can teach them at an early age how to start a fire...lol

The queen of hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summers day

The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.

It didn't take me long to take a look around and realize that high expectations and trying to make things "perfect" had nearly robbed me of the joy of just being with people I love.

We have promised ourselves to have people over more often. I am promising myself that I won't put so much pressure on myself to make everything perfect. 

Because what's more perfect than sharing love?

Thank you Victoria for taking most of these photos while I was busy:)