My Herb Garden

I finally decided to grow an herb garden! I've always loved growing basil in the summertime, but this year I decided to branch out. We are also growing oregano, chives (!!), and cilantro. YUM.

I, being overzealous of course, wanted to grow about twenty varieties of fresh herbs, but our budget and the fact that we're moving in a few months won't allow for that. So we're sticking with four. (Although I wish we could have found seeds for mint. I've always wanted to cook with fresh mint.)

We picked up ceramic pots, seeds, and special seed-rooting soil at Home Depot (love that place) and I painted them when we got home. They were going to look much cooler but I got lazy. :)

As for their plant tags, I cut hearts out of the front of the seed packet. Then I glued them onto cardstock and cut out rectangles. I wrote the seed name on the front and their germination time on the back. Then I laminated them using packing tape and stuck them in the soil using toothpicks. (This entire project made me feel like a true homemaker.)

Most of them should be sprouting within one - two weeks, with the latest being 21 days. Waiting for them to sprout is exhilarating. I feel like a little kid all over again!

Pesto

You all might have guessed by now that I am in love with pesto. It's my favorite dish, and it's so versatile! (Though I only use it a couple of ways. I'm still working on expanding that.) I found a tip online a while back, and just got around to trying it out.

Because the baby is coming soon (5 weeks!) and so is the frost, I harvested my poor basil plant last week. I chopped off all of his vibrant, green leaves and made a giant batch of pesto with them. I doubt poor plant will grow back before the frost hits, but he served me well this summer!

Here's my basic pesto recipe. This time, Tyler told me it was the best I have made, but I think it's because I was trying to thin it out so I poured some milk in there. Thus, it was creamier than my previous versions.

a bunch of basil leaves

sunflower seeds (pine nuts work great, but they are so expensive!)

walnuts

lemon juice
 garlic

parmesan or romano cheese

olive oil

salt & pepper

milk (to make it creamy), if desired

I pretty much just throw it all in the blender and add more olive oil until it is close to the consistency I want it to be. I felt like I had added a TON of olive oil this past time, so after I scraped the pesto out of the blender, I stirred in milk with a spatula. It turned from an olive green color to a brighter, lighter green.

Here's the best part. I am always disappointed at a) how much prepared pesto costs at the store, b) how much fresh basil costs at the store (hence the basil plant that lives on our porch), and c) that basil plants do not thrive in the winter here in Utah (haha, I wish!). So I remembered a tip I had heard: to freeze the pesto. But how? In ice cube trays, of course!

It was much easier than I thought it would be. I set aside some pesto for that night's dinner, and then spooned the rest into ice cube trays, and stuck them in the freezer overnight. Then I popped them out of the trays, and zipped them up in a quart baggie. Now whenever we want pesto, I can just pop a few "cubes" out of the freezer, thaw them out, and enjoy! I think the best part is that there is no mess, and they now come in individual servings. So I can go ahead and eat that pesto sandwich for lunch, and not have to worry about the mess it took to make. :)

Pesto Pizza

Mmm...

Since we've been back in Utah and I have a lot of time on my hands (for the next month or two, at least until the baby comes.) I've been cooking like crazy. I have come to enjoy it - but only when Tyler comments about how delicious it is. If last night's recipe was a bust, I need a little motivation to get started again.

This past week we tried Paula Deen's Hasbrown Cassrole. WAY too much food for the two of us. The entire 9x13 pan was filled and bubbling over the top with eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and cheese. I made the mistake of putting maple-flavored sausage in there (it's usually the only kind I will touch - our family didn't grow up with lots of sausage so I'm not a huge fan.) and it was much too sweet. Follow her recipe and use some sort of spicy sausage. Needless to say, the leftovers make fantastic breakfast burritos! 

The (second) favorite meal made this week was Pesto Pizza, although it hasn't made promising microwave leftovers just yet. I may have to pop out the toaster oven today to get it crispy again. With (mostly) my parent's help,  Tyler and I have saved up several Christmases and several birthdays to get a bosch. It's wonderful. I love it. I'm so glad I didn't get a Kitchenaid. :) Anyway, I whipped up a quick batch of 100% whole-wheat pizza dough in the bosch, and it was surprisingly very light and airy. I formed a crust (although next time I will make our crust a tinch thinner), spread pesto over the top, and finished off with thinly sliced tomatoes and freshly grated mozzarella cheese. Mmm, it was delicious, thick and bubbly. Highly recommended. I also recommend to anyone to "invest" $4 and get a basil plant, even if it is the end of summer. We have been lucky this summer to see it flourish, and each week we can make a huge batch of pesto with all of its leaves!

Update on Plant

Plant has been blossoming lately! Look at how big he's gotten! :)

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Just kidding. Plant died. This is what he really looks like:
Sad, eh? The top one that is growing so well is a gift from Paula, my boss. (happy secretaries day!) She went to Provo High's Ag Club plant sale and got three HUGE basil plants! I made pesto pasta last night with fresh leaves. Check it out:



It's really easy: fresh basil, parmesan cheese, walnuts, salt, pepper, garlic, and olive oil. Just throw it all into the food processor, and keep taste-testing until you get the right amounts. The more olive oil you use, the less chunky it gets!