Month: August 2019

Pesto Time

  • Fresh basil leaves (8 cups per batch)
  • Batching out the garlic cloves in six batches
  • 4 cups of grated romano in six batches
  • 2 cups of olive oil per batch
  • The food processor
  • 24 servings ready to freeze
  • We freeze the pesto in re-used butter tubs

We make it in bulk, using assembly-line production methods. We multiply the recipe below, (slightly modified from Armen Carlene) by four for a “batch”. Our food processor will do one batch at a time. Yesterday, we made six batches, or 24 servings of the individual recipe below, which we freeze for later use.

Pesto

Best made with a food processor.

2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves.

3-4) minced garlic (we don’t bother mincing — the food processor does it).

½ cup extra virgin olive oil.

1 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese, freshly grated (or similar hard cheese).

Place basil, garlic and oil in the food processor and process until basil is finely chopped, then add cheese and process until uniform mixture.

Use at once or place in small jar or containers and add a thin layer of olive oil to each to keep pesto from darkening.  (We skip this oil step, it doesn’t darken for us, or if it does, we don’t notice)! Refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for longer.  Makes about 1 ½ cups.

Add pesto to hot, cooked pasta, with butter, or butter/olive oil mixed, add grated Parmesan cheese and mix.  Mmmm mmm good.

Lighting Life in Old Things

An old belt pulley, some antique glass insulators and tea-lights liven up a dormant fireplace in the summertime

Our home has a central fire pit in the great room. Half the year it just sits there … dark. No more! I found an old belt pulley in a junk pile, tossed a few glass, antique insulators into it (upside down) and added tea light candles — viola! It all comes to life without heating the house in the middle of summer! Maybe I will paint the old pulley black, or polish it down to steel under the rust … we’ll see.