play this

hi

play http://www.clubpenguin.com/

and make a penguin!




GO CLUB PENGUN

Pesto!

I have had an overabundance of basil in my garden this year and was reflecting on what to do it when my mother in-law wisely gave me the answer . . . "PESTO!"



I simply take a large bunch of leaves and shove them into my small food processor along with enough oil to get it to mix, a small handful of parmesan cheese, a small handful of pine nuts or pecans and salt to taste.



It can last for a month in the refrigerator if taken care of properly. The trick is to always have a layer of olive oil on the top. This oil layer keeps it from being exposed to the oxygen and turning brown. Each time after use I pour a new layer of olive oil.



Pesto has so many great uses. It taste great as the main sauce for pasta, I use it as a marinade for grilled vegetables. My husband has commented on how much he likes it on eggplant and zucchini -- I coat the vegetables with pesto right before I put them on the grill and then I drizzle a little raspberry balsamic vinegar on them right before serving.



As a marinade on grilled fish or chicken it is just delightful -- I usually add a little pear balsamic or raspberry balsamic vinegar as well.



Adding vinegar and a little more olive oil also makes a great salad dressing.

Canning Tomatoes and Pickles

I have been truly enjoying adventures in my garden this summer. It has helped me connect in many ways to my Mom and my grandmother as I live far away from both of them.

Although I have made freezer jam the last 5 years, this was the first time I have ever tried canning that involved a final processing. Above is the picture of my newest feat.

I made up dill pickles and jarred tomatoes. Both turned out very well and I was quite pleased with the result.

I used roman paste tomatoes because they have fewer seeds and are more meaty. I boiled the tomatoes a few minutes to loosen the skin, I then peeled off the skin and then popped them in the jar along with a couple basil leaves and pushed them down until the tomatoes and liquid were 1/2 inch from the top. I put on the lids securely and then turned them upside down in a large pot and boiled for 25 min. At that point they were taken out of the pot and flipped over and let to cool on the counter. They sealed themselves while cooling.

I also put up some canned pureed tomatoes. I had blanched them in boiling water just a few minutes until the skin was able to slip of easily, I then chopped them into large pieces and had my children grind it through my old-fashioned foley food mill. Here are a couple pictures of that process. I then cooked the tomatoe puree down some and put it into hot sterilized jars and they sealed themselves while they cooled down.

CRISP DILL PICKLES
3 qts. water1 qt. apple cider vinegar1/2 c. canning salt
Mix the ingredients and bring to a rolling boil. Have jars sterilized. Pack cucumbers in hot jars, add dill weed, large garlic clove. Pour hot solution over pickles, seal and turn the jars (lid down) in boiling water for about 4 minutes.

Pickling Salt - Use Kosher salt as a substitute because it does not contain any anti-caking additives which will cause your pickling brine to cloud. Pickling salt is fine-grained so you can double the amount of Kosher salt, or use a salt grinder and grid the Kosher salt before you measure it.

Here is a picture of the bounty I found in my garden upon my return from a weeks vacation:

Needless to say I was thrilled. This has been the second year I have had a vegetable garden. The first year things floundered, but this year they have thrived!!!