September 23, 2009

Busy Bee Buzz...
It has been a busy but satisfying work day -- as I have mentioned, there is a bad flu bug going around my workplace, but thus far I have been heading it off at the pass! We are all taking extra precautions with all of the media hype surrounding H1N1. The work volume is not especially high, but there is enough to keep us busy, and we have to be a bit more agile, thoughtful in terms of coordinating jobs around ill employees.

Peachy!
I went to work out today before dinner and it left me feeling wonderfully focused and energized -- I have also been practising some Reiki this evening, sending distant healing to two girlfriends.

It is a particularly beautiful evening and as I am writing this I hear children whooping outside at the playground and through the open windows I can feel this lovely gentle breeze touch caress my skin -- if today were to become a fruit it would be a lush peach, selected at the peak of ripeness, wonderfully sweet, juicy and with that delightful orangey yellow inside! Our prairie winters are notoriously long and bitter, so I have learned to savour these last sunny, balmy autumn days.

Herbally Yours xox
About midday, as I was getting interested in foraging for some lunch, I began to think about my little herb garden at home. Somehow I have grown these bionic, giganto herbs this year (neglect must allow for only survival of the fittest!) - particularly impressive are my basil, oregano and thyme. Realizing that this summery honeymoon could rudely end at any time, it dawned on me that I need to make, enjoy and freeze a bunch of pesto - prrronto!

I make my pesto in the blender -- it is quick and easy and love it drizzled on grilled steak, swirled in sour cream as a garnish for chicken quesadillas, or over buttered spaghetti squash (my substitute for pasta, as I continue to try to replace breads and sugar with fresh vegetables!).

Pam's Pesto

2 cups (packed measure) of freshly picked basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts (or pine nuts)
1-2 cloves fresh garlic
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or Romano)

Place basil, walnuts, garlic, sea salt and pepper in the blender - pulse to create a coarse blend. Slowly stream in the olive oil while the blender is running on med-high - stop every few seconds to scrape down the sides of the blender. If you have a baby food attachment, they are ideal for this, as the size is smaller and you don't need to scrape as much/as often.

Scrape the basil mix out of the blender and stir in the cheese - your pesto awaits! Yield: approximately one cup of yummy fresh pesto.

NOTE: if you plan to freeze, do not add in the cheese as the cheese does not freeze well -- the texture breaks down. I have heard of freezing the pesto (sans cheese!) in ice cube trays and then transferring the resulting pesto cubes into small freezer bags. I tend to freeze 1/2 portions in small zip-style freezer bags, as with three kids, this is a manageable portion.