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Homemade Basil Pesto

May 28, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Since I have lots of basil growing in my garden, I decided to make homemade basil pesto last weekend. There is nothing like fresh pesto. And if you’ve never made it before, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is.

Homemade Basil Pesto

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Total Time 10

Servings 1 /2 cup

Ingredients

1 cup tightly packed fresh basil
2 Tablespoons pine nuts
1 clove garlic
1 inch chopped garlic scapes optional
1/3 cup olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons freshly grated Italian Parmesan or Pecorino

Instructions

Mix first 5 ingredients using food processor or stick blender.
Add cheese and pulse again until blended.
Refrigerate.

Notes

I used chopped garlic scapes because I had a bunch. If you aren't familiar, scapes are the flower shoots or stems of the garlic plant. They have a mild garlicky flavor—sort of a garlic flavored scallion. Feel free to omit this from the recipe, if you prefer.

As you can see, I didn’t chop my garlic scapes. Easier to blend if you do…

While basil is in season and readily available, you may want to make a large batch and freeze for later, but freeze before adding the grated cheese.

Use as a spread on sandwiches. Mix with pasta. Be creative! Pesto is great to have on hand. HERE’s a 25 recipe roundup using pesto—all the dishes look fantastic.

On Memorial Day, we used it on John’s amazing smoked basil burgers instead of mayo or mustard. (Recipe coming to the blog soon!)

Are you a pesto fan? What’s your favorite pesto recipe?

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

“A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”
― Saint Basil

The true story of my garden in May.

May 26, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

This is a true story. Non-fiction. My garden in May is growing exactly like the seed packages promised. This truth shocks me each day. Always before, the idea of a garden filled with a bounty of vegetables, growing according to the seed package instructions, was purely fictional.

Mythical even.

My Serrano, jalapeño and bell peppers all seem to be thriving. Look at this bell pepper. It’s the size of my fist. It will be roasting on John’s Big Green Egg today.

My cucumbers are coming on! I plan to try my hand at canning these.

My first tomato harvest. These are Romas.

And check out my celery. It really looks like celery.

Last week I harvested the last of my onions, a few more radishes, added fertilizer and I’ve been topping off my Ollas every two-three days.

I planted okra seeds and they sprouted in three days. Wow. True story.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

When You’re Smiling – Doris Day

Spiceman’s FM 1410

May 16, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

See this storefront covered in bars? Follow me inside and feast your eyes on Spiceman’s FM 1410, a wonderland of exotic produce, herbs, micro-greens, fungi, and yes, spices.

Proprietor Tom Spicer sells to all the hippest Dallas restaurants, and he’ll sell directly to you and me too.

Spiceman’s FM 1410 is located in East Dallas, next door to Urbano Cafe and behind Jimmy’s Food Store. His market is urban, his food seductive.

Depending upon what’s growing out back, his offerings may include Dragon tongue beans, Indian desert celery, fresh green coriander berries, fiddle heads, wild miners lettuce, black garlic and more.

And the ‘shrooms? A dime bag will change your dinner.

No matter what you buy, the Spiceman (as he’s known around town) will send you off with a few of his own favorite recipes. If you have time to spare (and you will), he’ll sit and gab. He’s a storyteller too.

One more thing—I highly suggest you LIKE his Facebook page. His posts are downright literary.