When Life Gives You 2 1/2 pounds of Basil Leaves

You make pesto....lots of pesto...we put up 12 half pints of pesto. We used only walnuts no pine nuts...too expensive

This is Ina Gartner's recipe.

Pesto:

* 1/4 cup walnuts
* 1/4 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
* 3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
* 5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 1/2 cups good olive oil
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the walnuts, pignoli, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

To clean basil, remove the leaves, swirl them in a bowl of water, and then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. Store them in a closed plastic bag with a slightly damp paper towel. As long as the leaves are dry they will stay green for several days.

Cooking Pasta

All the cooks/Chefs on TV say to boil your pasta in salted water...salted like the sea...don't do it...it is too salty

Olive Oil Cake with Lemon and Thyme

Today I finally found a cup cake recipe that I can bake...and it is delicious. I hope you try it.

Olive Oil Cakes with Lemon and Thyme

Ingredients
1 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/3 cup of sugar
2 Tbsp grated lemon zest
2 whole eggs
1/4 cups olive oil
2/3 cups whole milk
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp minced fresh thyme


For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or more as needed

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I used foiled muffin cups and put them in the muffin tin but if you do not have muffin cups, prepare a muffin pan with melted butter and then dust with a little bit of flour. Pulse the sugar and lemon zest in a blender until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, then gradually pour in the olive oil and milk, pulsing until emulsified into a thin batter, about 30 seconds. Don't overblend or the cakes will be too puffy.

Whisk one cup of flour, the baking powder, salt and thyme in a small bowl. Add to the blender in 2 batches until just combined. Pour the batter unto the prepared pan and bake until the cakes just start to pull away from the sides of the pan and spring back when lightly touched, about 25 minutes depending on your oven.

In the meantime, make the glaze: whisk the powdered sugar, melted butter and lemon juice until smooth, adding more lemon juice if too thick. Drizzle over the cooled cakes and garnish with a thyme sprig.

This soup is amazing, healthy, inexpensive, easy to cook and delicious. Try it!!!!

Tuscan Chickpea Soup

Randy Mayor; Lydia DeGaris-Pursell

Garlic, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese deliver authentic Mediterranean flavors.

Yield

6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups finely chopped onion
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups water (I did not add any water)
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the water and the next 5 ingredients (water through tomatoes), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Place 2 cups soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a bowl. Repeat procedure with 2 cups soup. Return all pureed soup to pan. Stir in the vinegar, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Spoon 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

373 (22% from fat)

Fat:

9.1g (sat 2.1g,mono 4.5g,poly 1.6g)

Protein:

15g

Carbohydrate:

59.7g

Fiber:

11.4g

Cholesterol:

5mg

Iron:

3.7mg

Sodium:

955mg

Calcium:

197mg

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2001

Bread Making

My husband and I alternate making bread twice a week...and yes I have a full time job as does he (his is from the home but it is still full time). It is so easy, rewarding, healthy(we know what we are putting in it).

Here is the recipe for the basic one that we do:

25oz Bread Flour (about 5 cups)
1tsp dry yeast
1tsp salt
1tbsp honey
7 fl oz milk, lukewarm
7 fl oz lukewarm water
1 oz butter, room temp
flour for dusting (we don't ever use this)



Turn on the light to your oven.

Mix all ingredients together for about 15 mins. I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer using a dough hook (love it!!!!)

Take out of bowl and knead for about 1 minute. Place in a glass bowl that has been oiled with olive oil. Lay a damp kitchen towel over it and put in oven. (Forgot to take pictures.) Let it rise until it has doubled and then some...we let it rise for 3 hours.

Once it has risen, punch it down in the bowl and take it out of the bowl and put on your counter (you will probably need to flour it unless it is marble.) Shape it into a ball and then cut in half. Put one half back in the bowl for right now and the other put in a bread pan (we have used both glass and metal, both work great). Take a plastic bag (grocery) and put over the bread pan and then either put it back in the oven without the oven on...just the light or leave it on your stove. It will need to rise again for about 90 minutes.

Once you take the bread out of the oven (if that is where you put it), turn it on to 360 degrees. Put bread in for 46 minutes (we actually did it this last time for 35 minutes....oven temps differ).

Spray down the oven with water...use a spray bottle in the beginning and then half way through do it again. Take it out after you decide when it is done

You will have amazing bread...

...now for that another half. Wrap it up in butcher paper and put in your frig until you run out and then you only have to rise it 90 mins in the bread pan