Super-Easy, All-in-One-Pot, Pesto Dish

Monday, July 31, 2006

We're starting to reach that point in the summer when the garden produces more basil than we can keep up with. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It simply means we've got plenty of raw material for making my favorite new pesto dish -- and more.

This is the latest batch of sweet basil that we picked and set in glasses of water on our kitchen counter. This seems to be the best way to keep basil fresh for a few days, rather than keeping it in the refrigerator. I've found that basil will do well like this for up to a week, after which the stems start to produce roots. (At that point, you could plant the stems back in the garden if the leaves haven't all been cut off. This could be a quicker way to produce more basil plants, rather than starting from seed.)


So back to my new favorite pesto dish. It's called Linguine al Pesto Genovese, a recipe that my wonderful husband discovered in The Silver Spoon cookbook. If you're at all a fan of good Italian food, I highly recommend this book. There has not been a single recipe in there that has disappointed us. Many of the recipes are of the keep-it-simple variety, calling for a few basic, good-quality ingredients.

This recipe essentially has three steps to it: 1) Make pesto. 2) Cook pasta, potatoes, and green beans together in one pot. 3) Mix everything together and eat. It's so simple!


We used our own garlic for this dish. We also added a few wax beans I grew in the garden, along with green beans and red potatoes that we picked up at the farmers' market on Sunday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Linguine al Pesto Genovese, from The Silver Spoon

Serves 4

12 ounces linguini
2 potatoes, cut into thin batons
1/3 cup green beans
25 fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, chopped
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup romano cheese, freshly grated
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
salt

To make the pesto, add the basil, garlic, olive oil and a pinch of salt to a food processor and mix briefly. Add the cheeses and process again. Cook the linguini, potatoes and beans together in a pot of salted boiling water and then drain. Toss everything together and serve.


This dish is so delectable that my husband has to pull the bowl away from me after I've already had two servings. I could sit there and eat all of it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, which I will be guest hosting this week. Weekend Herb Blogging was created by the wonderful Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and it has grown into a delightful, international weekly blogging event for foodies and gardeners alike. If you would like to participate, please read the Rules for Weekend Herb Blogging. Then submit your links to me (calendula1 AT gmail.com) by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday August 6th. I will post the recap of everyone's recipes on Monday. Until then, here's hoping you have wonderful garden harvests... and good eating!

Deer Snacks

Sunday, July 30, 2006

The deer have been stopping by the garden and helping themselves to a few late night snacks: the leaves of my purple hyacinth bean vine. Why is it that deer always eat the best stuff? Why can't they eat weeds instead? There are plenty of those to go around and I'd be glad if they took care of them. But no, they had to go for the beans.

Fortunately, the leaves on the inside of the fence were untouched and the plants remain in pretty good shape overall. This is the first year I've tried growing these, and I can't wait to see them bloom and produce their purple beans.


If they do well, I might try to rig up some kind of bean pole in the middle area of the garden next year so I won't have to plant them on the outside fence where they are vulnerable to hungry, four-legged visitors. A centrally-located bean pole would also prevent the vines from reaching over to my neighbor's plot and grasping onto his tomato cages, which he's probably not too happy about right now. In the meantime, I just hope the beans turn out beautiful enough so that my new plot neighbor will be forgiving of the occasional stray vine entanglement on his side of the fence. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the deer don't jump the fence when they've got another case of the midnight munchies.

Pink Flamingo Sightings

Friday, July 28, 2006

This photo is for Snappy over in the U.K., who recently commented about the kitschiest of all kitschy garden ornaments -- The Great American Plastic Pink Flamingo. Yes folks, even in the community garden, right here in the nation's capital, we have a pair of Phoenicopterus plasticus perched proudly on the fences for everyone to enjoy (or get annoyed by).

Would I put pink flamingos in my garden? No. Never. They're too tacky and plasticky for my taste. But I have to admit, when I see them in other people's gardens or lawns, they make me smile. Their sheer absurdness amuses me I guess. (But please, people, keep them on your own side of the fence.)


As Snappy pointed out, the history of these birds is quite interesting. Everything you never thought you wanted to know about pink flamingo ornaments can be found at this site... called Useless Information. Did you know that the authentic pink flamingos have the artist's signature under their tails and they are always sold in pairs?

So now, if you really want to get a pair of these for your garden (and why would you?), you can find them on Amazon , where previous suckers purchasers gave them a solid five-star rating. But you should really go here, where you can get them for the rock-bottom price of only $11.75.

But wait! There's more!

Cough up a few extra bucks and you can get yourself the Pink Flamingo Holiday Wreath with Sock Monkey. (Huh? Is this for real? That's the tackiest thing I've ever seen!)

And if you're really into it, why not go all out and embarrass your friends with a Pink Flamingo Party Pak?

What is this world coming to? *Sigh*

Well, we mustn't get too attached to our pink flamingo ornaments because this is what will happen when the bird flu hits.

Photo by AustinTX

I know, that was terrible, but I couldn't resist.

(P.S. A note to any of my family members who are reading this: Please, please, don't send me any pink flamingo stuff for Christmas. Definitely not the wreath.)

Lonely Squash Plant

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Once again, I call upon the wisdom and experience of other gardeners out there in the blogosphere. Today my question is about squash.

This is the first year I planted squash, and I have one plant growing in a not-so-good location (underneath a giant sunflower -- by accident). I think it is a yellow crookneck type, but I'm not 100 percent sure. (I'm notorious for not labeling things, and then I sometimes forget what, exactly, I've planted -- or where!)


Since the squash plant lives underneath a sunflower, it hasn't grown very big, but it is getting blossoms. The flowers bloom for about a day and then they wrinkle up and fall off, but I don't see any squash forming. Is this because I need a second plant -- for cross-fertilization? Can I hand fertilize the blossoms on the one plant? And if so... what do I do if there's only one blossom open at a time? I suppose I could go around to other people's plots and ask to "exchange" squash pollen, but that might seem as if I'm getting too personal too quickly -- LOL!

My newbieness as a squash grower is really shining through here, isn't it? I'll take any and all advice.

Harvesting Sage

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

I grew about 3 or 4 sage plants from seed this year and they have been thriving. Over the weekend, I harvested a handful that I'm going to dry and reserve for some of my favorite fall dishes, such as butternut squash soup and, of course, Thanksgiving stuffing.


There's plenty of information about sage elsewhere on the Web (including here and here), but I recently read a few new-to-me things about this herb that I thought were particularly interesting:

-- Its name, Salvia, is derived from the Latin word, salvere, which means "to be saved". It's a reference to the plant's many healing properties.

-- Sage is high in vitamins A and C, and it's a member of the mint family.

-- Research has shown that sage improves brain function and acts as a memory enhancer. It is being tested in new drugs that could potentially treat Alzheimer's disease.


-- A gargle made with sage will help soothe a sore throat. It is also effective for treating sore gums/gingivitis. Sage tea helps to reduce stress and improve digestion.


I've never (knowingly) used sage for any of it's medicinal properties, although I have tried using it as a hair color a few times. (Very messy, but it smells good!).

The best way to use fresh sage, though, in my opinion, is on a big bowl of buttery pasta with cheese. Mmm, mmm, good!

Purple Basil Syrup on Crepes

Monday, July 24, 2006

I've been trying to add more purple flowers and foliage to my garden this year, so when I saw a packet of seeds for this purple basil, I couldn't resist. It has since grown very well for me, and now that I have it, I've been scratching my head trying to figure out what to use it for. Of course, it's pretty just to look at, but I wanted to see how it tastes.

Purple basil is said to be too strong for pesto, so I hunted around the Web and found here a recipe for basil syrup over fruit. Basil syrup was something I'd never tried before, and it sounded to me like it would make a delicious accompaniment to crepes. (Really, I think I just wanted an excuse to eat crepes.)


So I chopped up the leaves, which gave me about a half cup of basil. I added that to 1 and 1/2 cups of water with 3 tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice. I threw in a few leaves of lemon basil, too, and let it simmer.


I ended up letting it cook for about 30 minutes, instead of the recommended 10. I also added more sugar and cooked it down to about half the quantity the recipe said it should make, but for some reason, it never turned into syrup for me; it remained kind of watery. After straining the leaves, it looked like this.

So it was watery, but, nonetheless, it tasted very good and had a gorgeous color. The flavor tasted mildly like basil with a blend of spices -- almost as if it had cloves in it. It was a very good topping for crepes.

After dinner, Michael tried cooking the mixture some more to get it to its true syrupy state. More sugar... more cooking... boiling... and evenually... we got syrup!

He made me another one of his delicious grilled peach desserts and the syrup was perfect on it. (I know, he spoils me, doesn't he?)


This recipe is definitely one that I will keep, although I'll plan for a longer cooking time. I'd like to try it with even more basil, and a mix of different varieties. I'm thinking... Thai basil syrup over mangoes perhaps? Or lemon basil over berries? We even thought it would be interesting to try making basil candy.

Tomato Celebration

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Michael picked our first Brandywine tomato today. We celebrated by having tomato sandwiches for lunch. He used toasted multigrain bread and fresh mozzarella cheese, good olive oil, salt and pepper, fresh basil, and those wonderful slices of tomato -- still warm from the sun. We've been waiting for this moment for months!

MMmmmm. Tomatoes don't get any better than this.

Queen Anne's Lace: Weed or Flower?

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Queen Anne's Lace is something I don't see very often in people's gardens, although this one in the photo was an exception. I was surprised to find it growing in a nearby plot.

Most of the time, I only see Queen Anne's Lace growing alongside of roads or in the grassy median between highways. So do most people think of it as a weed rather than a flower?

As a kid, I always liked picking the Queen Anne's Lace that grew near my home. I would marvel at the mosaic of miniature white petals that made such an elaborate, lacy flower -- as intricately complex and unique as a snowflake -- ensconced in delicate green tendrils.

For me, Queen Anne's Lace was, and always will be, classified as a flower -- not a weed. But I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.

~~~

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

One person's weed is another person's wildflower.

~Author Unknown

A weed is but an unloved flower.

~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

An organic way to get rid of whiteflies?

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Michael hadn't been to the garden for awhile and he asked me the other day, "How's the garden doing?"

I described the state of affairs in three simple words: "Yellowy and buggy."

Yep, that's pretty much how it looks and feels these days. With the weather being so hot and humid, most of the plants (with the few exceptions being tomatoes and basil) look as if they're just barely hanging on. This is usually how it is here in July; everything in the garden gets kind of withery and weak and bug-infested, and the oppressive heat leaves me with little desire to do anything about it.

That is... except for the whiteflies. I am willing to start an all-out assault on those!

My one little Brussels sprout plant was growing up perfectly, until about a week ago when I pulled back its leaves and witnessed The Swarm -- that unmistakable swirl of little white pests, flitting away from their cozy hideaway underneath. Every one of my cole crops has gotten afflicted with whiteflies at some point, and now, again, the Brussels sprouts have them. Enough is enough!

So... I need help from all you fellow gardeners. What is an effective, organic solution to whiteflies? Is there a non-chemical way to get rid of them -- completely?

Eye on the Peachy Prize

Monday, July 17, 2006

The peach tree at the community garden is hanging down its branches, heavy with fruit. This is the same tree whose blossoms I photographed this spring. And what a treat it has been to watch the progression from buds, to flowers, to fruit.

Taking a closer look, I found that a few peaches dropped to the ground already -- not quite ripe yet. I gathered the ones that were in good shape, and took them home to ripen on the counter. They're slightly blemished in a few spots and smaller in size than the ones you'd find in a grocery store, but... Free organic peaches? Who's complaining? Not me.


The tree sits just steps from our garden plot, and the peaches are, quite literally, up for grabs. I feel very fortunate that the tree is there. Not only do I enjoy the peaches, but it is also fun to see other people in the community come by to do the same.

Meanwhile... my amazing, wonderful husband just cooked up this fabulous grilled (store bought) peach, drizzled with honey and a few snips of basil. Wow! I am in peach heaven right now.

And to think there are more peaches to come. Ah, summertime. Life is good!

When life gives you basil... make basil lemonade!

Sunday, July 16, 2006

We're experiencing typical July weather in Washington: unbearably hot and humid, with air so thick and heavy you can practically slice it with a knife. The last place I want to be on a day like this is out in the garden, where there is not a single square foot of shade. I'd rather take some of the garden inside with me, and kick back with a nice cold glass of refreshing lemonade. And with our basil plants being so abundant with leaves right now, I thought: Why not try basil lemonade?

So here's my contribution to this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, which is hosted at Kalyn's Kitchen. Be sure to check her site on Sunday night, for a re-cap of everyone's recipes.

~~~~~ Basil Lemonade ~~~~~~

First, I made ice cubes using a few leaves of lemon basil. Since the leaves of lemon basil are smaller than those of sweet basil, they fit nicely into each cube.

Then I took sweet basil leaves -- about 2 cups -- and chopped them up finely. (I decided to use sweet basil, because I thought the flavor of the lemon basil would get lost in the lemon juice. But any type of basil, including purple or Thai, could be used.)

Add the chopped leaves to a bowl, add sugar, and mash everything together. I used about 1/3 cup of sugar, but I would go with less next time. Adjust it to your own taste. Mash it up good -- until it looks like pesto.

Meanwhile...
... squeeze the lemons. I used nine lemons to my two cups of basil leaves.

Add the lemon juice and some plain water to the basil mixture. I didn't measure the juice or the water. Just keep tasting it... until it tastes to your liking.

Then strain your lemonade into a pitcher, add ice, sit back... and ENJOY!


This was sooooo delicious and refreshing. Even Michael really liked it! He added a little white wine to his, for an impromptu sangria. And I was thinking that, with a little tequila, this would make a fabulous margarita, too. This recipe will definitely get a replay at our house!

Got Milk? (I'll need it for my protein)

Thursday, July 13, 2006

On the seed packet, it said that these green soybeans -- the Tohya variety of edamame -- are 40% protein. That's so much protein that they're nicknamed "the meat without bones."

Well... throw me a fish or a slice of chicken, please, because I'm definitely not going to get enough protein from the few beans we've got here -- about six pods, at most. And these are on one -- yes, only one -- lonely little plant. Out of about 12 seeds, it was the only one that germinated.

So I went back to the seed sowing instructions and I saw there was a note: "Seed does not store well and old seed is a big contributor to home garden failure." (Hmmm... I hope they meant "crop failure" because complete "home garden failure" sounds rather ominous to me.) I guess I got a packet of tired, old seeds. Bummer.

Well, with nothing to lose at this point, I sowed a bunch more seeds the other day. I mean, if they're not going to keep until next year, why not just give them a try? It's probably too late in the season, though; I realize.

Of course, I could just say I'll stick to buying bags of edamame from the frozen foods aisle and be done with it. But then again, the gardener in me -- the tenacious me -- doesn't want to give up. I really want to grow some of my own.

So maybe, just maybe, with a fresh packet of seeds, I'll have better luck next year. I'm willing to give it one more try.

Have your vegetables and... eat your chocolate too!

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

I was honored to find that Anna in Australia featured my Tarragon & Chocolate Biscotti on her blog, Morsels & Musings. I am continually amazed at some of the things I find on food blogs around the world. In her Recipe Carousel #4, she featured a roundup of interesting ways people are using chocolate -- with zucchini, rosemary, and the most unusual of all, cauliflower. Yes, cauliflower!

Now I've heard of chocolate-themed gardens, where people plant things like chocolate cosmos and chocolate-scented daisies. Amy Stewart even mentioned that we're soon to get a chocolate-colored rose. And you can just about smell all the scrumptious botanical temptations offered by the Chocolate Flower Farm. But some of the recipes on Anna's blog, for me, put an entirely new twist on the idea of a chocolate garden.

I was looking at my own garden today, with chocolate-colored glasses on. Hmmm... what next? Chocolate and beets? Chocolate with tomatoes? I can't help but wonder about all the possibilities. Why relegate chocolate to just dessert?

Zinnia Bouquet

Monday, July 10, 2006

I always like to include a few zinnias in my garden. They're a great attraction for the butterflies and they hold up well in a bouquet. Right now, I have a lot of pink ones blooming.

The Black-Eyed Susans are starting to open now, too. I did not plant these myself; they were a welcome leftover from the person who had the plot prior to me. They were one of the "surprise" perennials I discovered in my first year at the garden.

The blue sage plant has been providing a steady profusion of blooms since May. I always have plenty for cutting.

Carrots & Beets with Thyme

Weeds weren't the only thing I pulled from the garden yesterday. I also took out our spring crop of carrots and beets.

The beets were very small, but usable nonetheless. I roasted them in a bit of olive oil and reserved them for use in a salad.

With the carrots, I decided to mix in some of the beet stems, fresh thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper. I roasted this in the oven for about a half hour.


Afterwards, I topped everything off with a squeeze of fresh orange juice and a bit of orange zest, for a delicious side dish.

The Plot Thickened

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Battling a bad cold for the past week and a half, I didn't get out to our garden plot very much. In my absence, it seems like the weeds were having a party over there -- growing like crazy, entangling themselves among the flowers and such. Geez. I'm gone a few days and everything goes haywire.


So today I spent a good three hours trying to get things back in order. I pulled this entire wheelbarrow full of weeds. I should have taken before and after photos of the plot, but I think, from the size of this pile, you can just imagine what it was like.

I am so tired right now. I'm done for the day.

Pull Up a Chair, It's Time for Compost Tea!

Friday, July 07, 2006

I mentioned before that we once had dahlias growing in our bathroom closet, but that's not all we had growing in there. Believe me, I saved the best for now.

My wonderful husband read that comfrey makes a perfect liquid fertilizer and he wanted to test it out. I said, "Sure. Go for it. Have fun. That's all you."

So he researched comfrey and bought several plants of a non-invasive variety. He planted them in the garden late last summer and they really took off. In late October, he cut the leaves, put them in a tightly sealed tub of water (tightly sealed being a key point here), and he stowed the concoction in our bathroom closet for the winter. Yup, that's right. Comfrey tea, brewing in our bathroom, in our good ol', very large, multi-purpose, we-can-store-everything-in-here closet. It's our basement and junk drawer all in one.

So fast forward to, oh, say about March. I'm reaching for a roll of toilet paper one day, and I get a glance of The Bucket.

"Hey Mike, are you going to take the compost tea out to the garden soon? It's probably ready by now, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, I should take that out now," he replies.

Fast forward through April, May, and June. Repeat the same commentary on a regular basis, as the compost tea continues to fester in the closet. (I'm not bitter about this at all, can you tell?)

Surprisingly, and very fortunately, there was no odor emanating from The Bucket, and by then, I believed the tea might have dried up.

So finally -- FINALLY! -- one day he decided the time was, er -- ripe -- and he grabbed the bucket. He was ecstatic because, indeed, it contained a deep, chocolately-brown swirl of liquid. It was all going according to (his -- did I mention it was his?) plan.

Out at the garden, he broke the seal on that well-aged tub of compost tea and, honest to goodness, this is what it looked like.


I know. The non-gardening people who arrived at this blog via an innocent Internet search for "tea" have been thoroughly grossed out and have long since clicked away to a more pleasant blog. But I know the diehard gardeners among you are thinking -- Wow! Putrid brown liquid that will make my plants grow better -- Tell me more! (Admit it. You know who you are.)





Comfrey, as we learned from the New Book of Herbs, is one of the best natural fertilizers. It's high in potassium, calcium, iron and manganese. It mines these nutrients from the soil and stores them in the leaves. A tea made from the leaves will provide these nutrients directly to your plants. And if added to a compost heap, comfrey will speed up decomposition.

Yes, but how bad does it smell, you ask? Well, it had what I called a 'light manure scent.' Not quite as bad as I thought it was going to be, but let's just say, it's not something you want to spill inside your house.


So we diluted the tea and poured it all over the garden. And, oh, lucky us, there was a new batch of leaves ready to harvest. Time for a fresh brew! Michael cut the leaves, weighted them down with bricks, and added water.

It should take 3 - 5 weeks before the compost tea is ready to use. (Got that? Only 3 - 5 weeks, not months!) It really is that simple: cut leaves, add water and wait. The result is an inexpensive, organic fertilizer.

This new batch, though, I can assure you, is staying outside to brew.

Can this rosemary plant be saved?

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Our rosemary plant is dying. It grew wonderfully last year -- and the year before -- but a few weeks ago, it started turning brown on us. We didn't treat it any differently than in previous years, so what could have gone wrong?

When we saw it was beginning to dry up, we added more water and fertilizer. Even with all the rain we've had over the past few weeks, though, there has been no improvement. It has just gotten worse.

I am wondering if there's a way to save the small part in the front that's still green. Any ideas or advice? Can an ailing rosemary plant be rescued?

The Island of Misfit Plants

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

This is how one of our vegetable beds looks today. I'm calling it the Island of Misfit Plants, because it's a menagerie of random things right now.

In the spring, this was one of the prettiest spots in the garden. We had our lettuces, broccoli, potatoes, bok choy, beets, carrots, and red cabbages in there. Now we have...

...the beets and carrots that have stopped growing because it's too hot. (I don't blame them. I don't want to do anything in this hot weather either.)

...one chive plant full of weeds.

...The Lone Edamame. Out of about 12 seeds I planted, only one grew. (But hey, it's blooming now... so that's progress!)

...The Lone Brussels Sprout. Again, out of a row of seeds, only one grew. I think the rest of the seeds washed away in the torrential rain.

...The Headless Broccoli. This poor misfit was overshadowed by its larger broccoli brothers and sisters, and never got enough sun. I decided to leave it in and see if it will grow to its full potential.

So there you have it, The Island of Misfit Plants. I don't know what else to put in at this point. Maybe cucumber seedlings? It's too late for the spring things, and too early for the fall things. So maybe I'll just work on building the soil until I can figure out what comes next.