Peas, Pesto, and Preparation

Well the time of the Strawberry is just about over, but the time of the pea is just about full swing in the garden. For the past two days I have collected sugar snap peas from our garden. These tasty treats are a delight on a walk or just right in the garden. I love the fact that they are ready to eat as soon as you pick them off the vine.

In other news our basil is doing much better. It is done with its bout of fungal infection and is now a healthy crop. This past Thursday Naomi and I made garlic scape pesto once again. After being in the garden I can see that we will be able to harvest some more basil early next week and start making pesto and freezing it for the long winter months. I know they are still a long way off and look much further away during those 90 degree days, but I hate running out in mid January or February so we are going to put more away this year.

So I have decided to be like the ant and not the cricket. Preparation for the winter months needs to start early if you want to try to be a locavore.

Basil + Scapes = Pesto

Scapes are the flower stems of garlic. They are removed in order to force the garlic plant to put all of its energy into creating bigger bulbs of garlic. Scapes have their own wonderful flavor and can be used in any meal as a substitute for chives or garlic. In the recipe below it was used as a substitute for garlic since we were down to our last clove.

Pesto is an ancient dish whose roots go all the way back to ancient Rome. It can be found in supermarkets, but these are usually made with cheaper ingredients. If you have never made pesto yourself I suggest that you try. It is a wonderful sauce on pasta or pizza. And as always freshly made at home is always better than store bought.

Ingredients

2 cups of Basil

3 garlic scapes or 3 garlic cloves

1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup of Olive Oil

1/4 cup of Parmesan

(It is nice to have a food processor when making this dish)

Rinse the basil and the garlic scapes

Cut the flower part or the umbel from the scape

Put the washed garlic scapes in the food processor and chop them finely

Put the washed basil into the food processor and chop and mix it with the garlic scapes

Next add the Olive Oil through the top of the food processor as it is running.

Then add the toasted pine nuts into the food processor and chop and mix them in

Lastly add the Parmesan into the food processor and chop and mix it in.

Scrape the pesto out of the food processor into a bowl.

Then added it to whatever you desire and enjoy.

Remember that you can make more pesto than you will need and freeze it so you will have some in the long depths of winter.