Saturday 22 November 2014

Getting On With Life (Hissy Fit Solutions) ..... and Basil Pesto


Sometimes having a hissy fit is just what you need, every now and then it certainly is for me.  The fact that you lovely lot were there for me with practical encouragement and words of wisdom helped greatly .... THANK YOU,  and today I am just getting on with things which I find is the best hissy fit solution of all.

My other hissy fit solutions are -

Treat Yourself
 Make Something
 Sort Something Out
Take Action
and  Do Something you've been putting off for ages.

So last night it was a tasty tea, and almost a full bottle of wine over the course of the evening ... hic!!
Today it was making the Basil Pesto
I sorted through some more books and things to take to the charity shop next time I'm in town.
I took action and sorted out the dogs for next week to make life a little easier for me and them.  The Jack Russells will be going to the kennels from Monday until Friday so they don't get totally stressed with the conservatory roof being off.  Suky the Pug is laid back enough for it not to bother her and Charley is going to the vets on Tuesday to be spayed so she need s to be at home, but will hopefully be a little subdued after her operation.
And I finally got round to tackling the ironing ... which means I have clothes in the wardrobe I can wear again!!

Hopefully that's things sorted for a while and me back on the straight and narrow, I firmly believe in doing something when necessary and not wallowing for too long!!

*** *** *** *** *** 

Making Something - Basil Pesto

Big Basil the basil plant from the kitchen windowsill was finally past his best, he's been cut right down to soil level on numerous occasions and sprouted right on back, but now he was ready to be used for the final time and give me back some much needed daylight through the window.


All his leaves were pulled off, his stems were thrown to the chickens and the spent compost from the pot was tipped into the compost bin behind Chicken World, ready to be transformed by the magic of warmth and worms back into usable compost once more.


I whizzed up the leaves with an equal amount in weight of nuts, in my case Cashew nuts, I didn't have any Pine nuts which are used in traditional Basil Pesto, I was also lacking o
in the Garlic department, but a good squeeze from my tube of garlic paste did the trick.  I trickled in Olive Oil until it was the right consistency and added some Sea Salt and freshly ground Back Pepper, then I tasted it and wondered why it didn't taste right at all ......


..... DUH!!  

I had forgotten to add an equal weight of Parmesan Style Cheese.

So I did.


Et Voila!!

Cubes of Basil Pesto to pop into the freezer.  Once these were fully frozen they were tipped from the ice cube trays into a lidded plastic box.  Now they are ready for action, I use them to make a simple pasta sauce literally just stirred into hot cooked pasta and then sprinkled with more Parmesan.  Dotted on pizzas or into quiches and pies they add a wonderful fresh taste,  and I add them to anything I want to give a garlicky, herby hit to.

The thing to remember when making it is to simply have pretty equal measures of Basil (or other green leaves), Nuts and Parmesan (or similar) cheese, then add oil to get to your desired consistency and salt and pepper to taste.

Sue xx

7 comments:

  1. I meant to make some pesto with the last of our basil and didn't get round to it. Shame on me, yours looks great. Next time I will make sure I get on with it. I've still got some rocket growing, I wonder if that would make something similarly flavourful?

    Jean x

    ReplyDelete
  2. There's only one problem with Pesto - a heap of ingredients only makes a little pesto. I love it but I'm on my own in that so I only make it now and again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My daughter whipped up a batch of pesto the other day to use her basil before it froze. I'm not sure she was as clever as you to put it in ice cube trays to freeze. Clever! Glad your hissy fit is past, but it really was entertaining.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've found that lots of basil leaves and a bit of oil can make a tasty pesto out of pretty much anything.
    I found a lovely idea to make broccoli pesto, fabulous in a sandwich or pasta.
    http://www.thriftylesley.com/broccoli-pesto-pasta-28p-a-serving/

    Tried it with cauli stems too and that worked well. There are some more ideas in this post, many of which I have tried and liked.
    http://www.thriftylesley.com/cauliflower-stalk-pesto/

    LarderLove.com has some great ideas for pesto too including ones for carrot tops, runner beans and apple and celery

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love pesto but I'm the only one so jars often go off before I use them all, I think freezing them is a brilliant idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Freezing works beautifully for both homemade and shop bought Pesto. :-)

      Delete
  6. I like it made with parsley and a strong cheddar for a change, I use what ever nuts that I have in, half and half walnuts and almonds are good.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now turned off for this old blog of mine. Thank you for reading the posts, I hope you enjoyed them. xx

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.