Pesto, Hold the Cheese

I love pesto.

Each time I make pesto, it's a new adventure. In days past (read: the days when cheese and dairy were a part of my regular life), I loaded my version up with tons of best-quality Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese.

My friend, Miss A, gets a regular delivery from a local farm with lots of lovely veggies and fruit. This past week, she announced that there were 6 bunches of fresh basil on offer, for just $1 a bunch. I jumped on that deal right away since pesto and summer go hand in hand in my book.

I stored the basil in the fridge for a day in a large bowl filled with water. The scent was evocative of Gran Fran's kitchen. She used a regular blender to make pesto. I remember her stationed at our counter, wearing a kerchief on her head, an apron around her neck. She would bang and shake the blender as it did it's thing, to ensure that all the ingredients would mix properly. It also created a great amount of noise, which Gran Fran is capable of with or without electrical appliances.

My dad bought her a food processor as a gift once, but it was promptly returned. Why? Her claim was that a food processor would cut one's hand off, and lead to all manner of calamity for the cook. Have I mentioned that a world-class cook such as Gran Fran, refused (and continues to this day) to use real knives while cooking. She will go as far as a dull paring knife, but otherwise, depends on butter knives and sometimes an old serrated steak knife. Her fear of sharp implements has not, however, kept her from cooking up a storm.

My modern-day pesto consists of walnuts, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon and, of course, basil. I don't miss the cheese, and hope you won't either. Oh, and I used a food processor for the very first time for this recipe. It took me all of ten minutes to whip up three huge batches of pesto. And, I'd like to report back, I survived my food processor time with not a scratch upon me.

Pesto: Vegan-Style

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 bunches of basil, leaves separated from stems, stems discarded
• 4 cloves garlic, skin removed
• 1/2 cups walnuts (pine nuts or almonds work well here, too)
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt (sea salt is real nice!)
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup Olive Oil
• Black Pepper to taste

Method:

• Set up your food processor with the largest bowl you have and the metal chopping blade (looks like a fan blade).
• Put basil, garlic, walnuts, lemon juice and salt in the bowl. You may need to do batches, depending on how large the bowl is
• Process the mixture for 30 seconds, until the basil starts to get chopped into really small bits.
• Through the feeder tube, start adding the olive oil, slowly, until the mixture reaches the consistency you prefer. To be honest, you may need a bit more than I recommend, based on how thick or thin you want the mixture to be.
• Once you are satisfied with the consistency, remove pesto from the work bowl into a container that has an airtight lid.
• Add pepper.
• Before sealing the container, add a layer of olive oil to help preserve the green color of the pesto.

This recipe freezes well, for future pesto enjoyment.

Olives

Gran Fran sent me a link to a site with a list of all sorts of cooking and food related contests. For the most part, they ask for a recipe, usually including a food or spice from a particular vendor and a little story about your recipe.

As you know, I likes me a little story, especially when it has to do with my cookin'. I've entered three recipes today in two contests, one of which was for Lindsay Olives. Here is my entry. It truly is delicious.

I grew up eating this kind of dish in my parents' home. It takes me back to grade school, doing homework in the kitchen, while my mom cooked. We'd trade stories of the day, and she'd help with my homework while mincing and browning the garlic.

I especially loved taking the olives from the can and "wearing" them on my fingers. It was a handy way to eat a little pre-dinner snack, too.
The richness of the walnuts against the tang of the onions and salty, warm flavors of the olives create a nice counterpoint of flavors. I choose to use brown rice pasta these days, no gluten for me, but my mom used a whole wheat pasta. Any pasta will work here, even rice noodles, if it's what you have on hand. The sauce is the key, the depth of the flavors and crunch of the walnuts.
This dish is also great cold, as a side dish for a picnic, or holiday potluck.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup  Lindsay chopped black olives, drained
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 lb pasta spirals (whole wheat or brown rice pasta is nice)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 diced red onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
4 tbsps Olive Oil, divided, plus some for drizzling at end

Method:

• Set a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil for pasta.
• Put drained, chopped olives in a bowl, add 2 cloves minced garlic, salt, pepper and *red pepper flakes.
• Leave to marinate while pasta water boils, and pasta cooks.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add 2 tbsps olive oil to pan, swirl to coat.
• Lower heat to medium, add remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic, and chopped red onions.
• Sautee until golden, then reduce heat to low.
• Add chopped walnuts, moving them around in the pan so they brown evenly.
• Cook pasta according to directions on box.
• Just before it's cooked through, add marinated olives to the onion, garlic, walnut mixture.
• Raise heat to medium. Heat until olives are just warmed.
• Drain pasta and place in large bowl.
• Pour onion, garlic, walnut and olive mixture over pasta and mix.
• Drizzle olive oil over mixed pasta, add a pinch of salt and *red pepper flakes.
• Serve and enjoy!

(*red pepper can be omitted for more tender palates.)

dinner and a movie

Last night, I had a lovely, homey evening with my daughter, Ms. Iz. We ate linguine with butter. This does not sound spectacular, but it was because it gave us a meal fast and simple and satisfying enough to fill us, and left us with plenty of snuggle time.

To be honest, I hadn't had pasta with butter until very recent times. Gran Fran thought it a sin to use anything other than olive oil on all things pasta. As a matter of fact, she cooks her scrambled eggs in olive oil, too, so to this day, I gag at the taste of eggs cooked in butter. While Gran Fran just about passes out when she hears of said atrocity.

The butter pasta was a direct result of Julie & Julia. You know, how the butter is the queen in all of her recipes. As the movie progressed, Ms. Iz asked for a bowl of pasta. Whilst making it, I asked her if she prefered butter to olive oil (which I rarely do). She said, well, since Julia is using butter let's have butter. And, I'd also like to point out, this was her second viewing of the movie, and that she has proclaimed it her new favorite movie.

For anyone who has read my blog in the past, you know about the love affair I've had with Julia for pretty much my whole life. And, so, to be able to see the movie once again, have my daughter love it, and get to eat a bowl of butter pasta (mine with walnuts, red pepper flakes and garlic), it turned out to be a very nifty evening.

As for this evening. I'm back on romance (see previous post) as well as a childhood favorite. First in the queue was Love Actually. A sappy and beautiful movie about 7 different love stories in Britain that are somewhat intertwined. Lovley characterization of all kinds of love...first love, broken love, unrequitted love...and all perfect. The best part is when the little 10 year old girl is singing "All I Want For Christmas is You". Apparently, I 'm a sucker for a good romance.

Right now, it's High Society. There is no way to describe the beauty of this film. It is funny, sweet, smart and best of all a musical! You get Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly and Celeste Holmes. Cocktails are in order (many mixed drinks and much champagne is consumed), but I can't do that when I'm on my own, so I'll just watch and imagine.

Somehow, before VCRs or DVDs, we watched this movie many atime when I was little. Maybe it wasn't as often as I thought. More likely, it's due to the soundtrack being played over and over again.

All 5 of us (and Gran Fran and Joe, as well) can still sing every song in this movie. I remember putting on shows with my sisters and brother (5 of us in 7 years, we had enough voices fora pretty good chorus) in the living room. We used a piece of drywall (who knows where it came from) as a dance floor. There are Super 8 movies of this somewhere, I think.

Thanks to Joe, there was plenty of Frank Sinatra, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. Gran Fran leaned more towards Motown and Latin music. And both of them love a good musical. So we had quite a variety, always singing along, no matter if you knew the words, just get out there and sing it!

So, my friends, here is the recipe for my butter pasta, and please do make yourselves some and watch a couple of my faves along with a nice glass of wine!

Linguine with Butter and Walnuts
serves 4

Ingredients

1 lb best quality Linguine
1 large pot of salted boiling water
3 Tbsps Butter
3 Tbsps Olive Oil
1/4 cup chopped Walnuts

• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
  1 leaf fresh Sage, minced
  To Taste: Salt, Red Pepper and Pepper

Method

• Boil Linguine to your liking (I prefer mine a little on the soft side for this recipe).
• While pasta is cooking, heat a small non-reactive saucepan over medium heat.
• Add butter, olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
• Once the butter has melted, lower the heat to low-medium and all the garlic and walnuts.
• Saute until the garlic is browned slightly and the walnuts glisten.
• Remove from the heat and pour over the cooked pasta.
• Sprinkle the sage and a bit more pepper and red pepper flakes over the pasta.

Enjoy!