Pesto Without Pine Nuts

Basil is booming in the home garden, so it's time for pesto. Traditionally, pesto contains pine nuts, but I don't add them because they leave a strange taste in my mouth for a couple of days. "Pine nut mouth." Basic recipe: about 2 cups of fresh basil leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of high-quality olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 cups of shredded Parmesan cheese, or Romano, or Pecorino. Pulse everything except olive oil in the foot processor. Then add the olive slowly to the food processor. Adjust measurements to your liking. We always like more garlic. You can freeze this in an air-tight container if you have any left over. Our favorite way to eat pesto? A "green on red" presentation. Add a big scoop of pesto as a topping on homemade spaghetti sauce. Life is good. My teeth are green.

Got Tomatoes?

Tomatoes and basil from the garden - turned into tomato-basil sauce for future dinners and cooking projects. Recipe: Pulse sliced tomatoes, basil and salt in a food processor until it becomes a chunky slurry. Saute onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil until slightly browned. Add tomatoes. (I did several batches in the processor). Cook in low until bubbly and reduced a bit. Adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, basil). Transfer to a crock pot and simmer on low for 8 hours, or until the sauce turns a dark red. Cool and pour into freezer containers.

Panini Simplicity

I had forgotten that paninis and such treats. My daughter learned how to make them at Jr. Chef School. This one has ham, Wwiss, tomato and fresh basil leaves on sourdough.