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Psychedelic Pesto

When you have a plethora of basil, it's time to make pesto. Nothing says it's summer like some beautiful green pesto.

In my last post, I bragged about my basil plants. In all the years I've gardened, I've never had this much basil this early in the season. Now I must brag about my beautiful pesto. Look at how bright green and fresh it is - the picture doesn't do justice the the almost lime green color.

And the taste . . . ahh. I base my pesto on a recipe in the original The Silver Palate cookbook. It calls for the usual basil, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese, but instead of pine nuts it calls for walnuts. The walnuts add a nice, rich taste, and they're a lot less expensive than pine nuts. I pretty much follow the proportions in the recipe except for the olive oil - I tend to use a lot less than the recipe calls for.

From this very large batch, I made one big pot of pasta with pesto, then froze the rest. I spoon the pesto into ice cube trays, freeze, then transfer the frozen cubes into a Ziploc freezer bag.

First Peas

Mmmmm . . . . The first peas from the garden (not a great picture, I know, but the lighting in our kitchen is pretty poor). I mixed them into a salad of greens and radishes from the garden with a light raspberry vinaigrette. For the recipe, see below.

The shelling peas are Spring, and the snap peas are Super Sugar Snap. The peas were wonderful, but I'm beginning to wonder if they are worth the trouble. They take up a lot of space which could be devoted to things like beans. Also, because we went right from cool to hot this spring, the plants are already showing signs of tapering off. Maybe Minnesota just doesn't have the right climate for these cool-season crops.

Along with our garden salad, we had grilled T-bones and bakery bread. It was the perfect summer meal. I'll give the instructions for how I make steak on the grill, because I think it's the best there is.

Raspberry Vinaigrette for Two
All measurements are approximate - use the proportions you like.

Scant 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. raspberry vinegar
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (the good stuff)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp sugar.

Whisk all together until emulsified. Adjust ingredients to taste. Enough for two good-sized side salads.

Balsamic Marinated Steak
Steaks - we use T-bones or rib eyes
Balsamic vinegar - NOT the cheapest at the store, but also not the most expensive
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated horseradish (optional) - the real thing, not a "sauce"

About 30 minutes before you plan to grill the steak, place steaks in a shallow pan. Rub first side of each steak with 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (I'm liberal with the pepper). Turn over and repeat on other side of steaks. Let sit at room temperature until ready to grill. Serve with grated horseradish on the side.