Cooking with Zoe: I love basil

This town is great. I can pretty much walk the length of it from one end to another with ease, even carrying Sofia the whole way. I'm like a walking advertisement for the Ergo, everyone asks me about it! And with few things scheduled in my days yet, and with how good it is for Sofia to get out of the house and have things to look at and explore, I've taken advantage of almost every opportunity I've had to visit our farmers' market. It is a small market, but its location is just so picturesque and pleasant. It's centered on the town green, a strip of grassy lawn in the middle of the town, peppered with trees and book ended by a huge gazebo and the downtown-y area. 

A new friend mentioned she buys loads of basil there and makes pesto in bulk so she can freeze it to use in the winter. 


!! 


I love pesto. My husband loves pesto - perhaps even more than me. I have been so frustrated for the past year to have so much trouble finding quality, affordable basil that I've been reluctant to make any pesto at all. So off to the farmers' market I went [twist my arm!], and I shopped around the different vendors to figure out where I should buy. I ended up buying it from one woman, Sarah of Small Wonder Organics, almost more because she seemed cool and nice than that I figured the price was best. [getting to know your farmers at your farmers' market is such a hip ideal these days, I'm so thrilled to finally be able to do it and not just glorify the idea of this practice!] 


A bit over eager, I was starting to ask her how much she would charge for a FEW pounds worth. She wisely encouraged me to look at what just one pound looked like and I humbly agreed to start with that, knowing I could find her if I needed so much more so soon. All of this I got at less than a fifth of the price I had been accustomed to paying in the San Diego grocery stores. And for about a week, I've had this lovely smell of basil wafting from my kitchen into the other rooms of my house. I almost want to scatter it into flower vases just to spread the aroma. 


Day one I used all the pine nuts I had to make as many recipes worth of pesto as I could, which turned out to be about five [we made about five more recipes later, when we got our hands on some more pine nuts]. Here's the pesto recipe I use:


Pesto Recipe:


Ingredients:
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
[my mom ads 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco, which I never have around, so I skip]


Directions:
Process first six ingredients in food processor until finely chopped. Slowly add oil through feed tup with machine running until consistency is as desired. 


Pesto Uses:
I love to use pesto in pasta, with some grilled chicken and garlic sauteed mushrooms. That's probably our most common use. But we also love mixing it with some mayonnaise and grilled chicken to make chicken salad sandwiches. When I feel like splurging, I'll add in some artichoke hearts to that salad for some extra yum. When we're entertaining, I'll spread some pesto on some slices of a baguette, place a slice of tomato, and melt some mozzarella on top for a sure-fire-crowd-pleaser appetizer. 


A few nights ago, I made a caprese salad, which is just tomatoes, basil, and cheese [usually mozzarella, but I used some herbed goad cheese, also from the farmers' market, because that's what I had] with some basalmic vinegar and olive oil drizzled on top. And last night I made caprese paninis - the same ingredients grilled between some nice bread. So simple, and yet so stinking enjoyable! If any of this seems like too much work, I have to admit - I have been caught more than once in the past week just chomping on a leaf or two of basil on it's own. I feel a bit like a gourmet cow. 


None of this is terribly original or earthshattering, but I'm just twitterpated over how much GOOD basil I've been able to enjoy lately, I had to write about it. I hope you have a chance to visit YOUR local farmers market and make some good use of basil for yourself.