improv pesto

I love pesto in the middle of summer when I can use the herbs growing right on my porch. This is a variation on a more traditional pesto, built on the idea of using my Thai basil and flat-leaf parsley as principle ingredients and the Italian basil as background. It makes about 3/4 cup - 1 cup, but can easily be doubled. And it freezes nicely in ice cube trays if you have extra. I've also added a few serving variations below...

4-5 cloves garlic (to taste, I do love garlic)

1/4 cup of Italian basil leaves

1/2 cup of flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup of Thai basil

1/3 cup of walnuts

Olive oil

Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

I barely touched the garlic and herbs and just dropped it all in the food processor to find the right chunkiness. Then I added some olive oil and blended it more. How much olive oil is a matter of taste, and desired smoothness. I added just a bit of cheese because I wanted to shave the pecorino on top at the end. Again, this is a personal preference. Adding more cheese makes it creamier.

Whatever pasta is fine; I like angel hair because it seems to soak up everything nicely. I topped it with pecorino and salt + pepper....

Now, on the second day, with the leftover pesto... I hit on my favorite. After boiling the pasta and thowing it back in the pan with the pesto, I added a handful of fresh spinach leaves. They wilted nicely while I chopped a handful of grape tomatoes and more fresh parsley. To serve, I pulled out a portion of the pesto and lovely spinach and then topped it with chopped raw tomatoes, parsley, and a little salt. Because I didn't add too much oil to begin with, I touched off the top with a drop of olive oil. This version adds more veggies and eliminates the cheese, but the other flavors work really well together. Enjoy playing...

Apple-Walnut Pancakes

Difficulty: Easy
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

These are delicious! You can serve them with syrup or sprinkled with powdered sugar. My family gave it 5 stars!

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar
1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 sweet apples, peeled, cored, one cut into very fine dice and one coarsely grated
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk eggs, melted butter and vanilla to blend thoroughly. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and mix with whisk. Stopping when everything is just combined. Batter will be a bit lumpy. Gently fold in apples and walnuts.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook slowly for about 1-1/2 minutes, turn a cook until done.

Recipe from: 1st Traveler's Choice Internet Cookbook

Posted by Debi