Pesto is pesto, right?

Knowing how to make pesto is an invaluable culinary trick to have up your sleeve and can be used in countless dishes.

Basic Pesto recipe:

4 cups genovese basil leaves
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2-6 cloves garlic (depending on taste)
Dash sea salt/pepper

Blend with your hand held or your food processor to a paste.
Variations are endless –think about using half lemon-basil and half genovese (maybe add some lemon verbena for intensity) and squeeze a lemon into it for a fresher lemony flavor
Add sun-dried tomatoes for a darker color and a tangy-er flavor
Use Thai-basil and add a pinch of anise seeds for a more intense flavor.
For a milder flavor, use half spinach or for a fresher flavor use half parsley.
You can skip the olive oil and use cream –then add to a rue to make a creamy pesto

Use Pesto with hot pasta of any shape, semolina or whole wheat.  We like linguini for hot pesto and bowties for pasta salad – we add celery or fennel bulb and red pepper diced to the salad.  Also, it is nice presentation if you toast some pine nuts in a dry fry pan until they are golden brown and serve your pasta with a sprinkling of pine nuts and a sprig of basil or parsley you reserved for the plating.

Pesto is also delicious on a burger or a breast of chicken or a baked potato.  It makes an excellent addition to fresh bruschetta or on toasted garlic bread...makes a great veggie dip when added sparingly to cream cheese or sour cream.  

Get to know your basils and try adding pesto to your summer dishes.

Herbed Red Rice Medley

A wholesome crunchy rice dish that is high in iron, B-vitamins, protein and EFAs. It can be served as a salad or as a hot side dish or as a main lunch dish:

Cook 1 cup of brown rice and 1 cup of red rice with 3 cups water and a 1/4 cup of butter and a half teaspoon of salt in a rice cooker or over stovetop.

Sauteé in butter: one diced zucchini, one red pepper, 2 tomatoes, handfull button mushrooms and one onion.

Add tablespoon of oregano, teaspoon of garlic powder and a half cup of dry Take Charge Tea (nettle/mint/stevia).

Add cooked rice to crunchy sautéed veggies and herbs and stir into a big metal bowl or serving dish with a half cup of shelled hemp seeds (as available at "The Herb Garden")