pesto

So we made the pesto sauce last Saturday after gathering our ingredients during the previous days. I used the recipe found in The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. This is one of the best cookbooks and food guides to follow for anyone who is serious about eating whole, natural, simple, locally-grown, seasonal, fresh foods. I really hope to someday be able to have the experience of dining at her restaurant- Chez Panisse and really would love to create an Edible Schoolyard of my own someday here at home.

Here is Alice Waters' recipe...

Pesto 1 bunch basil, to yield about 1 lightly packed cup 1 garlic clove, peeled salt 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

I used raw pine nuts instead of lightly toasted and pecorino romano cheese instead of Parmesan. I also used some amazing olive oil that I bought at a food co-op nearby that was poured fresh out a big vat of golden olive oil stamped 'from GREECE'. This had to have made a difference in the taste. It was so, so good and didn't taste anything like the bottled oil from the supermarket.

Lately I have had a pair of four-year old hands that have been very eager to help out in the kitchen. Saturday was no exception. He thought that just in case there were some who wouldn't like the pesto sauce that he would prepare a bowl of pasta with just butter and romano. I wonder just who he could have been referring to.

It was a very simple meal served with loads of cherry tomatoes from my sister's garden. Sometimes I wonder why the dinner hour can be so intimidating when meal time can really be so very simple.






After all, simple food is an art and in my opinion one that is often sadly lost in the midst of a culture of fast food and complicated recipes.

Yet another area of life to simplify!