Crazy for Pesto

I always love to make pesto this time of year when the basil is so prolific you just have to do something before it reaches it tipping point and start to go bitter.. usually just about when the flowers buds appear on the plants. As I have stated in some of my previous posts, I am so fortunate to have an amazing neighbour Anton, who I and all of my friends refer to as the "Renaissance Man" he is such a person as he has so much knowledge in so many fields and is an amazing gardener. He is of of course much more organized than I am and has already harvested his first and second crop of basil and made amazing pesto, and he offered me the third cutting today and even sprayed it off last night so there would be no grit on it and make an easy job for me to prepare.. now that is helpful!

Since pine nuts are so expensive, I decided to make the pesto with walnuts ( Anton advised me to soak them overnight and then dehydrate them to near crispness to give a "clean" taste) and it worked out perfectly. Since I plan to use the pesto over the course of the coming months and year, I decided to freeze the pesto in zip lock bags which claim little storage space in the freezer and which are a breeze to use as you can just cut off the portion of the log of pesto that you want for the waiting culinary creation.
There are of course so many recipes out for pesto but I used a ratio of 2 cups basil to 1/2 olive oil to 1/2 cups nuts, a pinch of salt, a clove or two of garlic and processed it in my food processor. I did not add cheese as this doesn't freeze as well. Bon Courage with your pesto making efforts!

First post!

Last weekend I finally decided to start to write a blog so I could share my cooking and mothering adventures. I felt like it was time to really commit to eat seasonally so I could really enjoy the produce of my own garden, the Community Farm CSA and the local Ann Arbor farmers market. So enjoy this tomato, basil, potato and zucchini tart that I created for our evening dinner which I adapted from a classic quiche recipe my friend AD gave me
Pastry recipe:
1.5 cups all purpose flour, 1 stick of cold unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, 3-4 tbsp ice cold water. Mix flour and salt, add butter in a mixer until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, add water one tablespoon at a time until dough comes together and than STOP, as over mixing the dough will make it tough. You can wrap it in Saran wrap and place in the fridge for min 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 F and roll out the dough into a 12 inch round tart tin or dish and prick it with a fork, cover with grease proof paper and line with pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove the paper and weights and bake for a further 5 minutes until the pastry is pale golden.













Whilst the dough is baking, you can prepare the filling which is as follows
2 zucchini
1 tbsp olive oil
12 oz cooked new potatoes, sliced
4 oz Gruyere cheese
basil leaves
3 eggs
200 ml creme fraiche
150 ml milk
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Lightly brush the zucchini slices with oil and season. Cook in a pan until lightly brown on each side and remove from the pan to cool. Layer half of the potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes in the pasty case, season between layers and sprinkle a little Gruyere and a few basil leaves. Repeat this process finishing with a layer of tomatoes.
Beat together the eggs, cream fraiche, and milk, season with salt and pepper, then stir in the remaining Gruyere and half the parmesan. Pour this over the filling and sprinkle with the rest of the
parmesan.












Bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch. Place remaining basil as a garnish. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

This tart is great served with a green salad for a perfect classy and tasty seasonal lunch with friends! Enjoy