Pesto Magic!

I had the good fortune to go on an amazing vacation last week ... with my boys (which we'll chat about in upcoming posts). Of course, any vacation brings with it the unfortunate re-entry day. And mine was especially bad for reasons I won't go into (because I'm trying to be nice and because excessive whining puts bad juju into the atmosphere).

I don't know about you, but when I'm mired in muck, I try to do something I really like (i.e. creative projects, visiting the library and lose myself in the 741's, etc.) ... or trying something new. As I was looking for inspiration, I noticed how my garden had really burst into life during the week we were gone. My formerly almost-dead basil plant looked like someone had been feeding it (by hand) and my zucchini plants looked downright tropical. So, I looked online for some great recipes for pesto and for chocolate zucchini bread.

Tonight's experiment in Pesto was quite successful! I combined goodies from a couple of online recipes, took my new little Hamilton Beach Deluxe 3-cup Chopper for a test drive and ... voilá ... a divine pesto that smells every bit as good as it tastes! Borrowing an idea from co-worker Katier, I filled an empty ice cube tray with spoonfuls of pesto to freeze. Now I have perfect-pasta-portions ready for winter eating. It's amazing what some fresh basil leaves, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt and a few ground pecans can become.

Nothing like accomplishing a new task (however small it may be) ... to make you feel empowered!