Pesto!

Ahhh...the joys of square foot gardening! I'm having so much fun this year with the new garden! It is absolutely beautiful and producing like crazy! Sometimes it can feel a bit overwhelming. The produce is so lovely I don't want anything to go to waste! (When some goes to the chickens I don't consider that wasteful!) My self-inflicted challenge this year is to use as much as possible from the garden and experiment with lots of new ideas!
I planted some really random things this year. I have a goji berry bush, daikon radishes and edamame. I'm crossing my fingers they will grow and flourish in our climate and their little squares. So far I have harvested one planting of the daikon radishes! What a treat!

I can't stop taking pictures! I go out every morning to see how things look! I never get tired of it and I'm always amazed at how quickly things are growing! The pea plants have completely amped up in the last week and are covered with flowers and peas! (The peas are against the fence in this pic and now as high as the fence!)
I feel very indulged and blessed to go out in the morning and pick fresh spinach for our scrambled egg breakfast and again, visit in the evening and pick fresh peas to top our "catch of the day" salad for dinner! Bliss...

We've also planted a few odds and ends in containers around the garden...

A summer squash plant...(The bad birdies have been eating some of the squash blossoms!)

A container of wintergreen mint..It's thriving! I'm hoping to make throat lozenges at some point!

Um...a possible mis-step...Brussels sprouts that may or may not produce and are taking over their squares as well as several others!

Anyway...I LOVE pesto! Back in the day I thought it was so exotic and must be difficult to make. I used to purchase it in expensive little containers at specialty stores. A few years ago my "pretty much knows everything" daughter showed me how to make my own pesto! Yay...

I only planted 2 squares of arugula this year and put it in a wee bit late. It has a tendency to "bolt" quickly as soon as the weather heats up. I didn't want that to happen! I picked a bowl of tender and nutty arugula and decided to make pesto!

It's soooo easy! I really like how versatile pesto is. You can use so many different things! I plan to make a lot more as other herbs become available in my garden. I LOVE basil and pine nut pesto. Maybe my fav. But...this arugula pesto turned out great and I made it with the raw pecans I had on hand! I like how you can make several versions of pesto...each one equally tasty!

You really can't go wrong with nuts and garlic...

The finished product! The green is just so vibrant! I ended up freezing this batch (very freezer friendly!) and plan to use it at our monthly pizza night! You can also freeze smaller batches in ice cube trays and use it all winter! If you are freezing it just omit the Parmesan cheese until it's thawed and you are ready to use!

This is my "go to " recipe for pesto. Of course you can sub with almonds or pine nuts, basil, parsley, or spinach!

Garden Fresh Pesto

2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of nuts
1 or 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
2 cups of tightly packed fresh arugula, washed, dried and roughly chopped
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Combine the garlic and nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the lemon juice and arugula and process until finely minced.
Add the olive oil, salt and pepper and process again until smooth.
Add the Parmesan with a final pulse. (unless freezing)

If you didn't get your garden in this year...don't be discouraged! All the local farmers markets are opening up! Go grab some lovely fresh produce!