Posted on 05/01/2025 6:15:12 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Authentic pesto Genovese (Basil Pesto)
4 c fresh basil leaves, rinsed/drained on kitchen towel
2/3 c ol/oil
1/3 c pine nuts, toasted or not
1/3 c shredded Parm
2 peeled gar/cl,
1 tsp coarse salt
2 Tb fresh l/juice
Instructions layer in processor fitted w/ metal blade, pushing down to fit, basil, rest ing on top. Pulse 20 times. Then scrape down sides. Pulse 20 more times, scrape again. Run machine about 5 sec. Scrape again. Taste to make adjustments. Run a final 5-10 sec, at most; pesto should be perfect.
“Does anyone have a great pesto recipe handy?”
https://www.loveandlemons.com/pesto-recipe/
I love this whole Blog - and I own her cookbook. It’s really good.
I’ve done half Basil/half Kale and it’s really good Pesto that way, too.
I think she has a Kale Pesto Recipe on her blog somewhere if you’re interested - and she lists DOZENS of ways to use Pesto, too. Very handy site.
Thank you, ladies! You’re awesome!
Re: Pine Nuts - they are expensive, so either cut them with another mild nut or take out that second Mortgage, LOL!
I don’t like Walnuts - hate the bitter aftertaste they sometimes have (for me, anyway) so I will use Almonds or Cashews as first choices on nuts. OK...Cashews above all. ;)
I am using salad dressing from a bottle *GASP* but I usually make my own dressings all summer long. Here are a bunch of recipes I found in case you'd like to try your hand at making your own, too.
How to Make Homemade Salad Dressing – 9 Easy Recipes! From: 'Bless This Mess' Blog
https://www.blessthismessplease.com/homemade-salad-dressing-recipes/
Great tip! They are delicious and so expensive. I’m not a walnut fan either. When a recipe calls for walnuts, I usually substitute pecans. I think cashews or almonds sound like decent substitutes for pine nuts. Appreciate it!
I do believe Amazon has over a 10% “snafu” rate with me. The latest is a 24-pack, except what arrived was a TWO-pack — the bag (inside the shipping packaging) labelled as a 24-pack.
My guess is that the entire inventory is that way, as Amazon is only giving me refund options, and telling me to keep the 2-pack.
We could always plant our own Pinon Pines and have Pine Nuts in about 50 years, LOL!
Got my crew coming over today so I can, 'Tom Sawyer' them into some garden chores. If I determine that the soil is still too wet/cool to get the tomatoes and peppers in, I have a whole host of other chores they can 'help' me with. I AM going to feed them, though. ;)
No ping went out to the list.
I found these very creative ways of dealing with stink bugs. They’re all very different.
They really wreaked havoc on my tomatoes last summer. I plan on using the vacuum them up method for during the growing season.
The others, I’ll try for towards the fall.
How We Got Rid of Stink Bugs | Easy DIY Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Trap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZxkmmImRIc
This One Thing Will Get Rid of All Squash Bugs & Stink Bugs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWhvGa1N5Xk
BEST Stink Bug Trap EVER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwUuHhWYvDA
We’re coming off a cold, miserable, dreary week of complete overcast, low temperatures, and rain on and off.
I cannot fathom how someone can live in the Pacific Northwest.
I was going to put my tomatoes and peppers early but saw the forecast and put it off. I kept them inside under the grow lights to give them as much a boost in growth as possible, since I started them late.
The rest of the stuff is doing just fine.
LOL, too funny!
Btw, last night on a whim we decided to have Culver’s for dinner. I had a single patty deluxe butter burger with all the fixins, and hubby tried the grilled Reuben melt. OMG. Filled that craving nicely, plus no pots and pans for us to do afterwards!
It’s nice to have a Culver’s near us now. Just 10 minutes away! :)
I love squash, but finally just HAD IT with fighting stink bugs & quit growing squash. If I get room to grow squash at the new place, I might give it a try ... for the garden, the vacuum looks like it would work best & maybe leave out a Pepsi bottle light trap or two at night. Thanks for the links!
I’m going to grow zucchini this year and one suggestion I heard is growing a fast maturing variety. So I found a couple and will start them in peat pots in early July and then be ready to start another batch just a little later in early August in case the July ones don’t work out.
Epic Gardening has a method for staking zucchini and growing them UP.
Grow Zucchini Vertically to Save Space And Boost Harvests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drzr7ZJ0B14
It’s just short of a 6 minute video.
That’s just beautiful! Next add some cucumbers, red onion, carrots, and tomatoes from your garden as those come in! ;)
And speaking of dogs, this happened yesterday... Thursday is bin day here... I loaded the cans on the truck and drove to the public road to set them out... I'm unloading bins and out of nowhere appears a dog... one I'd not previously seen... no collar, no tags, obviously a stray... I greeted him and he came over to say hello... I gave him some pets and told him to go home... he headed up the road... I got back in the truck and went back to the house.
I didn't think anything more about it until later in the afternoon... my dog all the sudden started throwing a fit... I look outside and see stray dog in my driveway... went out and greeted him again... grabbed a couple milk bones and enticed him into the dog yard... shut him in, made sure there was food and water out, then went out to visit with him some more.
Intact male, guessing 5-6 months old, bone skinny and packing a decent load of ticks, but otherwise seems healthy enough. He's super friendly and very grateful for the groceries and pets he was getting.
Called Pops and found out that stray dog had spent a good part of the afternoon hanging out at his house. Pops likes the dog but he's almost 83yo and doesn't want the daily responsibility of keeping one. Mrs. Augie gets home, meets dog, likes dog, but we've already got a dog so she called county animal control to come pick him up. By that time it was after hours for them so she left a message with our name/address/phone number. No callback. Morning comes, dog is still in the pen. We fed him then left for an appointment we had out of town. Got home at noon, dog is still here. By this time #1 Marine Daughter and her doberman have been here to see stray dog. Everyone likes him and he gets along with our dogs so we're going to have him checked for a tracking chip. If he's chipped we'll contact the owner in hopes of returning the dog. I'll also check to see if he's been tattooed inside of the mouth or ears. If he gets picked up by animal control there's a 90% chance he would be euthanized in less than a week so if there's no proof of ownership to be found we're going to keep him. Bad luck for someone else I suppose, but that's what chips and tattoos are for, right?
My guesstimation is that he's a Treeing Walker. If he gets to stay here we're going to call him Howard. Howard the Dog. What sort of goofball names a dog Howard? lol
The other tactic I’ve heard for squash bugs is to grow squash much later in the year. This avoids the ‘spring’ invasion which is when they are most abundant. My SIL grew yellow squash probably late July, early August & didn’t have much of a problem at that time.
I sent the vertical zucchini on to my 2 nieces who have great gardens. Zucchini looks ‘bush’ like - I didn’t know you could go vertical with it - thanks!
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