Tales of Gardens & Basil Pesto

The rather unseasonal rainfall in the usually dry-by-now Autumn Highveld of South Africa has had a lovely effect on the garden. Rare bits of sunshine and a proliferation of public holidays have added to the garden magic which has transpired.

A previously unused corner of the garden was transformed into a circular winter vegetable patch, with radish and turnip seeds germinating in a record four days from planting.

Our roses are looking ever-so-pretty.

As are the azaleas.

The basil plants, grown from seed last summer, have blossomed into deliciously useful plants, regularly culled for salads and pastas. Knowing, however, that the frost is approaching and with a few regular snail visitors (that I am loathe to kill) leaving their mark, I decided that the time had come to harvest the lot and enjoy the benefits of homemade pesto (of which I am a committed fan - think Adam Sandler as Zohan with his hummus...'nuff said).

Ingredients:

• a colander full of basil
• 100g raw cashews
• 1 very, very large tub of grated parmesan
• about 500ml of olive oil (not too peppery)
• salt and pepper
• lemon juice to cut the oiliness

Method:

1. Strip the leaves off the basil and add to a food processor or blender. Take a moment to lament the fact that fresh basil season is now over, and that a whole lot of basil + hard work is about to = a few tiny containers of pesto.
2. Add the raw cashews, and enough oil to get the "zhoeshing" started. A fruity olive oil is, in my opinion, going to serve you better than one with a peppery bite which clings to the back of your throat.
3. Pour more oil in a thin stream through the lid of the blender/food processor while it's running till the desired consistency is reached.
4. Stir through the parmesan and seasoning with a spatula, and then add sufficient lemon juice to supply the necessary "Nya!" factor...you know, the point that the tongue hits the top of your palate as your cheeks suck-in and your salivary glands do their thing...that's when it's ready.
5. Glass jars or stainless steel tubs work well as storage containers so that plastic doesn't become permanently infused with pesto green.
6. Proudly stand back and enjoy the fact that all the basil didn't go to waste by being frosted to death, or eaten by greedy snails, and then promptly make some pasta to eat your new stash with.

P.S. I've added a small write-up on Tina Fey's Bossypants to the Bookshelf tab if you're interested in buying the book.

P.P.S. Thank you for the comments I've been getting. I thoroughly enjoy reading them. Please don't hesitate, as every one is appreciated :-)

"Then bring me my boots!"

I have an addiction for pretty Wellington boots.

I think somewhere in my psyche I harbour grand dreams of owning some sprawling manor house, with acres worth of fields on my doorstep that require stomping through with the requisite footwear.

Indeed.

* dreamy sigh *

 In the meantime, these lovelies are content to keep my tootsies warmly bundled in woollen socks as I tramp about my Winter garden, gingerly splashing water about.

Yes, Winter. 

While the rest of the Northern hemisphere bloggers wax lyrical about the bounties of Spring appearing outside their windows and in their kitchens, we South Africans (and others here on Mother Earth's Southern nether regions) brace ourselves for the claws of cold which are spookily wrapping themselves around early mornings and late afternoons.

So I cheer myself by thinking of my gum boots. My wellies. The foot attire which allows me to "Keep Calm and Carry On" as I trundle through this coming cool season.

For as the Irish proverb goes:

"“The man with the boots does not mind where he places his foot.”

My bucket boot list:

• Laetitia Maklouf and Margaret Roach - rocking the boots garden style.
• Penny and Higgins-the-dachshund, who brave the mud over at Planet Penny.
• To put you in the *moo*d for a funky pair of boots of your very own, head over to Gardening in My Rubber Boots.
• Love these retro birdie rain boots from Amazon.

Basilicious!

My twenties have brought with them a taste for fresh basil that my teens did not harbour. I am an avid balcony gardener, and proudly nursed a fledgling basil plant to glorious and riotous bloom right through the highveld Winter of 2009 (a miracle in itself, apparently, when even Keith Kirsten says to rip 'em out and start fresh in Summer), only to have a garden critter who likes the taste almost as much as hubs and I decimate it a month before Spring. The joys of pesticide-free gardening, right?

So the fresh basil for today and tomorrow's recipes comes courtesy of a friend and colleague of mine, Carolina, who gifted me with a large ziploc bag full of beautiful basil before Winter gets its claws in.

Cheesy Sweet Potato with Leafy Greens

1. Scrub sweet potatoes and bake, wrapped in tinfoil, in an oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 60 minutes.
2. Once soft, slice open about three-quarters of the way through, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and insert a slice of Gouda cheese. Pop the potato back in the still-warm oven for about 5 minutes till the cheese is melted.
   
3. Serve on a bed of salad greens (I used sweet iceberg lettuce, fresh basil and cucumber slices).
4. Born-up-a-gluten-free-tree!