Basic Basil Pesto- Pesto Pasta- Basic Hummus -

Hello dear friends.

I wanted to comment on a few things that we've been talking about in our e-mails and then leave a new recipe.

K-

I LOVED Food, Inc. Such a powerful movie and made me so happy about my decision to go meatless. After watching it Corey decided to give up beef completely- as in FOREVER- well... until we can afford organic that is :) But still, I was totally thrilled about that. I wish so much we could afford "liquid gold," as Cal (my brother/Whit's hubby) calls it aka. Organic Milk. Someday. I think it is totally cool Katie that you are going to have your own chickens. Your eggs will be AWESOME! If you need any advice on it I would be happy to pass along questions to my grandparents who have raised chickens and gathered eggs for years. My Grandpa names his chickens the most adorable names and cares for his "girls." I remember specifically one chicken named "Babette." Awesome. I plan on renting a plot from the city this summer to garden... do you think they would let me put chickens in?

Emily: Kate has a great home-made laundry soap recipe... 2 actually. I have tried the liquid one that she recommends and really like it. I may be trying her dry one too as she likes it even better. The liquid one is less than a penny per load. Pretty awesome.

Kate: I am so excited to check out the things you recommended. Monsanto is the DEVIL! When you watch Food, Inc. I am sure you will agree. I will be picking up that movie and browsing those sites. Food, Inc. has a site too and you can sign a petition to improve school lunches. There is a link on the side of my blog for anyone that cares to check it out. Also, I tried that Vegan Lasagna Recipe because I have yet to find a normal veggie lasagna that I love. Would you share your recipe? I really liked that vegan one- and Corey did too which really surprised me- but I would love to try another one too.

Kate and Whit: I have tried that pizza crust recipe and have never been able to really make it work. I am pretty sure this is totally my fault though. Any tips on how to make it great?

Whit: Concerning stringy polluck: I think the recipe that I used it for helped. I didn't try to cut it up for something like fish tacos. I made it in a fish sandwhich so I didn't really notice the stringy-ness much because I basically kept the fillets whole. Does that make sense? Was it when you were trying to cut it that it was stringy or eating it? I thought it would be stringy to cut but after it was cooked it didn't have a stringy consistency at all. Does that help at all?

Okay now for a recipe share. I know you asked Whitney for hers, but I will share mine too if you are interested (Emily also makes DIVINE pesto and she has a bunch of variations too):

Basic Basil Pesto

2 cups packed fresh basil (I am sad you only have walmart near you kate -other places are SO much cheaper- you might try growing it yourself this summer. I did that one summer and got several batches of pesto from it- the plant is cheap and I was able to grow it in my kitchen)
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil
kosher salt
1/2 cup parmesan or asiago or romano cheese (or blend of any of those cheeses)

Blend in food processor until smooth.


Pesto Pasta This is another one of my go-to easy things like the teriyaki bowls. We eat it in the summer a LOT.

Short Whole Wheat Pasta -such as rotini or penne
Pesto
Chopped Fresh tomatoes (usually 1 roma tomato per person)

Cook the pasta according to directions. Stir in pesto and serve with fresh tomatoes on top.


Basic Hummus This is as basic as it gets. You can add TONS of different things to it- artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, tahini etc. I'm sure you could find something fancy but I thought I'd just share the easiest, cheapest form that I know of. We really like it :)

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Drain garbanzo beans reserving 1/3 cup liquid. Place drained beans, and all other ingredients in food processor. Process until smooth adding reserved liquid until you reach your desired consistency.