mid summer harvest

With the onset of mid summer, the long warm days have yielded a delicious crop of luscious tomatoes, mouth watering zucchini, crisp cucumbers and red hot chili peppers which have delighted my husband and his salsa! The broccoli is coming on well but the snap peas are slowly on the decline and I have noticed many of the fruit have been gnawed at by an unwanted garden pest... there has been a presence of slugs among the zucchs which has me nervous. I remember an old remedy, that I am trying, of tossing eggshells amongst your plants. The idea being the slug cannot cross the sharp trap without causing much bodily harm! I have plucked a few by hand and thrown to the chickens who in turn cackle in sheer pleasure.

The basil has taken off in the herb garden and I can finally dedicate some time to my favorite sauce of summer, PESTO! Unfortunately our garlic did not fare well so i am relegated to either store bought or if lucky some lovely specimens found at the farmers market. I find having pesto available, either fresh or frozen enviably allows for an assortment of menu options. Not just pleasurable on pasta, I like to smear it on sliced sourdough bread with a touch of real mayonnaise accented by a plump slice of garden tomato and some roast chicken for a very nice picnic sandwich. Or drizzled over fresh mozzarella and heirloom tomato salad. Another practice is tossing it with cooked cold shrimp over mescalin greens and avocado.

Here is a nice basic recipe for pesto but of course one can substitute ingredients to their liking. I have used garlic scapes instead of garlic and walnuts instead of pine nuts other additions and modifications have been done but I think the traditional is by far the best!

2 cups fresh basil rinsed and patted dry

1/2 cup good quality olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/3 cup pecorino cheese

dash of sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

blend in the cuisinart until desired consistency.