I Fell in a Hole! and Garden Recipes

We'll start off this blog with a side note, because it's still singing! Today I finally got a chance to move my desk materials over to my new office next to Brian (website guy) and Laurel (well, her stuff isn't over here yet). The office is actually a loft above our conference table and bathroom, and for the past several years has been storage for boxes. We finally put some shelving units along the wall to store some of the excess boxes, and as I was hanging one of our Team Green banners, my entire leg went into a hole just above the bathroom! I have scratches and soon-to-be bruises on my elbow, calf, and thigh... oh well! I'm tough!

I had actually planned on writing a blog yesterday at home, but never got around to it. Saturday was a big day for Team Green. We had a Kayak Giveaway at Whole Foods Market, a Franklin 5K Pre-registration Party at Fleet Feet in Brentwood, Woofle Ball at Centennial Park, and to top it off, half the station went to Rodrigo y Gabriella at the Ryman. I took Monday off and spent half the day teaching myself how to make Garden Pesto! Here's an easy recipe I found:

Challenge: Try to only use items you have growing in your garden!

Ingredients
2 cups of packed fresh basil
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup nuts (pine nuts, walnuts or pecans all work)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
3 medium cloves of fresh garlic
salt and black pepper to taste

You'll need a food processor. First add the nuts to the processor and pulse. Next add the basil and pulse. Add your diced garlic, and while blending, slowly add the olive oil. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Salt and pepper should be added to taste. Finally add the cheese. If you plan on freezing the pesto for later use, do not add the cheese because it won't freeze well. To freeze, add the cheese-free pesto into an ice cube tray and cover with cling wrap.

Serve with pasta, over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices. In my opinion, the recipe is missing something. Maybe some lemon juice? Try it out and let me know what you do to make it just right!

I also made some garden salsa in honor of Rodrigo y Gabriela.

Ingredients
5-6 tomatoes (Romano are my favorite)
3-7 hot peppers (Jalapenos, Cyrano, whatever you have)
2-3 green peppers
Handful Fresh basil
Handful Fresh parley
1/2 to 1 Onion
Lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp Honey (preferably local honey!)

First boil the tomatoes for one minute, then place them in cold water. This allows you to peel off the skins. Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds and as much of the juice as you can (do this in a large bowl so you can then strain the juice and have some fresh squeezed tomato juice!). Then cut the tomatoes into smaller chunks. Next cut up an onion (whole or half). Dice the hot and mild peppers, making sure to remove most of the seeds (those are the hottest part!). Dice your basil and parsley as well. Place all of your tomatoes, half of your onions and a handful of your peppers into a sauce pan. Using a food processor, combine all of your basil, parley, and the remaining onions and peppers, plus your lemon juice and honey. Process for only a moment. Add the processed portion to the larger chunks and heat in a sauce pan to really soak in the flavor. Depending on how many of each item and how large your veggies are, this should make one 10 oz jar of salsa! Serve hot or cold.