Will the rain ever let up?

We in the southeastern United States have been seeing rain for more than a week without much of a break. It's led to deaths and plenty of destruction. For us, it's meant lost work and too many days inside.... both of which are hard on our family in this teeny tiny little house. This is the time of year when we are exploring for mushrooms along the trail, picking up the first turning leaves, and enjoying the last of what our garden has to give us. Instead, yesterday, I decided to "save" some of our basil from the constant rain. Plus, my little guy was sick so it was a good indoor activity... pesto makin' time.

Most years I wait until October and have to cut all the basil plants at the base to keep them from the first frost. It' not that I'm a last minute girl, but when making pesto, you can be lazy. Basil doesn't get too ripe like a tomato or fruit. Nor does it get too tough like a bean. It's generally pretty darn forgiving, so in terms of "putting food by", pesto has always been my tried and true.

Thirteen years ago, my friend Marilyn taught me how to make pesto and freeze it in ice cube trays. We've been doing it ever since. We have 8-10 plants every year so that we can have pesto until the next summer's bounty. Easy peasy.... if you have a food processor. This is what you throw in until it tastes right:

garlic cloves

olive oil

pine nuts or walnuts

basil

parmesan

sea salt and black pepper

little bit of lemon juice

I grate my parm from a huge block with the processor and set that aside. Then I process the garlic cloves with the olive oil until they are minced very fine. I add nuts. I process and add oil as needed. Then I start adding in basil leaves, stripping them from the stalks in huge piles. (Think production.) The stalks will be too tough, but of course, everything else about a basil plant tastes great. Don't get too freaked out as long as it's clean and free of bugs and dirt.... but, even then... you aren't going to die. When I've got what looks like good consistency in oil and basil, I add in sea salt and black pepper to taste. I use a little bit of lemon juice to help keep the basil nice and green. At the very end I add the cheese. I've found that it can be very easy to add more cheese than is really tasteful or necessary if you start with it at the front end. (This may be because I'm a total cheese addict. One year, I used yellow miso instead, when I was not doing dairy.)

I think this is one of the most amazing food "activities" you can do with kids. There are no eggs and kids are great strippers of basil off the stalk. They have so much fun. Plus, they can push the button on the processor again and again. It's loads of fun and a natural activity for following directions. There is something for kids about following the instruction to turn an appliance "on" and "off" that feels like huge responsibility to them. Because the processor blade is enclosed and the appliance can't be turned on unless the lid is locked in place, it's nice and safe for even really young guys. Perfect, if you ask me. Pesto. Entertainment. From the garden. Summer flav in the winter. Does it get better? Well, now, if the rain would let up...