the travelling basil.

My goal this summer was to grow some fresh herbs from seed. Being that I love to cook, I know the huge difference it makes when you use fresh herbs versus dried, so I figured I'd give it a shot. How hard could it really be! I've worked in a greenhouse for at least a third of my life, so I must have picked up something along the way. My husband and I made the trip to our local Canadian Tire to pick up some supplies and (after a long debate at the CT about the cost effectiveness of growing versus buying fresh herbs) we were on our way. What are husbands for if not to give you grief when you spend too much money :)
Living in an apartment in downtown Montreal, my little seedlings definitely had some barriers stunting their growth. Not only do we have a very limited outdoor space, but what we have is completely surrounded by three other 12 story buildings. The 10 minutes of total sunshine they received each day may have been the clincher, so yes Tom...you told me so :)
As we like to travel home to the Niagara Region quite frequently, I had no choice but to bring my little seedlings along with me, as sad as they were. It had been over a month and they had barely grown more than an inch or two. There is a reason why Niagara is known as the Green Belt. All it took was a week of Niagara sun and fresh air and my basil were golden! They grew more in the one week we were in Niagara than they had for a whole month in Montreal.
And so the story continues. Every time Joe and I decided to drive home for the weekend, all my basil was loaded into a cardboard box and transported back and forth with us. It became the running joke when we'd pull up to the house after an 8 hour drive and haul a big box of fresh basil out of the back seat! But boy did I end up with a ton of healthy, hearty fresh basil.
As much as I've tried to use my basil all summer long...putting it in salads, tossing some leaves in our pasta, shredding some on top of pizza...I just couldn't use all that I had grown. What better opportunity to make pesto! Pesto works with just about everything. We toss it in our spaghetti, spread it on a pizza crust to make white pizza, you can add it to your eggs...the possibilities are endless!


Basil Pesto

- (2) cups of fresh basil leaves
- (1/4) cup of toasted pine nuts
- (2) cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- (1/2) cup of freshly grated parmasan cheese or romano cheese
- (1/4) cup of extra virgin olive oil

Lightly toast pine nuts in a frying pan on the stove or in the oven. Make sure to keep an eye on them frequently as they tend to burn quickly (and are really expensive!!!) Set them aside and allow them to cool.

Thoroughly wash and dry all your basil leaves and measure out roughly 2 cups.

If you have a large, quality food processor, you can add all the basil in at once, but if you're working with a smaller food processor or a mini chopper, you will most likely have to do this in batches. In traditional Italian methods you would be chopping everything by hand, but who's got the patience for that :)
I was using a mini chopper, and so I did everything in small batches, adding a little extra basil each time. The goal is to add all the basil, the pine nuts and the garlic into a food processor and pulse until you achieve the desired consistency. You want to end up with a finely chopped paste, but not too finely chopped, pesto should still have some texture to it. Once you have finished processing the pesto, scoop the paste into a seperate bowl.

Finely grate about 1/2 of a cup of fresh parmasan cheese.

Stir both the parmasan cheese and the olive oil into the pesto. You don't want the pesto to be too dry or too oily, so add in the oil a little bit at a time until it becomes moist but not runny.

Now your pesto is ready to enjoy! In a sealed container, you can keep the pesto in the fridge for at least a week, but if you're not going to use it all right away, you're better off to freeze it. I actually took small pieces of Glad Press and Seal (cellophane or wax paper will work too) and made individual packets with about a tablespoon or so in each. I twisted the packets up tightly and threw them all in a ziploc bag together. You can store the bag in the freezer for months, and everytime you want to add a little pesto to your pasta, pizza, or favourite dish...presto...pesto!!!

mediterranean pasta salad.

It's back. The pit in my stomach has returned. Even after a few years of being out of school, I still get butterflies this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE fall. The colours of the leaves, the hoodies returning to the racks in all the stores, sleeping with the windows open...but there's just something about this time of year that is so bittersweet. It starts like clockwork. The marineland commercials slowly start to fade from TV and they're replaced by ads for the EX. That small transition from one jingle to the next and the pit begins to form. Summer is ending, no more lazy days at the beach (not that I even had any), time to dig out the sweaters (even though the weather will remain relatively warm for the next month or so) and time to go back to school (not happening). I'm beginning to think this pit may have more to do with the media and less to do with fact.
This is my attempt to hold on to summer for just a little bit longer. Summer barbecues WILL continue and you'll all need a new salad recipe to bring to your shin-dig this long weekend, so here it is. This is one of those recipes that has been passed down so many times, I have NO idea where it originally came from. It's a staple at our house whenever potlucks are concerned...it's easy, it's relatively quick, it makes a good size portion (and is easy to double), and it keeps well in the fridge for at least a week (not that it ever lasts that long). Oh...and it's REALLY good...enjoy!


Mediteranean Pasta Salad

- (2 1/2) cups of uncooked pasta, penne, fusilli, etc.
- (1) small green pepper, cut into strips
- (1) small red pepper, cut into strips
- (1) cup of cherry or grape tomotoes, halved or quartered
- (1) cup of crumbled feta cheese
- (1/2) cup of sliced black olives (kalamata olives work well too)
- (1/2) cup of minced red onion
- (1/2) cup of fresh parsley, chopped

Vinegrette

- (1/3) cup of extra-virgin olive oil
- (1/4) cup of balsamic vinegar
- (1) large clove of garlic, minced
- (2) tsp of dried basil, or (2) tbsp fresh basil
- (1/2) tsp salt
- (1/4) tsp dried oregano, or approximately (1) tsp fresh oregano

Cook the pasta until just al dente. Rinse under cold water to stop the pasta from continuing to cook and getting too mushy.

 
Put the cooked pasta into a large bowl. Slice the peppers and tomatoes and add to the pasta.

Add in the crumbled feta, the chopped parsley, the olives and the red onions. Stir gently to mix up all of the ingredients.

Prepare the vinegrette by whisking together all of the ingredients.

Pour all of the vinegrette over the pasta salad and stir, making sure that everything gets covered. Refridgerate for at least a couple hours or overnight before serving.  It's best if you can let it sit overnight as it will give the flavours a chance to soak into the pasta. 

 

spaghetti aioli with shrimp and asparagus.

Alright. You may have noticed that I have yet to attempt any type of pasta dish on my blog. Now...this is not because it's not a staple in our house (because it TOTALLY is!)...it has more to do with the fact that I am kind of scared to post anything Italian. In the past 8 1/2 years with my now husband Joe, I have experienced some of the BEST pasta dishes I believe known to mankind! Homemade tomato sauce, homemade fresh pasta, lasagna, stuffed shells, gnocchi, linguini, martini, bikini! Ooops...I think Vince from Slap Chop temporarily took over my body :). But in all honesty, it's really hard for me...a "mangia cake" to compete with an 80 year-old Italian woman, visiting from "the motherland", rolling little cavatelli by hand and serving them with a tomato sauce that was crafted from fresh roma tomatoes and simmered all day long. Nona...you are a true inspiration!

The only reason I have the courage to share this creation with you is because it has received my husband's stamp of approval (and it's pretty darn good if I do say so myself!). When in comes to pasta, Joe has been been spoiled for his entire life. He never even knew what Ragu was before he met me! So if he's a fan of this...it can't be all that bad. My apologies to all the Italians out there if this is not quite "how mama makes it".


Spaghetti Aioli with Shrimp and Asparagus
                        (Serves 4)

- (1/2) cup of extra virgin olive oil
- (4) cloves of garlic, cut into quarters or halves
- (2) medium sized onions, diced
- (6) cloves of garlic, minced
- (1/2) tsp. salt
- (1/4) tsp. pepper
- (1) tsp. Italian seasoning (or 1/2 tsp dried basil and 1/2 tsp oregano)
- (1/2) hot chili flakes
- (1) bunch of asparagus, cut into 1"-2" pieces
- (1/2 - 1) full bag of frozen shrimp, thawed (add the whole bag if you like a lot of shrimp)
- (1) box of spaghetti
- (1/2) cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or not so fresh)


Add 1 cup of olive oil into a larger frying pan, preferably something a little deeper that has a lid. Add the 4 chopped garlic cloves into the pan. Place the pan on the stove on low heat (I put it on at about 2, but it depends on your stove). You're going to be infusing the flavour of the garlic into the oil, so you want to slowly simmer the oil without burning the garlic. 

Continue to simmer the oil and garlic for about 15 to 20 minutes. About halfway through, turn the garlic. By the time the 20 minutes is up, the garlic should be a light brown colour. Remove the garlic from the pan and discard.

While the oil is simmering, you can get started on chopping up all your veggies. Make sure to snap the woody ends off of your asparagus before cutting them up into pieces.

 
After removing the simmered garlic from the oil, add the diced onions and continue to simmer on low heat. Stir in the minced garlic after a few minutes along with all the spices. 

Continue to simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Add in the asparagus pieces, stir and cover. 

 

After a couple more minutes of simmering, add in the shrimp. If you're using pre-cooked shrimp, they will simply need to be warmed throughout. If you're using raw shrimp, you will need to cook the shrimp until they turn pink in colour. Remember to keep an eye on your vegetables as they cook as suggested cooking times can vary. You don't want to overcook your asparagus as it will become mushy, and overcooking shrimp will make it tough.

Once the asparagus is just tender and the shrimp is properly cooked, remove the aioli sauce from the heat. Scoop the sauce over a bowl of plain al dente spaghetti and toss to combine all the flavours. Top with the Parmesan cheese and serve.

Buon Appetito!