Pesto & Friends

gvelling celebrants: Emily, Sam, Tricia, Anna, Nomi, Charlotte at 6622

I can share the recipe for pesto.  You do not need the recipe for friends!

Fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden

Pesto is more of a technique than a recipe.  "Pesto" is related to pestle, to grind or crush.

Fresh basil
garlic, minced
grated Parmesan cheese
nuts: pine nuts or walnuts
olive oil
water, if needed

Rinse the basil, and tear of the leaves.  Put it in a food processor with chopped garlic and add a little oil and water.  Process until  puréed .  Gradually add the nuts and grated cheese until it creates a dense paste.  Add more oil, or water, or a combination if it is too solid.

This is great over pasta, of course, but also a nice spread with crackers, or with a wonderful vegetable like red pepper slices.

 

Rachel Falkove's Fruit Soup

In summer start to crave this cool, frothy soup.  It is way easy.  Abba and I once had a similar breakfast soup at Grossingers, a classic borscht belt hotel.  Grandma Fritzie and Grandpa Sam stayed there once and talked about it for years.  It was famous for its quantity of food, and you could keep ordering things to try from the menu and the waiters kept bringing anything you wanted without having to pay anything additional.  Now it seems wasteful, but that was a generation who had been through the Depression and World War II and it felt like Olam Haba.

This is a half recipe of Rachel's version, to fit in a blender.  You can use the measurement on the blender and save a measuring cup.

2 c. orange/pineapple juice (or plain OJ)
1½ c. buttermilk (lowfat is fine)
½ c. sour cream or yogurt
1½ c. fresh fruit - berries or any chopped fruit you like (blueberries, raspberries, peaches ...)
½ t. agave or honey
Mint for flavor
Mint for garnish

1. Blend all ingredients EXCEPT FRUIT.  A blender works best, but you could do it with a whisk in a soup tureen.
2. Chop fruit into small pieces.  You can add when you prepare, or when you serve.
3. Chill.
4. Garnish with mint.