presto! pesto!

my basil really took off this summer. i love the spicy smell as i pick large bouquets from my herb garden to make pesto sauce. i have purple basil growing as well... i wonder what it be like to make purple pesto?! maybe i'll try that someday.

i have been re-establishing my herb garden at our new house. chives, thyme, and feverfew made the move from the old house. in this picture i have rosemary, sage, apple scented geranium, purple basil, and sweet basil

mollie katzen has written some of my favorite cookbooks. it is her recipe from The New Moosewood Cookbook that i use to make my pesto. fresh basil, pine nuts, lots of garlic and parmesan cheese make this recipe so flavorful!

i put some in jars to use right away. pouring a little olive oil over the top for storage will keep the green pesto from turning brown. i also made a few batches to freeze for later.

everyday gift: fresh basil pesto

my little herb garden

with all the busyness that goes along with moving, my herb garden was very neglected. it is looking terribly overgrown and abandoned. i do hope the new owners will be able to see the potential. i did give it one good weeding earlier in the spring and planted a tomato plant, several green pepper plants, and some onions. i knew when i planted them that i may not reap the harvest, in fact, i hoped i would not, because that would mean we had sold our house and would be busy building the new. but i couldn't bear to leave without taking a few starts. i potted them so i would be able to take them with me to our temporary home and then to the new house.

they really appear quite happy in their traveling home!

in my herb pot: chives, chamomile, lavender, thyme, oregano, bronze fennel, parsley

and dill volunteers popped up as well!

my pot of shady plants divided from my garden.

butter and eggs (top), mini hosta (right), variegated red fern (left),

and shooting star (back, not really visible),

also in the pot, hens and chicks

everyday gift: fresh garden herbs

pink yarrow

my yarrow has become completely unruly out in the garden! it has grown so tall and so full of flowers that it is falling over the little fence that i put up to support it. it is covering up my shasta daisies and other flowers. i decided it was time to cut them back, maybe i will get a second bloom. here is just a portion of the flowers that i cut drying in my dining room.

achillea millefolium rosea

i have read that yarrow actually has potent healing powers and was so named, achillea, because achilles used it to heal many of his wounded warriors after the battle of troy. it is supposed to have the ability to staunch blood flow. interesting. i simply grow it because it is pretty.

everyday gift: bringing the garden indoors