Hi everyone!
So, this is day 2 of our “new year,” the year of eating Texas food at home (this means no restaurants, y’all!) and free of clothes shopping! The first 24 hours were a breeze, fun even. I must admit that I drove down the road assessing restaurants that we passed, I’ll miss that one, not that one, etc. There were many more, in that span of Lamar, that I wouldn’t be missing. I am certain the taco stand cravings will hit anytime now and I’ll keep you posted on my queso withdrawals as they come. It is a tough reality for me that American cheese is neither local or sustainable, but if you have any leads on some, please let me know!
In the spirit of our new challenge, I spent yesterday between Boggy Creek Farm, SFC Austin Farmers Market, Wheatsville and our kitchen. I love days like that. I stocked up on the necessities, olive oil, onions, garlic and basil, basil, basil. This is the time of year when it is gorgeous and abundant. In the spirit of giving us some easy to make meals on the fly, I made batches of pesto to keep in the freezer. It is one of those things that freezes wonderfully and thaws in the time it takes to boil water for the pasta. I couldn’t resist using some fresh pesto in our dinner last night, so we had pasta from Pasta and Co with pesto and roasted veggies. It was quick and delicious, so much so in fact that we had the very same meal for lunch. The pesto is so quick and satisfying to make that if you can get your hands on some basil, I highly recommend making an extra large batch and freezing the rest in plastic baggies for later use.
Basil Pesto
1 big bunch of basil,
1/4 c, pine nuts
3 T, Texas Olive Ranch olive oil
salt to taste
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend. Start with less olive oil and add as needed. You can always add more, but it is hard to take it out. Seriously, it is that easy and so so good. Toss with freshly cooked pasta and top with parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Roasted Veggies
1 zucchini
1 squash
1 eggplant
1 cup okra
1-2 cups sunripe tomatoes
Preheat oven to 400. Chop veggies. Toss veggies with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Put in oven to roast for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add this to the top of the pasta for a little more substance.
As always, thank you for reading!
Not That Martha
I fully support this Martha, but I wonder how do margaritas and fit into this eating plan… or do they? Moonshine-itas?
Jesse,
I’m not sure, but I’ll probably have to eat a brown butter shortbread or two about it…
Most. delicious. lunch. evah! thanks again. i really think ritas fall in line with coffee & bubbly water.
Love that you are going local. We buy or hunt/fish for almost 95% of meat needs and grow a ton of vegetables and fruits, plus I forage a lot of things in the spring. It really makes you become creative in the kitchen to look at what is truly in season locally and create fabulous meals from that. If you ever need a bread recipe you can go to my blog, I plan on posting 1 a week. I have to cook dairy free for my son so I will check back on your blog and see if there any recipes I can use. Cheers!
That should have said buy locally or hunt/fish…
Miss you girls!
sea we miss you so much!