Homekeeping On The Farm...

Fresh Basil Pesto and Banana Nut Bread

After pruning (harvesting leaves) from my basil plants last week, the remaining plants exploded with more leaves. I'm sure the rain and lightning (which precipitates nitrogen) had something to do with that. It was time to take my second harvest and make more pesto. This time, I made seven more jars full.

The bananas that had ripened past where we will eat them in cereal were ready to make another loaf of banana nut bread, too.

Still Warm and Delicious

Two overripe bananas make for one large, tasty loaf. Handsome waits until it's "fashionably" cooled and then tests my latest batch. Another success.

A Little Light Reading

While I waited for the bread to bake, I pulled out two of my books to learn more about herb details, identification, and uses. I'm more interested now that I want to be growing my own. 

An Old Gift

This book was given to me by my father twenty years ago. I've always been interested in the outdoors, being a country girl at heart. He was a teacher, and during the summers, he taught outdoor summer science classes. I took those classes with him for a few summers.

We learned about edible plants and survival skills then, and in the decades following those classes, I've further embraced what I learned. He gave me this book in 1997. I got it out of the moving box that held my other gardening books to read again.

I've already found some of the plants mentioned in the book growing on our farm property. Who knows what else I'll find once I really start looking? Reading my books was a nice way to pass the time as I waited to take the bread out of the oven.

Afterward, Handsome and I mowed our lawn together. We bought a larger yard tractor when we first purchased this property, and then, when we moved north this spring, we decided to keep our smaller yard tractor, too. As a result, Handsome can mow the upper yard while I mow the lower yard (or vice versa). Things certainly go quicker when we use two mowers. We were finished in no time.

Cornish Saffron Bed

 

Tuesday night, I went to the public library in Fond du Lac to attend a demonstration. They have a monthly program called "Breads Around The World", and last night's program was for a Cornish Saffron Bread from Great Britain. 

 

After the demonstration each attendee received copies of Cornish recipes, and we were able to sample the finished bread. I found it quite tasty, and having all the ingredients here in my own kitchen, I made a batch yesterday afternoon.

 

One batch yields four small loaves (or one large one). This bread has a scone-like texture with a light saffron/lemon flavor, further enhanced with raisins and currants. I find it quite tasty. Handsome isn't quite so sure. lol

 

I'm having lunch with neighbors on Friday, so at least one loaf will be a gift to our hostess. I'll definitely be making more in the future.

 

A Rainy Sunset

 

Our day ended with a glorious sunset. The sky was a wonderful red, yellow and purple, and the clouds rained down through the colorful display. It was a perfect end to another perfect day at Hickory Hill Farm.

 

Hickory Hill Farm - First Harvest...

Fresh Basil Pesto

 

Remember the word I chose as my word for 2017? (It's over there in the right sidebar.) See it? It's Balance.

It seems, in retrospect, that I had more difficulty maintaining balance when we were in Florida. This time of year found me mostly in my studio to avoid the sweltering heat of subtropic summers. Such is not the case in Wisconsin. In fact, I have to smile when someone tells me that it's "so hot today". I know what hot is, and hot in Wisconsin is not hot by Florida standards.

At any rate, I now find myself dividing my time between indoors and out, family and studio. I'm finding the balance I've been seeking, and it's really wonderful. Take yesterday, for instance.

I was up by 6 am (I'm usually a night owl, but find myself turning in earlier here at the farm), and finished my first cup of coffee, fed the pups and was outside by 7. I decided to harvest some of the fresh basil in my little kitchen garden to make pesto. (Handsome had appointments today that took him away from home.)

 

Fresh Basil Pesto Ingredients

 

I went online over the weekend and found a recipe that I liked, so I made sure to have all the ingredients handy for today. The recipe is from Simply Recipes, found HERE. I usually have most of the ingredients in our pantry, but I wanted to have fresh Parmesan/Reggiano cheese to grate myself, and a couple new jars of pine nuts.

Fresh Basil From My Garden

I pulled my large Cuisinart™ food processor out and began the process with fresh harvested, rinsed basil. I made two batches of pesto, which yielded the four half-pint jars shown in my first image. (The recipe calls for 2 cups of fresh basil for each batch. I have plenty left in the garden, but didn't want to stress my plants by harvesting too much this time.)

Last night, we had tenderloin steaks on the grill and a fresh dinner salad. I served the steak with a side of pesto, and I was quite pleased with our new condiment. I'm looking forward to trying it on fresh bruscetta next. We'll have family visiting on the weekend, so I'll serve it then to our guests.

After I finished making the pesto, cleaning up the kitchen and starting laundry, I managed to process my outstanding orders for shipment and spend a couple of hours in the studio before Handsome returned home from his appointments. We made dinner and spent our evening together. I'm getting my life into balance...and I like it!

EDIT: I posted images of my jars of pesto on Facebook yesterday. I was asked if these jars underwent a canning process for preservation. They did not. I then did a little research to see if there was a recommended process for preserving the pesto long-term. 

From what I found, the only best long-term storage option is to freeze the pesto in ice cube trays, then transfer it to ziplok bags with more oil added to avoid freezer burn. It was also suggested to leave the grated cheese out until it's thawed for use. Should last up to a year that way. 

I hope this helps anyone who might consider making the pesto, and wonders about how to keep it tasting fresh longer.