CSA Pickup Day Dinner – Pesto Two Ways
All three of us continue to be slightly overwhelmed by the back-to-school routine. Is starting school always this hard?
I’ve started back a week earlier than usual. Definitely not enjoying that part, particularly with last week’s temps and humidity. The weather has shifted, though, and I think that will make a huge difference.
Kidzilla’s Kindergarten orientation went swimmingly today. She’s beyond excited about her first official day tomorrow. I suspect we will have some bumps along the road, but that’s to be expected with such a huge change. We’ll fall into a rhythm, I’m sure. I am also sure that I’m completely stressed about Zilla starting “big kid” school. Just trying not to transfer that to her…
One thing that is proving to be a bit of a challenge on a school day is getting out to the farm to pick up our CSA share. The farm is only about ten to fifteen minutes from us – really not a big deal. It’s that small window for pickup that’s a bit tough. Getting me home, everybody into the car, and out there to pick up between 4 and 5 PM was a little crazy this week. Maybe it was just because I left school later than I had intended.
That little road trip out to pickup our CSA meant we needed something fast and easy for dinner so we weren’t pulling an 8 PM dinner time. That’s not such a big deal in the summer, but on a school night? Bad news. The other tempting option was 1-800-PIZZA-GUY, but that becomes a habit way too fast. Especially when the pizza place is awesome like ours is.
Lucky for me, I had some homemade pesto (two versions) waiting in the refrigerator. We quickly boiled water to make some ravioli and tortellini (because we couldn’t agree on one) and served each with a different pesto. While the pasta did its thing, I made a quick heirloom tomato salad with a balsamic vinaigrette and we were ready to eat.
This was so easy I feel like I cheated.
The Fab Hub did a nice job with the photography. Didn’t quite get a shot of the tomato salad, but you can just see the bizarre pink serving dish in the corner. Goes well with our Labor Day napkins, don’t you think? Credit goes to Zilla for both of those design elements.
We all loved the dinner. I tried to get the Fab Hub and Zilla to pick a favorite version of pesto, but they both claimed to like them equally well. Again, this family comes up short in the decision-making category.
In both cases, we did a pretty standard basil pesto. I wish I could give you measurements, but I pretty much never measure out ingredients for pesto and I honestly don’t remember how much I used of anything. As my Grandmother would have said and my Mom often still does, “add things ’til it looks right; you’ll know.” And with pesto, that’s pretty accurate. There are tons of recipes for pesto and just as many variations, so if you want to go grab one, hit the Internet – Simply Recipes has a good basic version. But I’m willing to bet most people know what pesto “should” look and taste like, so go with your gut.
For our first batch was basil, Romano cheese, walnuts, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. This one had a great nutty flavor. Not that any other pesto doesn’t, but I like the walnuts – they’re bolder than something like pine nuts, which is standard for pesto, and the Romano cheese tends to be stronger than parmesan.
The second batch I made was more traditional, I guess. We used basil and parsley this time, mostly because I had some parsley to use before it wilted. We went with parmesan cheese this time and pine nuts and of course the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper standards. One thing I did differently with this pesto, though, was something I found on a Pinterest pin for Greenest Basil Pesto. I wanted to know what “greenest” meant because, well, pesto sometimes gets a little brownish. Tastes fine, looks bizarre. The secret to keeping your pesto green, according to this post at InspiredTaste.net, is to blanch the basil leaves for a few seconds before making your pesto.
Did it work? Well, the batch I did that way certainly looked greener than the other. Tasted just like any other pesto, so clearly the additional step doesn’t affect the flavor. It doesn’t take long to add the blanching step to your pesto process, so give it a whirl.
And if you’ve never made homemade pesto? Give it a try. It’s fresh, it’s easy, and it’s literally five minute food. Ten if you get distracted.
What’s your fastest busy-night meal?
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I really like walnuts in pesto–much more flavorful than pine nuts. If you can find them shelled, pistachios are yummy in pesto, too.
Never tried pistachios, but I do like the walnuts – much better flavor. Pine nuts just feel kind of eh.
On those nights when I need a quick meal, I make an Irish breakfast. My wife and I have got good at it. Not only is it quick, it’s also cheap and healthy.
We make a couple of eggs, some baked beans, open a can of sliced tomatoes and fry some ham. There’s a lot of protein in there which is good for us since we work out a lot. It only takes about ten minutes to do and the best part is that we never get sick of it. Oh, and the whole meal costs $1 per person since all the ingredients are pretty cheap.
That sounds like a great idea, Steve. We may have to try that. We’d probably swap out the ham for turkey, though – not big pork eaters here. A buck a person is ridiculous cheap – love that. This would probably make a great meal prior to an afternoon hike – lots of protein to keep you going. That’s where we’re headed right now!
Pasta and sauce is my go to recipe for busy nights. It’s also fast to make some rice, open a can of black beans, and fry up some onions, peppers, and meat (if any is defrosted) and then top with cheese. Tortillas on the side. Another easy, fast meal for us is any kind of Asian stir-fry over rice. I just use whatever veggies I have in the fridge (& again meat if defrosted) and make some kind of sauce with hoisin, soy sauce, sriracha, and sesame oil. Both of these don’t take more than 20-25 minutes to make (the time it takes to cook the rice).
We’ve done the black beans, rice, and peppers thing with cheese – I never suspected it would be such a great hit with everyone.
I never think to do a stir-fry. For some reason, it feels hard to me. Maybe I’m overthinking Asian stir-fry.
I love making my own pesto, too, using walnuts. It’s crazy easy.
My favorite quick dinner is big salad night. We keep a huge tossed salad in the fridge all the time and I crock-pot a chicken once a week so we have the meat (and chicken broth) for lunches and quick dinners. I pull out all kinds of toppings (shredded cheese, croutons, craisins, nuts) so everyone can make their own.
A big salad with whatever leftovers are hanging around is a great idea. We’ve often done a salad and paired it with whatever the Soup of the Week is, too.