CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It’s basically a farm that sells shares of their crops to the community and then delivers or makes these crops available for pick-up during the growing season. We were introduced to an awesome CSA in Virginia that we were a part of for a few years. When we moved to Pittsburgh I knew I wanted to join one here. Happily I found an organic one that has a drop off at the top of my street.
The first week I shared that having forgotten deliveries were starting I managed to buy the exact items in our weekly box. Last week I asked Henry to buy basil. Guess what I got in my box… um, yeah, a huge bunch of basil. On Friday before I left for the weekend I realized I had another package of basil in the fridge.
I was afraid it would go bad since I had no plans for it as of yet and another box of produce was coming in just a few days. So I whipped up some pesto….
For the pesto take a bunch of basil….
Chop it (I do a chiffonade cut to make it easier then cut the other way)
Put 2 cups of chopped basil in a blender or food processor with 2 tsp minced garlic, 2 tablespoons pine nuts and a little olive oil.
Blend it up until it’s spreadable, but not pureed.
If you aren’t going to use it right away, you can freeze it like I do in 1 tbsp balls making it easy to throw into soups or pastas.
Pesto recipe:
2 cups chopped basil
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp pine nuts
a drizzle or two of olive oil
Blend in a blender or food processor until spreadable but not pureed. Use to marinate chicken, use as pizza sauce, put on fresh tomatoes, flavor pasta dishes, use as a spread for sandwiches and more!
You can add 1/2 c parmesan cheese to the recipe if you are using it right away. If you are freezing it, add a sprinkle of parm per tablespoon upon thawing.
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (2)
I love pesto! How do you get by without putting parmesan cheese in it? I like to add it for texture and saltiness.
@Bethany – The recipe I used did call for parmesan cheese, but I left it out because Henry and I have cut out all dairy for the time being. I liked it just as much as other pesto I’ve had.