Basil and Friends

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Seda and I picked blueberries, basil, and cucumbers Sunday morning. The extra cucumbers were to be given away as they don’t keep, but the blueberries could be frozen and the basil turned to pesto then frozen to preserve. And yes, gifting of those both would later ensue.

I eyeballed the thick, green mat of basil and measured out Parmigiano Reggiano and pine nuts to process three double batches of pesto. One never knows for certain how many batches are possible until the basil is weighed, and Seda’s job of snipping leaves took longer than my cutting and measuring of cheese.

In the end, we had enough basil for only two double batches, which left me prepped for a third with only 2 of the required 6 ounces of greenery. Now, you can make pesto with other greens, so I figured I’d be ok. But since lettuce is not a qualified candidate, I knew my train would have to jump the tracks. I scoured the garden and collected leaves from a feral kale plant, parsley, arugula, nettle, and the green top of an onion. This didn’t happen all at once, but in handfuls as I prayed at each weighing in that it was enough. Nope, nope, and nope. Leaves are so airy! It takes gobs to make the needle move.

Finally, the scale registered six ounces and we cheered. Hitting pulse on the food processor, I watched the collage of green spin and condense. Combined with parmesan cheese, toasted pecans, olive oil, and garlic, the harvest smelled delectable. I tasted. Wow! The de-railed version of pesto topped just about any other I’d eaten. The depth of body from kale and spice from arugula paired with the clean aroma of parsley and oniony zest … delicious! Sometimes the greatest gift is “lack.” Next year, all my pesto will be fusion.

When have you recently invented on the fly, making use of your constraints so that they became assets? Did the end-product free you from your sense of restriction and liberate the co-creative artist in you?