Signs of summer

[mojosmom]

I made the first pesto and the first iced tea of the season. The pesto was by necessity, as some of my basil got its stem broken in Friday's storm, so had to be used. I had gnocchi with pesto for dinner, and it was yummy!

This morning, I got up earlier than usual, though not as early as planned (my alarm clock doesn't seem to be working right), and headed to the north side to a pub to watch the World Cup game between Italy and New Zealand. Since this was organized by folks from Casa Italiana, you can imagine the distress! However, being a member of one of the two groups (gay men and straight women) who, Daniella pointed out, just like watching the players, it was all good. (It's true, you know, that soccer players are better to look at than players of other sports; I don't know why, but it is so.) And we did celebrate Daniella having just become "una cittadina americana".

In not so great news, but tolerable, my dishwasher decided to stop draining, so I asked the guys to look at it yesterday as long as they were here. It's not the drain; the motor is shot. Since I've been in the condo for eleven years, and the dishwasher was here when I arrived, I think the wisest course is to bite the bullet and get a new one, rather than try to get this one repaired. Fortunately, as I do dishes for one, it's not something I feel the need to run out and do right this instant.

Comments

[teotakuu.livejournal.com]

I really love gnocchi so the pesto and gnocchi sounds great to me.

It is fun to think of you watching the NZ - Italy game at your bar while I was wrapped up in a rug in the early hours of a New Zealand winter. It is one of the best parts of this international circle of friends that we have become.

I can live a life without a dishwasher, but I'd rather not. There are so many better things to do with my time

[islandmomma.livejournal.com]

I came here this morning specifically to make sure that you are ok, having heard on the morning news about the fire in the subway, and since your post seems to have been done around the same time the fire was being reported on CNN I guess you are! To paraphrase teotakuu isn't this international circle of friends amazing. There you are, hopefully, sleeping peacefully, but I can see you are ok and tip toe away!

Thumbs up on the pesto - my favorite food, and bummer on the dishwasher. The kitchen of this apartment, into which I moved in February, is way too small for one, but as you say, doing dishes for one, it's not so bad. I have had to be very strict with myself, though, about doing them immediately it is practical to do so!

[zz-neena.livejournal.com]

Hope the water got bailed out. It can sit there broken without bothering anyone, but only if it's dry.

[mojosmom.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, I did indeed bail it out.

[ffortsa.livejournal.com]

I love pesto, but rarely eat it unless I know who made it, because people do put nuts in the recipe. Are there nuts in your recipe? If not, would you mind posting it? I'd like to try my hand.

[mojosmom.livejournal.com]

I do use pine nuts in my recipe, but they could easily be left out.

I use about 1/2 cup of good quality Parmesan, shredded, to 2 cups of fresh basil. Chop the basil in a food processor, add the Parmesan and pulse a few more times to blend. Then add fresh garlic (how much is really a matter of taste!), and pulse again. Start adding oil slowly until the pesto reaches the desired thickness. You can then add salt and fresh ground pepper if you like.

You can vary this by adding sun-dried tomatoes or black olives.