Spring Pesto

Not to brag, but my little garden is pretty awesome. Already we've eaten many meals out of that little square of land - and the pots that are filling up our patio. I really know nothing about container gardening, or square-foot gardening, but I'm destined to learn to what extremes I can push these plants. In a field I would plant tomatoes a good 3 feet apart, and zucchini plants a good 6 feet from each other. In my garden I've got two tomatoes growing in each cage, and the cages about a foot apart. We'll see. I can always sacrifice some plants, yanking them out for the benefit of the others if I see too much struggling.

The beans are planted in a grid-like pattern so we're going to have a green bean hedge. There just starting to pop in this picture taken last week.

The spinach is still hanging on despite the hot weather we've had. Spinach hates to germinate in hot weather, but this stuff was planted long ago when we were still getting nights in the 30s and has not bolted with the hotness. I'm pulling individual leaves off of the plants to really maximize our bounty. The radishes have been OK, they are beautiful and crisp, but the flavor isn't there. Actually, that goes for all of our harvests so far. I guess this wimpy soil, though amended with compost and potting soil, is just not the same as our old primo ag land. Go figure!

So, my latest creation was Parsley Spinach Pesto. Pesto is one of those things that is extremely versatile with what you're pulling out of your garden (or CSA box, or local Co-op produce department). The classic basil/pine nut/parmesan/garlic/olive oil combination is of course delicious but why not try something else...like parsely/spinach/garlic/walnut/olive oil with a sprinkling of aged white cheddar?

Pluck some leaves:

Chill them in cold water to avoid wilting (plus, submerging in water is the best way to get the grit off of your leaves, the dirt sinks)
throw everything in the cuisnart:
Hand over to a little leprechaun for inspection:
Toss with hot pasta (this is brown rice penne) and enjoy!
I guessed on amounts which worked pretty well since I've made a lot of pesto. I would suggest going by a recipe- here's one from our farm website - and substituting your fresh herbs and greens for the basil. NOTE! If you are going to use kale or another hearty green I would steam blanch them before pureeing unless they are baby-sized. Be creative! Cilantro lime! Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme!