home grown treat

It's July 14, and we have already eaten some of the fruits of the earth that Don grew from seed and planted in May, such as zucchini.

We've used some of the herbs we planted in the herb bed. The basil is there, just in front of Phoebe, the little stone girl.


Today, we combined some of the best home grown ingredients for a special meal of veggie wraps.





It began with pesto. I knew I wanted to make some with the fresh basil in the herb bed. When Don saw a recipe in a magazine he bought yesterday for pesto dressed sandwiches, we put a twist on it and decided on lettuce wraps with veggies, shrimp and pesto.

The Silver Spoon cookbook is the equivalent of the Joy of Cooking for Italians. I found a pesto recipe there, and one in that magazine Don bought, and combined them.

25 basil leaves, 1 c. of grated parmesan cheese, two garlic cloves, 1/3 cup of pine nuts slightly toasted, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup olive oil.

Put everything but the olive oil in a food processor, pulse until blended, then pour in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream while the food processor is on.

Yum.

We've been without rain for too long. We've heard predictions of thunder storms, without them ever arriving. Sometimes they land all around us. Today, just as Don went to get the ladder to hang the oriole feeder, it began to pour.

I cut some leaves from the cilantro plant. Then picked one of Don's zucchinis from his squash/pumpkin patch.

Lettuce wraps bought from the store, all pre-washed, are ready to smear with the pesto, then load with the sauteed eggplant, red pepper, zucchini and shrimp. Top with cilantro, and they're ready to eat!

We drank sangria and served the veggies from the $1 dish Don bought at a yard sale.