Joseph & Giada, or Your Five-Year-Old Can Make Pesto

First of all, if my five-year-old met Giada De Laurentiis, he would be rendered speechless. Joseph has been drawn to (and flirted with) beautiful women almost since birth ... a true Lee man.

Second of all, if Giada met Joseph, I suspect she would be equally smitten, if only because he loves to cook. My kids spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and we’ve learned that Joseph, unlike his truly omnivorous sister Sophia, eats better if he has a hand in preparing the meal.

As for basil pesto, no convincing was required. The kid who routinely picks the basil chiffonade off his dad’s homemade pizza LOVES pesto! Devours it. Kids are weird, right?

On to our culinary adventure. Short on time and long on basil courtesy my Ollin Farms CSA, Joseph whipped up a batch of Giada’s basil pesto. In about 5 minutes. And mostly by himself.

One quick word about the basil. The farm delivers the bunches with the roots still intact. Brilliant! You can place them in water like fresh flowers for a much longer shelf (or counter) life.

Using my trusty 17-year-old Cuisinart, Joseph was able to manage nearly all of this recipe solo. I merely measured for him and toasted the pine nuts. Other than that, he picked the leaves off the basil plants, pulsed, puréed, grated and tasted for seasoning. And it was outstanding! Nothing tastes more like pure, unadulterated summer. Sadly, our pesto wasn’t served with grilled tuna steaks as in the recipe – we simple served it over frozen ravioli. No judgement.

So, if you don’t have a five-year-old handy, you’ll have to tackle pesto on your own. Head to your local organic farm stand, grab a handful of basil and get cooking. Oh, and if someone wants to bring me the tuna steaks, Joseph and I would be happy to make our pesto again!

Pure joy & a plum tartlet (or two)

I have recently started working for myself again, and it seems the first thing that means is that I’m cooking for myself again, too! Not just to feed the hungry at home, but to nurture myself.

It’s no accident that my last post was in January 2010 ... I had just started working full-time again. Sadly for me, 1 full-time job + 1 school teacher husband + 2 kids = very little blog-worthy cooking. Of course there were memorable meals here and there, but I definitely lost the space in my life for a marriage of my passions, cooking and writing.

So now I’m working my way back towards balance – more exercise, more time with my husband and kids, more laughter and more cooking!

I have some serious blogging catch-up to do from this week (watch for these to become links to fresh posts): Pattypan Squash Soup, Giada & Joseph’s basil pesto, Italian sausage–stuffed globe zucchinis and peppers. But tonight, I start with Shiro Plum and Almond Tartlets, because, honestly, Andrea asked me to, and what Andrea wants, Andrea gets!

Like everything else from this week, this amazing tart (of which I made two) starts with produce from my Ollin Farms farm share. This is the absolute favorite gift I give myself each year. We visit the farm each Monday and pick up a bounty of gorgeous, organic produce, which serves as the nutritious start to the week’s menus.

Starting with precious little Shiro plums, which look just like yellow cherry tomatoes, I made the tartlet from one of my all-time favorite, completely-falling-apart cookbooks, Patricia Wells At Home in Provence. I have made this recipe countless times, but always as a full-size tart – with apricots, plums, raspberries. So easy, so beautiful, so, so delicious.

As my nine-year-old pointed out, the crust smells like spritz cookies and tastes like the richest shortbread ever. This tasty cookie-like crust is topped with fruit halves and a luscious honey and almond cream. Yum.

But here’s my newest discovery: TARTLET, not tart. The recipe halved perfectly to fit in a six-inch tart pan. Why the supremacy of tartlet over tart? EVERY PIECE IS AN OUTER PIECE! Meaning lots of crust in every bite. Seriously, to die for.

The second best thing about this tartlet? I had enough fruit to make two, which made me a total hero at home. It only takes about 15 minutes to put together, an hour to bake, and about four minutes to gleefully inhale.  

And the very best thing? Making it on a Friday morning, at home with my husband and kids, puppy playing at my feet, windows wide open, for no other reason than pure, unadulterated culinary joy!