[ D I R E C T I O N S ]

1. Place the basil, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan in a food processor and process to combine.

2.  Gradually add the oil in a steady stream and process until you have a smooth paste.

HERBS and GREENS (fresh)

• Flat leaf parsley (Italian parsley)
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Tarragon fronds
• Oregano (Dried oregis good! In fact, I prefer dried oregano; it’s less overpowering.)
• Basil  or Thai basil
• Thyme
• Chives
• Green onions
• Mint
• Fennel fronds (green feathery tops of fennel)
• Arugula
• Spinach
• Watercress

LIQUIDS

Acidic Liquids

• Fresh lemon juice
• Fresh lime juice
• Fresh orange juice
• Vinegar

Not Acidic Liquids

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Coconut milk

THICKENERS

• Nuts (My favorites include: pine, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, pecans, macadamia)
• Avocado
• Hard-cooked egg yolks
• Cooked or canned (drained) artichoke hearts or bottoms
• Feta cheese
• Goat cheese
• Ricotta cheese

FLAVORINGS

Umami - (also known as the 5th taste) makes food taste richer, meatier, and more savory.

• Anchovies and anchovy paste
• Fish sauce
• Soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Tomato paste
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Marmite
• Vegemite
• Kimchi (made with Napa cabbage, also known as Chinese cabbage)
• Miso
• Olives
• Capers
• Parmesan cheese
• Seaweed fresh or dried (including the popular roasted seaweed snacks)
• Mushrooms, especially shiitake
• Green tea leaves (I haven’t tried adding green tea leaves in fresh herb sauces yet, yet but it might work!)

Other flavorings

• Garlic (fresh)
• Mustard (prepared or powder)
• Ginger (fresh)
• Turmeric (fresh or dried). [One of my favorite spices! To learn more, see the blog post: Why turmeric?]
• Shallots
• Preserved lemons
• Lemon zest (from organic lemons)
• Lime zest (from organic limes)
• Orange zest (from organic oranges)
• Salt – Try different varieties!

Spicy hot (optional)

• Cayenne pepper (ground)
• Red pepper flakes
• Aleppo pepper
• Black pepper (freshly ground)
• Paprika, including: Hungarian, hot, smoked
• Hot peppers, including: Serrano, jalapeño, Thai, etc.

FOOD SAFETY TIP –  Before you head to your kitchen, please read this Food Safety Tip!

When you combine garlic and oil, you create an environment in which botulism (a deadly food-born bacteria) can grow. According to the University of Colorado Extension Service, to prevent the possible growth of botulism when mixing oil and garlic, you should always “add an acidifying agent such as lemon juice or vinegar to the recipe at the rate of one tablespoon per cup of oil.” Also you should “discard infusions after one week, or sooner if apparent cloudiness, gas bubbles, or foul odor develop.”

FREEZE what you don’t eat!

A great way to store extra fresh herb sauce (or for that matter, leftover portions of any liquid) is to freeze it in silicone muffin pans. For details, see the post, Silicone Muffin Pans – a Kitchen Staple – but not for baking!

CREATE and SHARE!

Here are the links to the fresh herb sauces / pestos found on this blog:

• Artichoke Lemon Pesto
• Arugula Pesto
• Cilantro Chutney (Indian)
• Charmoula (Moroccan)
• Basil Pesto(Italian)

I hope you have fun creating your own fresh herb sauces! And I would be very happy if you decided to share your creativity with us by posting a comment about your recipe!

Thanks!

Enjoy and be healthy,

~ Leni

http://www.lavenderandlovage.com/herbs-on-saturday

http://bangermashchat.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/july-herbs-on-saturday/

Have been off the blogging scene for a while now…the reason is that I got a new job…an HR job..:D..I am loving it…we also shifted into a new flat last week!!Oh whattey pain it is to shift houses!!!Thank god for friends and packers!!!Eternally grateful to them…you know whats the great thing about shifting…you weed out the stuff that’s expired…that doesn fit you anymoreor the ones in which you no longer fit..:D…and other useless things that you have accumulated over time…

I asked one of my friends to take over the packing of my kitchen…She is the extra clean obsessive compulsive types (the good kinds..: D)…so I figured she will be the best person for it..: D…she was sooo excited about it that she shooed away the packers and did it all herself…and became sad when we unpacked without her..Anyways she did come later..: D to arrange things…She was amazing at it!!all my useless expired stuff went out of the window..

Hence here is the reason for being off the blogging scene! But I am coming back with a bang…Its amazing here! I have a beautiful huuuge kitchen and 3 balconies!!The lighting is so good that my pics come out amazing without trying much…

So one night…after long long long work day and a terrible traffic jam I reached home by 8pm…Decided that we will eat in today!!I decided enough is enough!!I have to use the parmesan that I got from coonnor!!So I made pasta…with grilled veggies and parmesan…in tomato sauce…i didn’t have any sophisticated pasta with me so I just used the elbow pasta…or the Gomito pasta…

I made it in my staple pasta sauce made from tomato puree, red onions, milk and obviously my parmesan..:D..i generally do not put so much butter and olive oil but this first pasta had to be special!!

I normally just put the veggies inside the sauce when they are cooking but I decided to grill them on a skillet with some olive oil this time. I used mushrooms, zucchini and some capsicum…all grilled and charred a bit on the hot skillet. Next time I am gonna use some grilled aubergine too! Its yum when grilled with olive oil!

Anyhow…here it goes

>>>>Ingredients<<<<

 ***Grilled veggies***

8-9 button mushrooms-roughly chopped

1 big capsicum-sliced

1 small zucchini-thinly sliced

Olive oil-2 table spoon

***Sauce****

2 red onions-finely chopped

Tomato puree-2 cups

Parmesan shavings-as much as you like!!!

Milk-half a cup

Salt to taste

Mixed dried herbs-1 table spoon

Pasta-2 ½ cups

Black pepper

3 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon olive oil

Roasted garlic

>>>>>To do<<<<<

Sauce

1. In a big pan add the butter and the olive oil.
2. Add the onions and cook until light pink.(do not let it become brown).Add the tomato puree and cook for 2-3 minutes
3. Slowly add the milk while stirring constantly.
4. Add the parmesan and cook for 5-6 minutes on medium heat.
5. Add the salt, herbs and garlic and cook for another 4-5 minutes.

Pasta and veggies

1. Boil enough water to cover the pasta.When the water comes to boil add the pasta. Boil till soft and twice its size. Take out of water and Drain well.
2. In a skillet add olive oil and heat. Place the zucchini slices and grill them. Make sure they are not over lapping. Turn the sides when brown.
3. In the same skewer grill the mushrooms and capsicum.

Add the veggies and the pasta to the sauce. Mix well.

Garnish with parmesan shavings on top and serve hot…

PS: I like the slightly cold version..: D

Circus Records are the UK based label co-founded by Doctor P & Flux Pavilion, home to such artists as Roksonix, Brown & Gammon, Scroobius Pip, Funtcase, Cookie Monsta, and of course Doctor P & Flux Pavilion.  You should know just from those names that this mix does not take it easy…help yourself to seconds of this sauce.

Circus Records Mixtape

(Right Click, save link as, to download)

Tracklist:

1. Music in Me – Roksonix

2. Blow My Mind – Brown and Gammon

3. The Struggle (Doctor P Remix) – Scroobius Pip

4. Jump Back – Flux Pavilion & Skism

5. Madness – Roksonix

6. Superbad – Doctor P & Flux Pavilion

7. Tetri – Doctor P

8. Watch Out – Doctor P

9. Riddle Me This – Brown and Gammon

10. The License (Doctor P Remix) – Krome & Time

Be careful, fresh sauce may still be hot.

I highly suggest using Italian plum tomatoes, or you can get them in the can (I prefer Reinzi, it says “product of Italy across the front”), and they are already peeled!

Ingredients:

10 lbs tomatoes
1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
Salt to taste

Directions:

Add 1/2 cup of olive oil and clove of garlic to cooking pot. Start simmer on low temperature. Add tomatoes.

To prepare tomatoes we will give you three options:

Option 1 – Drop tomatoes into boiling water for 1/2 minute or 30 seconds. Remove and peel skin. Place the peeled tomatoes into your cooking pot and crush.

Option 2 – If you have a blender or bullet mixer you do not need to peel or boil the tomatoes. Remove core, cut the tomatoes in half and blend. Add the mixture to your cooking pot.

Option 3- If you used the canned tomatoes which are already peeled, all you need to do is pour them into the pot!

Add basil, oregano and salt. Simmer for 3-4 hours.

If you bought the tomatoes from the can simmer for only 25 minutes!!