Pesto

In North Texas, our average first frost is around November 15, but already the nights are getting cool. It could creep up on us anytime, so last night I harvested my basil and made my annual batch of pesto. It's easy but takes longer than you think. I cobbled together a recipe from several sources and came up with this:
2 c. basil, packed
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. Parmesan, grated
1/3 c. chopped pecans (pine nuts are traditional, but this is Texas, and we have lots of pecans)
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
lime juice to taste - I think I used two small limes
Put it all in the food processor and blend until it's smooth. Spoon into plastic ice cube trays. A couple of years ago I had the happy idea that I could just twist the trays and the pesto cubes would pop out, so I could put them in a baggie in the freezer. Doesn't work that way. You have to pry each one out carefully, using a table knife.
Once in the freezer, they're handy for all kinds of things. My family likes it when I split a large block of cream cheese lengthwise, spread  half with pesto (defrosted) and plop the other half back on. It's also a great treat spread over goat cheese, or drop a melted cube in the middle of a bowl of hummus. Throw it in soups, stews, etc.
For years I have fixed what my family calls green noodles. This idea came from a former sister-in-law, who was expecting my brother for supper and had no money for groceries, so she used what she had: pasta, butter and lemon. Over the years I've embellished it, but I'm hard put to give quantities.
One package of spinach fettucine, cooked
One stick butter (Megan used to claim that was way too much but she's fat conscious; don't use maragarine)
1 can chopped artichoke hearts
Lots of lemon juice
Sliced mushrooms (they soak up the lemon in a delicioius way)
Sliced scallions
Parmesan cheese
And in recent years I've thrown in a cube of pesto.
Makes one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had. Enjoy!

New routine

This morning, I started what I hope will be a new routine--slept until 7:30, and then, after feeding the cat but before brushing my teeth or anything else, I sat at my desk and "free wrote" for 20 minutes. My artist neighbor, Susan, does that every morning for 30 minutes and says it frees up her creativity. Since I'm sort of blocked, I thought it would be a good thing--surprising insights. I wondered a bit how it differs from a blog, but this journal is very private whereas the blog is what I share with the world. I suppose my 20 minutes will lengthen into 30 as I get used to it--that's surely what happened with yoga. After that I got my day going but slowly--let the dog out and fed him, washed my hair and put on makeup, read the paper and emails, and it was almost ten before I got around to doing my yoga. Poor Socorro was trying to clean around me, and we kept ending up in the same room at the same time, but I did close the family room doors and get in a half hour of yoga. By the time I was dressed, it was time to go by the office, pick up my mail, and go to lunch with Melinda. I think that's the pace retirement should be lived at. I'm going to stop rushing myself and start thinking of my fulfilled projects as a blessing, rather than an empty desk.
Pleasant lunch, good nap, and then supper. My dinner pal, Betty, came here for supper since I was keeping Jacob. I fixed a favorite pasta dishes--green (spinach) noodles--but was so distracted by Jacob that I forgot the garlic, forgot the Parmesan. It was still good, lots of sliced mushrooms and hearts of palm in a lemon/butter/pesto sauce. The recipe, which I slowly expanded over the years, is in Cooking My Way Through Life. Betty has long been a fan of Jacob's, and after he got over a bit of shyness, he showed off in full form. After Betty left, he turned into a wild man, but that was okay.
Christian came to get him, and we both struggled with the pack-and-play, trying to get it folded up. We got close but not all the way, and I said we should give up. Frustration does not make for success, so we'll go at it another night. Meantime, it's down enough that Jacob won't announce he wants to sleep in it.
Now for a few peaceful minutes with a book.