Blog “Upgrade”, First Real Honey, and PESTO!

You may have noticed that I wrecked upgraded my blog. The crack technical staff (i.e., me) here at Urban Hayseed, LLC (yes, there really is such a thing) spent hours and hours upgrading our software, resolving all the broken plugins, and installing a new theme that allows for a bit more customization. As a result, what used to work… doesn’t.

Specifically, I’ve noticed that the map of readers is all whacked. I had the staff remove the wiki (it was literally only used by spammers, and I think they’ll be OK without my help). I’m going to see if I can resurrect the forums, though. I really think that’d be good fun if we could get them seeded with some interesting threads.

Back to food! It’s been so hot lately that I’ve been afraid to don my long pants and go hive diving to see how things are going, but today I felt like I just had to check in with the bees.  Besides, I just bought this nifty remote control for my camera and needed to take a picture of myself doing something…

Note Snazzy Remote in Right Hand!

Washington is cranking.  The third deep (with the experimental foundationless frames) is almost full with little sign of any eggs or brood (although, I did find one patch of drone cells… odd, did she go up there just for that?)  The medium on top is mostly drawn out with a few frames full of nectar.

In fact, it was cranking along so well that I decided that they wouldn’t mind if I carved a chunk out of one of the foundationless combs to take with me to eat.

What's Left of the Haul

Everyone was interested in a taste, and dang, was it good.  So, I just went around, sliced off little pieces of the comb, and handed them out.  This is the first time I recall ever eating comb honey, and I got to harvest it out of my own hive.  That, my friends, is ‘keen.’

Speaking of harvest… Hayseed Wifey is, I think, planning to christen her new (Japanese-inspired cooking for Americans!) blog with a post about our zucchini monster and the possibilities of cooking with the one or more sizable zukes it puts out EVERY DAY.  It makes the fact that I planted three of them seem even funnier.  At least I didn’t plant the other three that I started.  Flashback excerpt from this oldie but goodie:

OK, so, maximally two of any kind of squash. Seriously. No, seriously. I don’t care how many you started.

The kids were out on the sidewalk yesterday selling them to passers-by.  Between the patty pans (2 plants), crooknecks (2 plants), zukes (3! plants), and trombocinos (lord knows how many on the kid’s tepee), I’m going to start just winging them at people that pass by on the sidewalk.

HEY YOU!  SQUASH!  <<BAP!>>

Anyway, another plant that’s starting to produce prolifically is the basil.  If you keep up with plucking off the flowers, those guys will get quite sizable.  I even had one that had fully gone to flower, and it recovered after I decided to try deflowering it (good thing they don’t have thorns!  Hey-o!).

So, it’s time for the annual Pesto Issue:

Recipe: Put Stuff in Cuisinart, Turn On.

Here it goes…

• 2 c. basil (or arugula… or… shiso… or mix in some spinach…)
• 3-6 cloves garlic (minced, crushed, or otherwise mangled into little bits)
• 1/2 c. olive oil (light or extra virgin, more or less, but call it “EVOO” and I stab you)
• 1/2 c. pine nuts (or less… or more… or cashews… or walnuts… or duck feet…no, not duck feet)
• 1/2 c. parmesan reggiano (ok, I’m trying to be flexible here, but… the cheese-like stuff in the green can… please, please no.  Better you should use duck feet.)
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (or not)

OK, now, let me just say that I’ve read some pretty pedantic discussions of pesto on the net.  If you are that person, I apologize for not grinding my basil in a mortar crafted from rare Italian mountain yak skulls, and my basil may or may not be pure genovese.  I don’t know, and I don’t care.  If it’s fresh and tastes good, I’m just as likely as not to toss it in there.  I’m sorry.

That said, put the basil, pine nuts, and garlic into a food processor and just chop them up a bit (mine is quite full with that much in there).  Now, turn on the food processor and stream in the olive oil (or just dump it in there, see FAQ).  Lastly, toss in the cheese and process it until it’s how you like it.

In the spirit of last year’s Basil Pesto with Cashews, I conclude with this FAQ:

Q: Why no post on arugula pesto.  I understand that you make a lot more of that than basil pesto.  Did you forget?  Did you think you’d already done one on that, and now you don’t have any arugula?
A: I did NOT forget!  I NEEDED to make another post about basil pesto!  That one used cashews!  They’re TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!! <<sob>>

Q: Everyone says to “stream in the olive oil”.  Why?
A: Wow, not only are you handsome, you are smart.  No, really, these are excellent questions.  I don’t know, to be honest.  I mean… I know that if you add it too fast to other stuff, like mayo, it’ll cause the mayo to “break” (turning into unmixable goop).  But I’ve just dumped it in to pesto before, and it worked fine.  I have to think that it’s just easier to make a nice paste that way without making a splattery, oily mess, or more likely, like many things I’ve found lately, they heard it from someone else and just repeated it.

Q: “They” (usually Italian theys) say real pesto is made in a mortar.  No way could you taste the difference!
A: I will not answer unless you put that into the form of a question.

Q: Fine.  Do you think you could taste the difference if the pesto was made in a mortar?
A: That’s better.  I’ll admit that I’ve never tried, but I’ll say this.  I once saw a program in Japan wherein they served people sashimi cut with a really sharp knife and sashimi cut with a not-so-sharp knife, and something like 90% of them could tell the difference.  Given that the dullest Japanese knife is still sharper than most American kitchen knives, I’m going to guess that an Italian person would think my pesto tastes like I made it in an wet shoe found at the dump.  However, I am not Italian.  I was brought up on “food” served in the Midwest in the 70s.  I am fairly sure that *I* couldn’t tell the difference.

Q: Hi, last year, I asked you about freezing pesto with the oil and cheese, and you said not to do it but that you do.  Could you elaborate on that?
A: Yes… here’s my completely extemporaneous opinion on that. Pesto with the oil and cheese may or may not “freeze” in the average freezer.  It’s got so much fat and stuff emulsified in it that, for me, it usually turns into a very firm paste.  Also, freezing cheese by itself can do strange things to it.  On the other hand, basil paste will freeze quite solid (being mostly water).  So, if you want to make “pesto cubes,” you may want to freeze just basil paste and add the other stuff when you serve it.  I always freeze pesto with everything added, and to my caveman-like taste buds, it tastes almost identical to the fresh stuff.