The Blessing of the Present Moment

First week counting...
                                    when I share entries from my Gratitude Journal

3076- hummingbirds

3077- pulling carrots from the garden

3078- celebrating fathers

3079- hiking with the young women

3080- a healthy new recipe

3081- playing ball with the dogs

3082- al fresco meals

3083- harvesting vegetables

3084- hula hooping with Kenzie

3085- teaching at Patriot's Camp

3086- a hard, working husband

3087- flowers in vases

3088- oven roasted potatoes freshly dug from the earth

3089- lying on the bed listening to the rain

3090- a new job for Kenzie

3091- eating peaches over the sink

3092- air conditioning

3093- mom and dad wray, walking away from an accident, unharmed

3094- a pink, shiny pencil

3095- sun peeking through the clouds

3096- a game of Mancala

3097- a "guess what?" phone call

3098- sweet treat from a friend

3099-patriotic potatoes

3100- singing along to Cherie Call on a sunny morning

"It's so easy to overlook the wonder of life until something threatens to 

snatch it from us.  We get caught up in our petty concerns and miss the

beauty unfolding right in front of us; rushing headlong into the next thing, 

we fail to appreciate the blessing of the only thing we can really claim as

ours to own, the present moment."

Katrina Kenison

What On Earth Are Garlic Scapes?

Last October, I planted an entire raised bed of garlic.  You can read about how I did that here.  I planted two different varieties and have been anxiously waiting for them to grow.  I was especially excited to see the hard neck species, Kilarney Red develop it's scapes.  I've never grown a hard neck garlic before, but I wanted to see how it differs in taste from the soft neck (which is what you buy in the stores) and I really wanted to see those cool, twisty scapes.

Aren't they pretty?  The scapes are the flowering part of the garlic plant and if cut before the flower blossoms, they are tender and tasty.  Or so I'd heard.

 I just love the way they twist and curl up, each one creating it's own shape.

I almost hated to cut them, but the developing bulb benefits from the cutting of the scape, so I trimmed them off and brought them into the kitchen.  After searching online for a recipe,  I decided to make a batch of Garlic Scape Pesto, 'cause I loooove pesto!

First I washed the garlic scapes and fresh basil.  I used a combination of both for this pesto.

Then I cut off the flowering part of the scape and chopped the rest into small pieces, discarding the tough ends.

I toasted some pine nuts over low heat, but almost not low enough!  I have a bad habit of burning nuts when I toast them.  Thankfully, I was able to salvage these.

In my food processor, I pureed the scapes, basil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese.  Oh, forgot to mention the parmesan cheese, didn't I?  Even though I love parmigiano reggiano, I've started using a domestic parmesan for my pestos.  It's much less expensive and with the strong flavors of the basil and garlic, I don't think you can tell much of a difference.  I'll reserve the really good stuff for topping my pasta and salads.  The last thing that goes into pesto is the olive oil and I pour it into the top of the processor until the pesto is the consistency that I like.

Just about like....... this.

Pesto freezes beautifully, but I had immediate plans for this.  I made this fantastic pesto pizza one night and then a Tuscan tomato soup the next.  They were both divine.  I'll share that tomato soup recipe soon.  I promise.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients (these are all approximate!)

* 1/2-1 cup

 fresh, washed basil leaves
* 1/2-1 cup fresh, washed parsley leaves (you can also add or sub in oregano, cilantro, mint, etc.)
* 1-2 cups garlic scapes, both ends removed (you want to cut the flower end off as well as the lower part of the stem since it will have gotten rather hard since picking), and chopped into lengths
* 2-3 Tbsps pine nuts (or toasted almonds or walnuts)
* 2 tsps salt (or more to taste)
* Freshly ground black pepper to taste
* At least 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

1. Put the scapes, herbs, pine nuts, salt, pepper and cheese in the bowl of a food processor.

2. Process, adding the oil a bit at a time, until desired consistency. Taste and adjust the salt and cheese accordingly.

3. Use right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge - it should keep for about two weeks. You can also freeze any extra pesto in an ice cube tray and then transfer to a freezer bag for much longer-term storage.

*I didn't use the parsley leaves, I just adapted this recipe, using equal amounts of scapes and basil.
This recipe is from this blog.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

I can't believe it's been a month since I took my trip to Utah and I'm just now posting about it.  I think it's because it's taken me this long to catch up on things around here and have a moment to sit down and write.  When I came home, I could hardly find the garden for all the weeds and after two weeks of spending time on my hands and knees, I almost have it under control.  Almost.  And then there was the Patriot's Camp, where I volunteered to teach for a few days.  That turned out to be tons of fun, but a lot of work! Yesterday, I pulled the beets and today I pickled them and put them in jars.  There's always something to be doing, right?  And I love it!

I did  have a wonderful vacation.  The main event and real purpose of the trip, was to attend my sister's wedding.  (We didn't plan to dress alike, but it appears we have similar taste.)  Upon arrival, we had a few days to get everything ready, and I'm glad I could be there to help her.  She had worked very hard to make everything lovely for her special day.   So I didn't have too much to do...

I took pictures while Sherri and Dad assembled the cake.  I didn't inherit the cake decorating gene.

We arranged beautiful flowers

and set up tables and chairs.

I helped hang lanterns from the trees.  Aren't these so pretty?

I took lots of pictures of the bride getting ready for her big day.

It was a perfect evening and the wedding and reception turned out just as she had hoped it would.  Sherri was a lovely bride!

Best wishes to the happy couple- Ken and Sherri Sager.  I was happy I could be there to celebrate with them.

This is Ken's family.  I sure love these folks.  You can go here to read more about them.  And the story of how we met in Israel and now are one big family...well, it's too long to tell.  But it's an interesting story....

While the newlyweds spent some time honeymooning, I went to my dear friend Jeannee's home to hang out with her for a few days.  I love going to j'Nae's because we have so much fun together!   Each morning, we joined a group of her friends for walking.   What amazing views!  I had to keep stopping to take pictures, so I got a little extra exercise, running to catch up with the group.

I wondered if they realized how blessed they are to live in such a beautiful place.  Sometimes we get used to the beauty and take it for granted. I live in a beautiful place too, and have been guilty of doing just that.  But lately, I've been trying really hard to notice beauty wherever I am.  Counting blessings and keeping a gratitude journal helps keep me focused.

The morning we walked in Provo Canyon was the highlight for me.  Love this place!

With our exercise out of the way, we were ready to spend time in the kitchen.  Don't you exercise so you can eat?  For me and j'Nae, this is our idea of a play day!

I learned how to make artisan bread,

bagels,

and cracker bread.  All three were absolutely amazing and I'm going to blog about them soon!

What else did we do?  Well, we made a dress.  I know!  I couldn't believe it when I mentioned to my friend that I had been wanting to look for a dress pattern and try my hand at sewing this summer.  We were out doing some shopping and went into a fabric store just to see what they had.  Before I knew what had happened, we had a pattern, fabric, zipper and were headed home to make a dress!  Now, in all honesty, I observed more than I sewed.  I did pay close attention to my teacher,

and did whatever I was asked.

A few times I actually sat behind the machine and drove.  And I almost put the zipper in by myself. Scary!!

When I left, I had a new dress.  I was so excited!  I love this style, which seems to be everywhere in the stores this year, but usually they are a little short for my taste.  This one is exactly what I wanted.  I plan to dress it up with a jacket or cardigan, maybe a pretty scarf...   So  many possibilities.   And did I mention that we made this dress?  I came home with a pattern for a cute skirt, which I plan to try next.  And I'll be on my own for that one.

We were able to fit in a temple session at the Mt. Timpanogos temple.  

 LaRon (j'Nae's sweet hubby) treated us to several restaurant meals.  Yum!

All of that in three days.  Then I went back to spend time with Sherri and Ken.  First stop was at their favorite burger restaurant.  It was awesome!  In fact, I've thought about that burger a few times since I've been home.  I did some seriously good eating on this vacation.

Sherri and I went hiking in the snow.

We hadn't been on the trail five minutes when we met this guy.  Well, hello.

It looks cold, but it was 67 degrees on this day and perfect for hiking.  I loved it and was sad when we had to stop and go home...

Back at Sherri's, it was time for more lessons in the kitchen.  Ken's a master bread baker and he and Sherri make quite the pizza making team.  He taught me how to toss the dough and then they made wonderful pizzas for dinner.

This one was my favorite!

And, I learned how to make stromboli.  Don't be jealous. I'm going to teach you, too.

I think they should consider opening their own restaurant....

I also went to a baseball game,

with this fun crowd.

and Mom and Dad Sager.  Baseball is BIG with the Sagers.  I had a great time.  I ate a hotdog and peanuts and sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"- all those things you're supposed to do at a baseball game.  The Bees lost, but it was fun anyway.

Finally, it was time to head home.  I had been blessed with ten wonderful days.  Yes, I came home from this vacation quite rested.  Okay, not at all rested!  But that's the way I like to vacation.  I want to cram as much fun and memories into my days as possible.  And whenever I go to Utah, that's exactly what happens.  I can rest at home, right?