Backyard Pesto

I've been feeling a little uninspired lately with my cooking. This whole dairy, gluten, and sugar free world I'm catering to has cooked me into a corner. I'm not feeling the love in the kitchen. I need the love if I am meant to cook the love. I don't even like shopping for food right now, and that is usually the only kind of shopping I like.

So I hunkered down for a solid 3 minutes to peruse a few cookbooks. Due to time constraints, I didn't get through many but I did get slightly inspired. I decided not to go shopping and use the food I have at home. I kept it simple, and who knows it may work out. Tonight we are eating sweet potato fries, edamame with sea salt and sesame oil, white beans with corn and backyard pesto, and salmon salad served on romaine lettuce leaves. I'm sure my kids will recoil in disgust, but at least I'm excited about having dinner. It's been a long time.

Backyard Pesto

1 big handful of basil
1 small handful of chives
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove minced
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Throw it all in a cup and blend with a hand blender. I opened a can of white beans, and after rinsing them, tossed them with two tablespoons of pesto. Then add cooked corn from half a cob.

in minutes.

My garden is overgrown with mint and chives.

I use the term "my garden" fairly loosely, since it will soon belong to someone else - which is why it is so overgrown.

I have no complaints about the mint and chives, though - they are two of my favourites, and I am happy to have them in abundance, at least for the time being (my new garden is lovely and lush, but also very well-ordered; so, for this growing season, anyway, there will be no invasive herbs running amok).

Between the mint and the heat, our meals have been largely inspired by the Mediterranean - a lot of grilling, quite a lot of olive oil and garlic, some rosemary, some lamb.

I am now at the point of almost constantly fantasizing about my new kitchen and all of the things that will happen in it: long, lingering conversations, slow cooked dinners, multi-course breakfasts (really!).

But until we get there, the order of the day is meals in minutes.

I am aiming generally for luscious, robust things that will fill me and cheer me, and can be made in the amount of time it would otherwise take to scoop some ice cream into a bowl.

I found this dish fit the bill admirably.


Lunch in minutes

I used a grilled eggplant leftover from a previous meal, which is why this took so little time for me to cobble together; but if you don't happen to have any leftovers on hand, the grilling only adds a few minutes to your prep time.

1 medium eggplant, sliced crosswise and grilled
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
1/4c extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp wine vinegar
100g feta, crumbled

Cut grilled eggplant slices into cubes.
Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl , toss gently, and serve.

Serves 4, as a side dish