Green pesto, which was used for the pesto pasta for my dinner party. Tasty, vegan and locally fresh!!
My coworker David and I came up with the idea of clubs during our After School Program with the Dreamers in our program. We decided to offer two clubs the students could chose between: Cooking Club, run by me, and Sports Club run by David. Last Thursday was our first activity with the clubs and I know the cooking club turned out extremely successful. We had a TON of fresh green basil from the students' garden and we wanted to use it before the oncoming frost. David and I harvested the majority of the basil, more than 6 cups worth, on Wednesday and then on Thursday I helped 12 students make their own pesto and pasta in a 45 minute time frame. Considering how some of them thought that basil smelt like bubblegum and/or looked like spinach, I was happy to share with them the process for making this simply delicious food. The time went much faster than I'd expected during after school program, but we at least finished the pesto in time--some students didn't get to take any pasta home with them though because it took the hot pad too long to get the water boiling to properly cook the pasta. I was jazzed after the activity and wanted to make my own vegan pesto, so that's what I did when I got home. My food processor was already messy from working with the students so I figured what would a little more olive oil and basil hurt? That's just what I did! The greatest part of the situation was that I realized I should serve the pesto for my and Britney's dinner party on Saturday night. This idea ended up saving a lot of money because I had originally been planning on making stuffed squash, which would have been very festive, seasonal and delicious, but a lot more money than free--which is pretty much how much the pesto cost!
As for the recipe for the green pesto, which I'm saying in stead of just pesto because earlier I made purple pesto, I used the exact same recipe. It turned out fantastic!!
Applesauce!
Cooked, cored apples ready to be pulverized!
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Bobbing for apples anyone?
Apples in food processor.
Applesauce in food processor, ready to eat!
Last weekend I visited my friend Suzal in Boulder before she headed out to Hawaii for two weeks. She received a bag of apples from her neighbor and was worried they would go bad while she was gone. They were already getting wrinkled and yucky. So she gifted them to me, but since I didn't have time to use them last Sunday I just stuck them in my freezer. After work on Thursday I decided it was time to do something with them. I pulled them out, hard as rocks, and stuck them in a pot to defrost on low heat. After a bit, I took them out, cored them and stuck them back in the pot to soften up a bit more. I wanted to make raw applesauce but since the apples were frozen that wasn't going to work out. Once they were no longer frozen, I put them in the food processor and made myself some homemade applesauce that was very tasty. It turned out a beautiful pink color too because I kept the red skins on them.
Making Applesauce With a Food Processor
Preparing the Apples
Apples for applesauce can be left unpeeled, if desired, but should always be cored. Once cored, apples are sliced into chunks that can easily fit into the food processor.
Pureeing the Apples
Once prepared, the apples are placed into the food processor along with any additional ingredients for the applesauce. A bit of lemon juice is often included, as well as sugar, cinnamon and a dash of vanilla extract. The amounts of each vary according to the type of apple used and the preferences of the person making the applesauce.
Yummmy!!!
Ready for the fridge and random snacking.
Here's my dessert of applesauce, dried cranberries and shredded coconut!!
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