July 15, 2007

Pesto

4 cups basil
1 1/2 handfuls walnuts
2 cloves garlic
2 handfuls parmesan cheese
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
around 1/3-1/2 cups olive oil

Summer break is flying by. I just realized that 5 weeks has passed since the last day of school and I have another 5 weeks left before I have to report back.
I just took stock of how I have been spending my summer.
-I have planted a field of zinnias and sunflowers. In between them, I have cabbages, bok choy, tomatoes,and dill. I have planted pots of tomatoes and basil as well in the hopes of extending the season.I have pulled piles of weeds and composted them. I have wandered aimlessly among the flowers. I have dug up and split 5 ways 75 clumps of hosta and shared them with friends and neighbors.
-I have read A Thousand Splendid Suns, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary day, Night, and I am in the process of reading Infidel. During the school year, in spite of encouraging my students to read, read, read, I find that I have little time to practice what I preach.
-I stepped out of my comfort zone and drove Bryan 815 miles for a college visit and 950 miles back. Along the way, I got a chance to have great conversations with him and reaffirmed that he is turning out to be a very nice young man , listened to Harry Potter on tape, visited parents both Steve's and mine,touched base with old friends, visited sisters and their families on the way home,and gardened and played with nieces and got to know them better. One swear word(wrong turn in Pittsburgh)is not bad coming from a reluctant and nervous driver such as me. I would say it was a fruitful trip.
-I have started both my Christmas shopping as well as my Back to School shopping. I buy necessities for my students as well as my last remaining child in school.
-I just made my first batch of pesto. Every Saturday for as long as I can find basil in large quantities in the markets, I will make it. It is one of the scents of summer that I long for in the winter.

I guess my summer is not as lazed away as I thought.