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Show Thoughts From The Garden... by Tonya LeMone "Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest har-vest where you haven't planted" Fall is here, officially, and I know this because it says so on the calendar and it is a bit chilly in the mornings and requires an extra layer when I walk. But, the mornings are so fresh, cool, crisp and energizing. Fall in Utah cannot be beat. Well, fall leaf-peeping in Vermont is pretty spectacular, too. But, we should not dismiss our Alpine loop that is almost at peak. So I hope you have taken the time to make the one hour drive around the loop and open the windows, turn the music up loud and feel fall, it is at your fingertips. With fall, of course, comes a lot of hard work canning, drying, and freezing for our winter storage. Hopefully, most of you have been harvesting for some time now. But as the above quote indicates, if you didn't plant, you will not harvest. har-vest. Pretty simple concept many do not get until it is too late. I am picking tomatoes like crazy and the few heirlooms I have are absolutely out of this world. But, a tomato without basil, olive oil and mozzarella is just a tomato and some days that is all I want, just a tomato. If you want more than just a tomato, try some of the pes-to's. pes-to's. I always thought pesto was made only with basil, but as I have done research for a class, pesto can be made from almost any herb and combined with meat, vegetables or bread and become an unimaginable concert to the pallet especially when fall has past and we are in the dead of winter with no hope of spring. Now is the time to make your pestos for the winter. They can be made and frozen for winter use very easily and the beautiful thing about freezing your pestos is the flavors continue con-tinue to keep their freshness and colors hold well also. 1 usually just dry my herbs on a drying rack, strip them from their stems and place in jars for winter use. But this year, I am going to do a variety of pestos for the freezer as well. I'm placing them in small containers and will thaw them out to use on sandwich es, crackers or combine in sauces for pasta or top meat for added flavors. My new favorite pesto is cilantro. It is so good topped on grilled chicken or as a condiment to a sandwich or quesadilla. If cilantro is not your favorite flavor, try parsley or combining parsley and basil together. Here are two of my new favorites, but don't limit yourself. your-self. Experiment and have fun and make sure you save plenty for the freezer, after all, real success does take hard work and your's will soon come to an end when the harvest ends and we start to read the new seed catalogs. Cilantro Pesto; 2 cups cilantro leaves 4 spinach leaves 1 tablespoon pine nuts (optional) 3 cloves garlic 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 14 cup olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until , smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Parsley Pesto 2 cloves garlic 2 cups packed, stemmed Italian parsley Course salt 14 cup walnuts (optional) 12 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste 23 cup olive oil Salt and pepper In a food processor place the garlic, parsley, pinch salt, walnuts, and cheese. Process until they form a paste. Gradually Gradu-ally blend in olive oil, taste adjust your seasoning if necessary. Great with pasta, poultry, vegetables and rice. See you in the garden |