Pesto, handpies, and a great margarita

It has been a damn good week of eating. Summer produce can make meals both simpler and more delicious, and I am extremely appreciative of that seasonal gift.

Because mint is an herb I can grow successfully -unlike basil and rosemary, both of which seem like herbs that black-thumbed idiots can grow; what does that make me? hmm..- and I love its clean, bright flavor, I use it regularly in favorites like my mint pistachio pesto.

Earlier this week, I oven-roasted some beautiful halibut and then spooned the mint pesto atop the filet while still warm. C'est magnifique!

oven-roasted halibut with mint pistachio pesto

The tomato salad came the night after the halibut when I went against my better judgment and bought some fresh sockeye salmon. It was so stunningly just-from-the-sea that I was certain this filet would be the one to change my mind.

It did not.

Sockeye is too flat and too dense for my liking. Thank goodness for the luscious toms.

collard and chorizo handpies (pre-bake)

And the next night came collard and chorizo handpies which are always a treat. And later, a grilled pizza.

This afternoon, at a first grade swim party, my good friend, M, brought me a huge, fragrant bunch of basil from her yard. She is not a black-thumbed herb idiot, and I am often the lucky recipient of her success.

It was very hot today but because I'd bought more than a few flowers at the big annuals sale at the nursery yesterday and so needed to go gang-busters in my garden after the swim party, I decided, as I walked up the stairs sweaty and muddy and mosquito bitten and whooped after planting, that we'd be having pasta with fresh basil pesto tonight.

happy Em

But first a shower. And then a margarita made with my favorite new strawberry and meyer lemon shrub* from Shrub & Co. And then a Harry Potter #7 read-aloud and then the pasta -bucatini- with fresh basil pesto, hold the garlic and pine nuts tonight to keep things light, and chopped tomatoes.

And now to bed. YAY!

*What is a shrub? A shrub is a marvelous concoction crafted from fruit, sugar and vinegar. It's yet another method of preservation though for a very different application than say, jam or pickles. Shrubs are used in cocktails (or mocktails) and provide both sweetness and tang. Shrub & Co makes outstanding shrubs: Blood Orange Cardamom and Strawberry & Meyer Lemon are two of my favorites. 

Happy Earth Day

I had every intention of heading home immediately after the gym this morning to wash my grease-mess hair. Once home, however, the sun was shining just so, the breeze was blowing in just the right way and, I remembered, it's Earth Day.

To my garden I went, tout de suite!

My tulips have put on less and less of a show over the past few years, and I've been meaning to dig up the bulbs, give the ones the squirrels haven't gnawed at a serious Bulb Tone bath, and replant. I assumed I'd be twenty minutes, thirty max. Because my hair. It's truly disgusting.

Once in, well, you know what happened. I gently tilled up every leaves-only tulip I saw, all the while throwing away every grub I encountered and making small, appreciative talk with each worm. I'm certain that if anyone was listening, they thought me slightly off. I was just thanking those worms left and right. Whatever.

It occurred to me, once I had the bulbs soaking in their restorative pool, that now would be the time to add new perennials, something else I've been meaning to do.

To the nursery I went, immédiatement.

Oh, the nursery. It's my happy place until I run into the happy, corpulent jester-wannabe whose jokes I just can't learn to love. Bygones. I did not encounter said person and left with a tray of beautiful plants and a few veggies. 

Two hours later, things look better than ever. More worm-talk, more grubs in the trash, the soil so nicely aerated and happy, the tended tulips back home. 

I have decided not to spend today listening to any climate change-denying foolishness but rather to enjoy my little patch, toss my compost pile, clean and recycle old plastic bags and be grateful for all those working for the health our Earth. If you'd like to learn a bit more about Earth Day's history, activism on its behalf, why we need environmental regulation and so forth, read my Earth Day 2014 post.

On the way in, I picked some fresh mint from a pot on my deck. I've been eyeing some spring pea tortellini that I'd stashed in the freezer a couple weeks ago and thought a mint-lemon-butter sauce would make them sing.

spring pea tortellini with mint-lemon butter

Indeed. Delicious and so very pretty. 

Dinner last night was darn good too: halibut with mango salsa, roasted asparagus and homemade yeast rolls. 

yeast roll dough

buttered moons ready to bake

voila

Three hours of spring & a hell of a meal

Y'all! I wore shorts OUTSIDE for three hours today. It was bliss, despite the glare from my fish-belly-white legs. I raked, trimmed, did some mulching and uncovered a toad. Maybe he was finishing up his under-leaf winter sleep. 

Jack thought he was awesome. Oliver asked to hold him and though he at first responded, "Ugh, he's mushy on my hand!" came around and cottoned to the little guy too. Jack stroked him gently and he croaked several times before we carefully placed him back under a quilt of wet, decomposing leaves. 

Nearly struck dumb by the beauty of sunlight glowing through a crocus's lavender petals, I told the boys to grab drawing pads and colored pencils and try their hands at memorializing the scene. I put towels down so the damp ground wouldn't soak their bums, and draw they did. I  took art for years as a child and am so happy that my boys love it too.

My cute bugs

Jack's and Oliver's crocus drawings

A dear sitter came, and I cleaned the room of my own (AROMO). It felt so good to work out there for a while, writing uninterrupted in the quiet hum of nature.

And then on to dinner.

This warm salad, my caramelized fennel, leeks and orange, never disappoints. It's such a simple combination of flavors and textures and pairs beautifully with a variety of entrees. 

caramelized fennel, leeks and orange

Tonight, more halibut plus shrimp. T made a quick marinade of red pepper flakes, orange, coriander, olive oil, lemon and salt, and we tossed everything together, pan-roasted it and topped with cilantro. Satisfying.