Walnut Pesto

Delicious homemade pesto - easier than you think

The basil plant is overflowing. By the end of the summer, I won't be surprised if I can climb up that stalk into the realm of the Goose that lays the golden eggs. Maria advised me to pick the larger leaves for cooking, and they were so ready to be picked. The bugs love them too, so before one bug clues his other buggy friends in on the Shangri-La that is growing on the balcony, I'd better harvest them gorgeous leaves. I would not insult the leaves by freezing them. Besides, 'fresh' is what I'm looking for. The answer – pesto.

I wanted to try the recipe from Sugar & Everything Nice, but I've not been able to access any blogspot sites. So I searched and came across one by Delia Smith. I used to watch her programmes years and years ago, and is a personality I had not seen for a long time. I replaced the pine nuts with walnuts (which I happen to have). I will have to add more nuts next time as the flavour of the walnuts didn't come through. (The recipe below indicates the amount of nuts I intend to use next time. Try it out and add or reduce the amount as you wish).You really need a lot of leaves for a small amount of ready pesto. But the end result is worth it.

Pesto (adapted from Delia Smith)
Fresh basil leaves 50g
Walnuts 40g
Garlic 1 large pip
Olive oil 8 tbsp
Salt ½ tsp
Grated Parmesan cheese 25g

Blend all ingredients together except cheese. Mix cheese in. Makes about 1 cup.

Sesame Noodles

A tangled mess of sweet, sour, savoury and nutty

'Sesame Noodles - a sure hit with kids' was what I read in a magazine years ago. I don't remember the exact recipe as I tried it once, and never again. It was a peanut butter and sesame seed sauce which was tossed with spaghetti. Eh? I should have stopped when 'peanut butter' and 'spaghetti' were said in one breath. So I was curious when I saw this recipe on Tastespotting. Sweet Amandine shared this recipe. One look at it and I knew it would be winner. It has vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and sugar, which invoked a feeling of flavours bursting in my mouth. It was good.... The only problem the kids had was biting into bits of garlic - not their favourite. I could overcome this problem by mincing it even finer and thus will cook faster and eleviating some of the 'sting'.

Again, extra points from me for a fuss free recipe and ingredients readily available in your pantry.

Sesame Noodles

Garlic 6 cloves, minced
Sugar 3 tbsp
Rice vinegar 6 tbps
Soy sauce 6 tbsp
Sesame oil 2 tbsp
Sesame seeds 3 tbsp, toasted
Spring onions 1/2 cup, chopped
Spaghetti 500g

Place the first five ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Pour the sauce over the boiled and drained pasta, add the sesame seeds and chopped scallions, and mix thoroughly.