In her Good Food Book, Jane Brody files this soup under the section “Recipes I Have Known and Loved.” If I had a section like that on this blog, this soup would most definitely live in it. But it would be something more like “Recipes I Love Because My Mom Cooked Them.”
OK, false. That is a horrible name for a blog category. But you get the idea… this is a meal I love because my mom used to cook it for us.
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Reason #66 that I love pesto: You can make it out of just about anything.
Start with garlic, olive oil, parmesan, and some sort of nut, and you’re basically guaranteed a delicious and pesto-y-tasting outcome, no matter where the rest of the ingredient list takes you. It’s magical!
In case you’re wondering, reasons #1-65 that I love pesto involve the taste of garlic, olive oil, parmesan, and nuts, the fact that it can be spread on just about anything, that it reminds me of my childhood, that it’s quick to prepare, etc. etc. etc. Don’t make me list them out one by one!
For this pesto, I was actually considering making some sort of zucchini noodles, but ended up thinking it would be too much trouble. Instead, I opted to roast the zucchini, throw it in the blender with all those other wonderful pesto ingredients, and toss it with regular pasta. Ta-da! A quick and satisfying seasonal pasta dish that doesn’t involve me purchasing some sort of spiralizing equipment.
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So you guys: Moving. Let’s talk about it, because it’s kind of taking over my life lately. Also, you’re so supportive.
I promise we will get to this cake in a minute.
But first, moving. Moving is terrible.
I am at peace with the process now that we are fully moved in, only 2 walls of our living room are stacked with boxes (instead of the entire apartment), my kitchen is 90% organized, and some new IKEA furniture has even been assembled. But during the move, things were pretty painful.
Our new apartment is only about a mile from the old one, i.e. pretty much the easiest move possible. We signed the lease completely on a whim, and moved almost immediately. (Somehow my old landlord had no problem with this! Although I learned later that she was looking for a new place and ended up moving in when I moved out. Thaaaat might have something to do with it.) Anyway, I am about the least impulsive person imaginable., and definitely experienced some buyer’s remorse after signing the new lease.
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I’m just going to say it: I am nowhere near ready for fall.
You might think it’s jumping the gun to start thinking about cooler temperatures when it’s still August (and I couldn’t agree with you more). But if you live in Utah, you know that anticipation for ski season – forget fall altogether – is already mounting by August. (This I will never understand.) And even the non-ski bums around me are starting to mention looking forward to fall boots, colorful leaves, etc.
Stop it! It’s just wrong.
Though I’ve never been a fan of the very hot weather, I do love all the things that come with summer – most notably sundresses, summer produce, walking out of the house without bundling up, and the lack of impending winter doom. I intend to cling to all of those things for as long as possible and hope I don’t get hypothermia.
So let’s embrace that summer produce while we still can with this orzo recipe: a warm pasta salad-y dish with lots of yummy texture from zucchini matchsticks and corn kernels, not to mention the orzo. It’s all just barely heated up together, so it’s full of bright, fresh flavor in addition to all those great textures.
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