Basil from the garden to make Pesto

Homemade Basil Pesto

This week I finally managed to pick some of my basil and made some pesto it

So So easy to make and taste so much better than shop brought

Also a great way of using up most green veg like

lettuce

Rockett

Broccoli

Parsley

kale,

chard

spinach

It does not take a lot

Basil

To make pesto all you need is

50g (2oz) fresh basil leaves or a mixuture of the above (I had a half empty bag of lettuce in the fridge so I chucked that in as well.
2 crushed garlic cloves
30ml (2tbsp) pine nuts (you could even use walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans)

100ml (4fl oz) virgin olive oil
50g (2oz) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground salt and black pepper
Put the ingredients into a food processor and pulse to blend. Slowly add oil through feed tube until it makes a nice paste.

Keep in the fridge for up to one week. Stir into hot cooked pasta or even  serve as a sauce with grilled fish or chicken.

But I also freeze mine and take it out when I need it.

Summer all year long 

 

Summer ?

Summer is certainly talking it time this year and of course the garden is being affected.

Everything is well behide and you feel yourself willing all your plants on.

But I thought I would share with you some of the successes so far.

The Cucumbers are doing well

Cucumber nearly ready to be picked 

Tomatoes the flowers on on the plants but no fruit as yet  

More tomatoes, give it another 4 weeks and I should have more tomatoes then I know what to do with 

Yellow peppers it you look closely you will see the start of a pepper   

Baby Sweetcorn these won't be ready for some time (these will get really big)

Runner beans trying there best to climb the poles except the wind keeps blowing them back down again 

Potatoes 

New Potatoes 

Lilies can't eat them but don't they look pretty 

Cherry Tomatoes and if you look closely we have some fruit (just need to go red) 

Pea 's and you can even see the pods some I'm guessing I should have some in the next week or so 

Tomatoes

• 

I’m growing four different types of tomatoes this year.
I Sow tomatoes about 1 cm deep into a seed trays in a propagator in my green house back in March but  you can Sow them from February - April.
Germination takes 8-11 days.

1st variety is

Tomato Big Boy

Reliable variety. The plants produce fruit weighing up to 250 grams.  Meaty flesh, great for cooking, grilling.

2nd variety is

Tomato Golden Sunrise

Tomato Golden Sunrise produces medium sized yellow fruits, which have excellent sweet taste with fleshy consistence. The golden yellow fruits add a lovely colour to your summer salads.

 

3rd variety is

Tomato San Marzano

San Marzano is considered by many to be the best sauce tomato in the world.

The fruit is thinner and more pointed than that of the Roma tomato.
The sweet flavour, meaty flesh and low seed density in the fruit make this an ideal variety for making tomato sauce.

4^th Variety

In the Hanging baskets

Tumbling Tom Red

 Tumbling Tom Red sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes throughout summer.

 

 

I planted all theses plants out last week when we had that really hot weather.

All I have to do now is water and Remove side shoots and wait for all my lovely tomatoes

 

Update on the Pea's

I think this is what I love about gardening  a few  weeks ago theses were tiny but now

The birds left them alone this time

not long now