Shannon’s Four Greens Pesto

My sister-in-law made this delicious pesto for us when she was here visiting from her home in Brazil.

 It was October and we spent time up north where we rented the most glorious house for a few days. Can you picture the very tip of the Leelanau Peninsula?  Not sure what I’m talking about? Well, can you picture the very tip of the pinky finger in the imaginary “Michigan Map” that your left hand makes? The very tippy tip? That’s where we were, mainly dodging rain drops and battling cold Michigan wind.

There is a wild beauty in the outdoors in October as you can see from my photos. You can also see that I tried to capture all the shades of color that I saw in a 5 minute period out our window.

Can you read the recipe and figure it out? Basically, put it all in the food processor and serve over fettuccine, garnishing with the obvious things.  I didn’t think using all four greens would be good ...that it would have too many flavors. But I was wrong. This is a super pesto! 

Tabbouleh Salad

V is for Variety and V is for Vacation! 

Welcome to the Vegan Month of Food (VeganMoFo)  I intend to post 20 times during the month of September – all about vegan food. Check out the gals who organize the project here, and search out other fantastic vegan bloggers. I decided on the theme of “V is for Variety” because, honestly, once I quit the chicken breast – my food choices exploded! Join me!

From the far reaches of Northern Michigan to the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee – I have been on vacation! What a special treat to see so much of my family this summer. So much laughter and I guess a few tears also. Really, when it comes down to it, our families make each us the of unique individuals we are. Without them, where would we be?.... um.... alone!  Our histories, our memories, all the unspoken bonds that hold us together. If you are a hobbit lover, then you will appreciate this J.R.R. Tolkien quote, which I guess applies to some families: “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” Can't you picture Bilbo saying that at his 111th birthday party? 

 A few of us were brave enough to test the cold waters of Lake Huron.

 Others huddled in blankets. 

Huge meals were prepared together. 

I actually got brave and made this awesome vegan cheese for the family - *yes* I lugged my Vitamix to Tennessee. Everyone loved it! I mean, like crazy-loved it. 

A special shout out to my mom who was so gracious to prepare vegan food for me – she really out did herself! Today I share her tabbouleh recipe, originally from Ina Garten, as you can see from my mom’s notecard.  I could eat it by the tubful and I encourage you to do the same. 

(one note.... soak the bulgur and then prepare the dressing to pour over- Mom's note might be confusing. notice also that you could serve this in pita bread or with feta cheese.)

Soak the bulgur. Chop the veggies. Make the 

dressing.

Add all the lovely chopped veg. Pour over the super lemony dressing. Mix and serve. 

To round out my month of vacation, I moved our three kids to their new apartments, got them all settled in where they need to be. College, College, Work. I started to tidy up the house (now that we are empty nesters it should stay clean....yeah, right!)

Spice Rack Challenge: Mint

Well, I feel like I might be cheating on this month’s challenge…..

 1) I really don’t like mint. I only use it in a few things.

 2) Because I don’t like it, I didn’t even want to learn about it (that’s lame, I know)

3) I live in a small town with a small grocery store, so no hope for fantastic fresh herbs, just the          pre-packaged stuff.

 4) I have always wanted to taste a Mojito….. so, there was no real challenge for me this month!  

            Just a nice, warm, happy feeling after working on and tasting this delish drink.

Here’s what you need:

Fresh mint

Fresh lime

A bit of sugar (Next time I will leave out the sugar - rum is already sweet)

Light rum

Soda water

Ice

Here’s what you do:

Muddle the mint, lime and sugar. I used a large glass and a wooden spoon.

Add ice, rum and soda water. I strained my drink (well, drinks – plural….) into my favorite glass. Look at that gorgeous color.

Beautiful! Keep messing with the quantities until you get it how you like it. Practice makes perfect, right?