Pesto Pesto Pesto !!!!!

Pestos for paninis or pasta....you choose!

Ok so we went to Italy less than a year ago and when we returned, in the spring, I planted my garden.  But this year I added a great deal of garlic and basil.  Why?  Because I was taught how to make my own pestos and let me tell you, speaking from a culinary stance, it changed the way I eat and the way I cook.  

You cannot be worried about calories when you are cooking with this glorious, clean, beautiful, tiny dish.  Small amounts of it will add flavor you will not believe!  Add it to a sandwich or cook your favorite pasta and when it's hot toss in a few tablespoons to coat.  Each tablespoon will be about 75 calories only because of the olive oil.  Pesto originated in northern Italy  and they use ingredients known to their region; garlic, basil, and pine nuts topped off with olive oil and shaken vigorously to combine. Any combination you choose is wonderful, so lets talk about what some pestos have in them:  

you basic ingredients will almost always be

garlic, fresh basil, and about a teaspoon of sea salt.  

Other items you may use are

olives, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, chili peppers, onion and of course olive oil. 

Here is what I made today:  

I used 2 cloves of garlic, a hand full of basil, 1/4 up of sun dried tomatoes, 1/5 cup of pine nuts

I know you can put it in a food processor or chopper, but it is recommended by Italian chefs to chop it by hand

When complete with chopping add it to a jar with a lid, cover with extra virgin olive oil and shake

As always on my blog I say, cook to YOUR TASTE.  If you like more garlic add it, if you like less basil, don't use it.

Add I teaspoon of sea salt and shake one more time

Refrigerate and enjoy when needed! 

This is a picture I took from a market in Florence and below is a beautiful pasta display in a window in San Gimignano

  

Ahhh Italhy...I can't even be sarcastic about it

Balsamic Garlic Pork Tenderloin

This is so easy and really good!

 So obviously, you need 4-5 cloves of garlic and your favorite balsamic  vinegar

Then 2 teaspoons of coarse salt, 2 teaspoons of freshly ground 

    pepper and 2 T. of olive oil.

  Start by spraying a skillet with oil & browning the tenderloin on all sides

After you brown your tenderloin, combine the minced garlic, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar and coat it up!

Place it in the oven for  30 minutes at 325 degrees.  (I'm just going to tell you, other recipes say 10-12 minutes, lower temps ect. but  that makes for a disgustingly uncooked tenderloin!) So, cut into it and see if it is the color you desire; but don't slice completely until you have let it set for about 10 minutes

I just threw some broccoli in the oven with salt, pepper, and lemon juice on it for a few minutes until tender...

And then placed, in a pan on the cook top, a few thinly sliced potatoes with olive oil and seasoned to taste until they were tender...

VOILA!

**Sarcasm Note- I really wish  this were more difficult because I'd love to have spent more time in the kitchen!