“ My process is thinking, thinking and thinking—thinking about my stories for a long time…If you have a better way, please let me know.

How I spent my weekend. (photo by Zach)

The not so awesome thing about rompers: having to get nearly naked everytime you go to the bathroom.

I’m a book girl on the subway, but now that I almost daily have to drag along my umbrella, I’ve switched to magazines. One of my new regular reads is the NYTimes Sunday Magazine. Here are several articles I’ve enjoyed recently: Radovan Karadzic’s New-Age Adventure, Anne Heche Is Playing It Normal Now, Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch, and I Was a Baby Bulimic.

Last night, I was set on making fresh pesto. When I went to pick everything up from the CSA drop off, I was a wee bit surprised to see bunches and bunches of Purple Opal Basil. Zach and I decided to just go with it, and the result was great. Our ‘purple pesto’ was more fragrant and had a stronger, spicier anise flavor.

Purple Pesto
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups packed purple opal basil
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions:

Toast pine nuts in a dry pan over medium-low heat. Shake the pan frequently until the nuts are fragrant and browned. Transfer the pine nuts to a plate to cool.
Place the basil, pine nuts, parsley, parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Blitz a couple times to get it going, then turn the processor on and let run while drizzling olive oil in.
Stop when all the oil is incorporated, but before it gets too thin. It should still be slightly chunky.
Serve over pasta with a little parm on top.

(photo courtesy of Cookthink)

Fjallraven Backpacks. Want.

Today’s CSA Share

What’s for dinner tonight? Some combination of the items below:

Eggplant
Sweet Corn
Cucumbers
Broccoli
Arugula
Baby Bok Choi
Sweet Salad Turnips
Basil
Lettuce
Cherries
Apricots
Sugar Plums
Peaches

Think I’ll also attempt dill pickles or perhaps even a plum cake.

Pics from Portugal are finally up here and here.

Can’t wait to drop by Michael Huynh’s new Bia Garden. It features several of my very favorite things: leafy outdoor space, communal tables, bottled beer on ice, and sticky rice.

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Cale Parks - Running Family. LOVE the new EP.

Lazybones me finally posted some pics from my canoe trip. Still need to get around to Portugal…

Last month, during Williamsburg Walks, I stopped by Nick’s Free Dating Advice Panel on Bedford Ave. It was definitely an entertaining way to spend a Saturday afternoon.