Homemade Pesto is the Besto

It's getting exciting around here. The garden is starting to produce in full force, and it's time to put up some food! Tonight, we made pesto with our basil and garlic.

Take these....

Put them in this...

And you get this!

We used this recipe, courtesy of the Food Network. 

Ingredients:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 TBS garlic, chopped
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups olive oil
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Put nuts and garlic in food processor, blend a bit. Add basil, salt, pepper. Slowly add oil as processor is running. Add cheese, process another minute. Eat, refrigerate or freeze. 

Mmmmm. I quadrupled the batch. 

A Grizzly Glacier Tale

Bill and I wrangled a couple of my brothers, Josh and Nick, and Nick's girlfriend Casie, into coming with us on a two-night backcountry trip into Glacier National Park, with an itinerary putting us over Gunsight Pass. 

The A Team: Casie, Nick, Bill, Josh, Cass 

Probably about 8 or 9 miles in on the first day, through wind and hail and rain-soaked undergrowth, we were finally nearing the top of Gunsight Pass. The trail became a chiseled pathway right into the mountain-side, with sheer, rocky drop-offs to the lake below. Up ahead, there was a snow crossing that looked a little treacherous with the steep angle. We were studying the snow, and Josh pointed out one additional potential complication: two grizzlies foraging for grubs just below the snowfield, maybe 200 yards away. We had a moment of excitement and drank in the sight for a few minutes, then decided to press on. We crossed the field without any indecent, and made it 200 yards up the trail, to a fantastic overlook. While admiring a mountain goat on the opposite mountain, a couple of us looked back and were surprised to see a grizzly coming up the trail after us. And, then...it broke into a run. For your enjoyment, and for the "grizzly tale", here are some videos, courtesy of You Tube. 

Needless to say, other than a pepper spray to my face, and maybe a few pairs of wet underwear, we came out unscathed. After the first day, the weather became a sun-bather's dream, and we stretched out on the rocks to pick huckleberries, unhurried and happy.

The Gunsight Pass hike scenery was jaw dropping, and the campgrounds had character and beauty. Pit toilets earned not so consistently high marks, but the open pit toilet at Lake Ellen Wilson campground, with its unmatched overlook of the lake, set the bar high for all other pit toilets out there. There were a plethora of mountain goats, many of whom visited us in camp and tried to lick at anything salty. We also got to check out one of the park's only hike-in chalets and grabbed a tasty lunch of soup, sandwiches, and pie.

Kudos to Nick and Casie for introducing us to this delicious "gourmet" backcountry meal, which will definitely be a part of our next trek: 

Beefy Noodle Bowl

• 3 Tbsp beef jerky, shredded
• 1 3-ounce package of Ramen noodles
• 1 1-ounce package instant onion soup
• 2 Tbsp mixed dried vegetables
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
• 1 or 2 packets of soy sauce, optional

At home: Discard flavor packet from noodles, combine all dry ingredients in a quart size, freezer zip lock bag.

On the trail: Boil about 2 cups water. Add to zip lock bag, then stir or shake gently until all is soft and rehydrated. Season with soy sauce as desired.
Makes 2 servings. This receipe courtesy of One Pan Wonders

July

Just a few updates from the farm...

The Great Scape

Who knew that garlic scapes were so delicious? Bill and I had no idea that the curly green tops (scapes) of garlic were meant to be harvested and enjoyed as a Fourth of July delicacy from the garden. This is our first year of growing garlic, so we were clueless as to the joys of scapes until our neighbor pointed out that we should "cut those tops off."  A little oil, salt and pepper, and onto a hot grill, and they were something like a marriage of asparagus and greenbean, with a good kick garlic. Next year, more garlic scapes!

The Grill Master testing his scapes. 

"Well, that's a big coyote......waitaminute. That's not a coy..." 

We had our first wolf sighting at Blue Cloud: a big Gray, about 200 yards in front of our property. He didn't seem too afraid of us....just stared us down for nearly a minute then loped up and over the hill.

Piggie Tales

The pigs are getting huge; they have at least doubled in size in the past month. They've developed a liking for the tennis balls that Stewie incessantly carries around and sometimes drops into their area. I caught one playing with the ball by dunking it repeatedly in the water tank. Sometimes, they just carry them around in their mouths.

This is "Blue Eyes", who squeals when you scratch his ears or back.
He's running toward me for a good ear scratching.

Nothing like a good, stiff draught on a hot sunny day.

Hoggin' the feeding trough.

Dry and Drier

Despite the hot temp and life-sucking winds, our baby windbreak is green and growing. Bill put in well over 2000 feet of watering hose (PVC pipe and dripper tubes) with drippers that deliver 1 gallon per hour.  We have well over 90% survival rate since the planting.

It's an extremely dry year, and, already, there's been a significant fire (the Corral Fire) in Helena that burned down four homes. For the Fourth, the county banned all private fireworks. Local firework stands, apparently, were feeling the heat when the county issued the ban. One fine, upstanding TNT-booth owner implied that the ban was violating the Helena-area "people's freedom". I believe he was referring to that amendment about having the right to burn down our homes, as well as those of our neighbors. Anyway, it is hot, windy, and looking like it's going to be a big Montana fire year.

The Elizabethan Collar, a Stewie Staple

Stewie is, again, in the collar of shame, recovering from a leg laceration. Total vet bills to date are: well, too many to count. But this is his fourth go round in his plastic halo. I can't believe we're actually considering pet insurance for this dude. If Baxter could roll his eyes, he would.

The Hot House

Using 2 cattle panels, bent and attached to two 3x6 foot raised beds, and covered with plastic sheeting, we created a small tomato and pepper growing house. It's our newest addition to the garden project.

Wild West

My little sister is getting married, so a little Montana-style celebrating was in order. All the best of western Montana: Chico Hot Springs, the Mint Bar, Big Dorothy's (brothel turned restaurant/bar), and Last Chance Gulch, added some good juju to her bachelorette bash.

Mom of the Bride, The Bride, and Bride's Big Sis

Thanksgiving 2011

My younger twin brothers brought their families to Montana this year for a Blue Cloud Thanksgiving celebration. We smoked one of our turkeys and my brother Jake brought a 13-pound prime rib. My nieces and nephews livened up the place, and Stewie-dog was in heaven with all the attention. 

Here are some our favorite recipes to share from the feast.

"How do they taste? They taste like more." -H.L. Mencken

BBQ Rub

Adapted from Steven Raichlen's fabulous Barbecue Bible series. We rubbed this on our turkey before smoking; we used about half the recipe for an 18 lb bird. The rub can be used on anything, ribs, pork, chicken, turkey, steak. It's pretty awesome.

Just combine the following in a bowl:
1 1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 cup course salt
1/2 cup paprika (we used smoked paprika)
3 Tbls dried parsley
2 Tbls dried basil
2 Tbls dried oregano
2 Tbls dried thyme
2 Tbls dried onion flakes
1 1/2 Tbls dried worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 Tbls lemon pepper
1 Tbls garlic powder
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cinnamon


Gingered Cranberry Raspberry Relish

from Eating Well

1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup crystallized ginger, minced, (choose soft nuggets over disks, if possible)
3 cups raspberries, (2 pints), fresh or frozen (not thawed)
Preparation
1. Pulse cranberries in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in sugar and
crystallized ginger. Gently stir in raspberries, it's fine to crush some of them. Cover and refrigerate for at
least 3 hours to let the flavors combine. Can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.


Horseraddish Sauce

Again, adapted from one of Stephen Raichlen's mouth-watering cookbooks.

1 thick piece, about 2 inches long, horseradish root, grated. You may add more to taste.
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbls chopped mixed fresh oregano, rosemary, basil and/or parlsey
1 Tbls lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 to 1 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled


Mix everything except the cream. Beat cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the sour cream mixture. Add more salt, pepper, lemon juice to taste. It only keeps a couple of days, so eat up!

Apple Pie

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen. This pie slices up beautifully. We own the 10th Anniversary Best Recipes collection from these authors and would recommend anything they create. If you're looking to expand your cookbook selection, grab one of theirs!

1 recipe of crust (see below)
2 1/2 lbs firm tart apples (about 5 large), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick (we used Honey Crisp but some other options include: Granny Smith, Empire, or Cortland)
2 1/2 lbs firm sweet apples (prepared same as above) (we used Golden Delicious; other options include: Jonagold and Braeburn)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp grated zest plus 1 Tbls juice from 1 lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon


1. Roll out the two pieces of dough into 12 inch circles. Place one in pie dish, the other on wax paper. Refrigerate both until ready to use. 
2. Put the apples, both sugars, zest salt, and cinnamon into a heavy pan (we use our stove top Dutch oven). Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 15-20 minutes. Dump apples and juices into a pan and let cool to room temp, about 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 425.
4. Drain cooled apples, and reserve 1/4 cup juice, Stir lemon juice into the reserved 1/4 cup apple juice.
5. Put apples into the pie plate and drizzle with lemon-apple juice mix. Cover with 2nd piece of dough. Trim, fold, crimp edges. Cut vent holes in top. Brush the dough with lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with the 1 tbls granulated sugar. 
6. Bake about 25 minutes, until crust is golden. Reduce heat to 375, and continue to bake about 25-30 minutes longer, until bubbly and deep golden brown. Cool about 2 hours to let set. Serve with vanilla ice cream!


Crust (makes one double crust 9 inch pie): 
2 1/2 cups flour, plus extra for the work surface
2 tbls sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
12 tbls (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and chilled
6-8 tbls ice water


1. Using a food processor, mix  flour, sugar, salt. Add the shortening and pulse until finely mixed. Add butter pieces and pulse a few more times. Put in large bowl. 
2. Sprinkle 6 Tbls of ice water over the mixture. Press dough together, until sticks. Use up to 2 extra Tbls of water if needed to make it stick.
3. Divide into two pieces and flatten slightly. Wrap tightly in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Before rolling the dough out, let sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften up. 

Happy Thanksgiving!