P(r)esto!

This story begins with the convenient appropriation of a rather large bunch of fresh basil (one of the major perks of working at a plant nursery).

What better to do with a bunch of basil than whip up some classy pesto? I actually bought an ice cube tray last week specifically in the hopes that I would have a batch of pesto to freeze in 'em! (I'm a nerd, yes I am). I washed the basil as soon as I got home and put the bunch in a glass with water to keep it fresh while I ran to the grocery store for the fixin's for my newest creation.

Springtime Sausage Pasta

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(Yield: 1 Serving)

Ingredients

One sweet italian sausage

1/2 cup sliced bell pepper (I used half red and half yellow)

2 oz fettucini pasta (I used enriched vegetable pasta)

1 1/2 tablespoons Classy Pesto (recipe below)

1 1/2 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon flour

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon pine nuts

Instructions

Bring pasta water to boil and cook pasta according to box directions.

In a medium saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Remove sausage from casing and brown- breaking up into bite-sized pieces- about 4 minutes. Add bell pepper to pan and cook with sausage until tender and slightly translucent- about 3 minutes.

Once sausage and peppers are cooked, remove from pan and hold in a bowl to the side. Returning pan to medium heat, add flour and stir constantly until all the juices in the pan are absorbed and the four is a medium brown color (we're creating a rue here, in case you're wondering). Add milk to the pan, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps form forming. Bring to a simmer and cook until bubbling and thickened.

Add pesto and parmesan cheese to the milk/flour mixture and stir to combine. Return sausage and peppers to the pan and toss with cooked pasta.

Garnish with pine nuts.

Classy Pesto

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(Yield: about 3/4 cup)

Ingredients

One huge bunch fresh basil (about 3 cups of leaves)

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons pine nuts

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Place basil, garlic, pine nuts and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times. Turn food processor on and pour in olive oil through the pour spout of processor in a slow stream. Voila- I mean- Presto!!

As mentioned above, I spooned my pesto into an ice cube tray to freeze. Once the pesto is frozen, I'll put all of the cubes in a ziplock bag and back into the freezer- at the ready for endless culinary possibilities!

I'd like to mention as a footnote that you should be very mindful, once you have removed your basil bunch from it's fresh-keeping glass of water, to not mistake said glass of water as one intended for human consumption. Not that I know from experience...

Further Pinhole Experimentation

Well, good or bad, here are the results of my D-SLR pinhole experimentation (so far). Though the photos do not have the same razor-like focus that a normal pinhole would produce, I like the dreamy quality of it. The results include interesting flares, shadows, vignetting and distortions.

Pinhole 3.0

Me and the ol' pinhole photography concept go way back (at least to the more experimental years in my distinguished art school education). I loved the endless depth of field and the dreamy quality of the resulting images. We hand built our cameras from pretty sophisticated internet-bought kits (this one), then shot using medium format film, developed the film, and enlarged the prints.

In more recent years, I taught a pinhole photography class to children at a camp. In this case, we also made our own cameras, but this time from up-cycled cardboard packing boxes and duct tape. Our "film" was photo paper which we developed in a college classroom-turned rudimentary darkroom. Here's a couple of examples of this method:

Now, to get to the matter at hand- after all, this is not a blog of my past accomplishments (prestigious as they may be). I read a crazy idea of how to turn my beloved DSLR into a pinhole camera. I was quite skeptical but, I figured, I've got nothing to lose! Basically, I hammered a pushpin through the protective body cap of my camera, taped a crack caused by this invasive procedure, and then used the bulb setting (about a 50 second exposure) to capture my first digital pinhole photos!

Voila! I don't expect you to be impressed, but I'm excited to test this out in daylight- and what better opportunity than my upcoming trip to the beach (tomorrow).