Basic Basil Pesto Recipe (with pictures and steps)



Fresh sweet basil leaves



One of the easiest plants to grow in Virginia is a basil plant, and there is no shortage of this ingredient during the summer for one of the most versitile dishes around: basil pesto. Pesto is not only great on pasta, but on potatoes, bread, and meats as well. My favorite sandwich during this time of year is composed of freshly made bread evenly spread with pesto and topped with grilled chicken breast, fresh tomatoes, and mozzarella. Absolutely heavenly!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1./2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup pine nuts (I use walnuts because they are generally less expensive, but shhh...)
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Prepare your basil leaves by placing into a colander or a bowl, and rinsing with water. I am a little bit obsessive about how clean my food is, so I tend to wash the leaves several times before I am satisfied. Make sure the leaves are thoroughly dried before proceeding to the next step.
2. Combine ingredients into a food processor. If you are using walnuts, it is best to grind them along with the garlic before adding the leaves, as the leaves will tend to darken in color. For this post, I did not do this, so my pesto turned out darker than usual. It does not have any effect on taste; it's just a matter of color preference.
3. Pulse for a few seconds until leaves are evenly pureed. That's it!



Fresh Virginia basil pesto



How to Make a Garden Pond

Imagine yourself having dinner outside on a warm summer evening, listening to the peaceful sounds of falling water over river rocks. Unfortunately, not many of us live near a natural pond or stream. However, there are easy ways to create your own garden pond complete with a waterfall or fountain. Adding a water feature to your garden or patio is actually much easier than you'd think. All you need is a little patch of land, some water, and a few supplies and you're on your way to complete Zen...

Supplies:
*Shovel
*Pond pump with filter
*Tubing
*A few bags of sand
*Various rocks
*Pond liner

Instructions:
Designate the place where you want your pond to be located and draw a rough outline with your shovel. Next, dig a hole into the ground at least two feet that will be filled with water. This is the part that will be the most time consuming.

Once you have your hole, fill it with your purchased sand to create a nice cushion layer over which your pond liner will sit. We have rock hard Virginia clay here, so I used some old foam scraps left over from another project along with the sand.

Gently open out your pond liner and completely cover your hole. Using scissors, cut off any of the excess liner. The beauty of using pond liner over a pre-formed hard liner is you can be creative in designing your own shape. I liked the Azalea bush in my backyard so much that I decided to create my pond around it. When the bush blooms, it is absolutely stunning.

Lay some heavy stones over the liner to hold it down. You can get creative and build your own wall by stacking your stones as shown.

Assemble your pond pump according to the instructions and place in the deepest part of your pond.

Next comes the fun part. Throw in a garden hose and turn on the water. In a few hours, your pond will be full and you can plug in your pump.

That's it!

White Chocolate Cheesecake Tuxedo Cake Recipe

I made this cake for my husband's birthday this year. It was fairly complicated to assemble with all of the steps involved, but well worth the effort in the end. I will definitely make this cake again.











Ingredients:

CHEESECAKE LAYERS:
*1 1/2 lb cream cheese; softened
*2 cup confectioner's sugar
*1/2 cup sour cream
*1 tsp vanilla extract
*6 oz white baking chocolate; melted, cooled
*2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
*1/4 cup cold water

CHOCOLATE LAYERS:
*1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
*1/2 cup butter; softened
*1/2 cup granulated sugar
*2 eggs
*1 tsp vanilla extract
*1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
*1 tsp baking soda
*1/2 tsp salt
*1 cup sour cream

CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM FROSTING:
1 1/3 c semisweet chocolate chips
6 tb butter
2/3 c sour cream
1 ts vanilla extract
3 c confectioner's sugar

FOR THE WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE LAYER: Beat cream cheese with confectioners sugar until smooth. Blend in sour cream, vanilla extract and white chocolate. Stir the gelatin into the cold water in a small saucepan and allow mixture to stand several minutes to soften. Then heat mixture gently over a low setting until thoroughly dissolved. Cool briefly, then blend into the cream cheese mixture. Line bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with foil, then coat pan and foil well with a nonstick spray. Pour mixture into prepared pan, cover top of pan and chill until firm. This cheesecake layer can be prepared up to two days in advance, and held in the refrigerator.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE LAYERS: Melt chocolate chips in a small heavy gauge saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350F and arrange rack to the center position. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Cream the butter with the sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract and the cooled, melted chocolate. Whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt and gradually stir into the batter. Blend in the sour cream and divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans.

Bake at 350F about 25 minutes or until layers spring back when lightly pressed in their centers. Cool layers in pans 10 minutes, then loosen and turn out onto a rack to complete cooling.

YIELD: Two 9-inch layers

CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM FROSTING: Melt chocolate chips and butter in a small,heavy gauge saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and cool 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and vanilla
extract. Gradually add confectioners sugar, beating until frosting is smooth.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Arrange one of the cooled chocolate cake layers in center of a cake plate, top side down. Placing top side (because of its moist surface) down will help to secure cake to plate, preventing layers from slipping after cake is assembled. Release rim of the springform pan. Holding cheesecake in one hand and chocolate cake layer (on plate) in other hand, quickly invert chocolate layer (plate and all) on top of the cheesecake. Quickly flip the two, now attached layers back over, so chocolate layer is again on bottom. Now, you can easily remove springform pan bottom from (now top) of cheesecake layer. Arrange the remaining chocolate cake layer (top side down) on top of cheesecake layer. Using a
long sharp knife and a slight sawing motion, carefully cut around rim of cheesecake layer to make it even with chocolate layers. Frost sides and top of cake and serve. The cheesecake layer will hold at room temperature several hours. For best results, serve cake within 3 hours of assembling. Refrigeration will cause the frosting to loose its beautiful sheen.

YIELD: One, three layer, 9-inch round cake



*The recipe in its original form is located at the following website: Chocolate Tuxedo Cake

How to make your own reusable nursing pads

I love these pads. As a nursing mother, I got tired of buying the expensive boxes of nursing pads that are good for one use and then tossed in the garbage, only to wind up in a landfill. These pads are great, because not only are they pretty, but they can be laundered over and over again with the rest of your clothes. I like to use an inner cotton layer, which allows skin to breathe and prevents sensitive skin from sticking and an outer flannel layer, which is soft and reminds me which side goes against my skin.

For your nursing pads, you need the following materials:
*Piece of cotton fabric measuring at least 5"x10"
*An old bath towel, or a piece of microfiber cloth
*Sewing machine and thread
*Scissors
*A drinking glass with a diameter at least 4"
*Piece of PUL (polyurethane laminate) fabric (optional, but I like to use to create a waterproof layer)


Instructions:
1. Spread out your fabric right side down.
2. Using a pen, draw an outline around your overturned drinking glass, making a total of four circles.
3. Repeat same procedure for your microfiber and PUL fabric, making two circles of each.
4. Using scissors, cut about 1 cm away from your outline on each circle, as shown. You should have a total of six circles.
5. Now, make your fabric sandwich. Create your layers as follows: one fabric circle (right side up), one fabric circle (right side down), one microfiber circle, and one PUL circle (marked side up).
6. Sew your layers together around your marked outline, stopping about one inch from your starting point.
7. Cut around your circle to clean up edges, leaving some uncut fabric in between your starting and stopping point for later.
8. Insert fingers through opening and turn fabric inside out.
9. Fold the excess fabric inward and pin to close up your opening.
10. Sew closely around outer edges of nursing pad.

And you're done! Pads will initially be slightly misshapen, but will regain their circular shape after ironing. If you are using PUL in your pads, take care when ironing as the PUL could potentially melt if overheated.