Wednesday 1 July 2009

Corner View #12

Theme: staple foods.


Mmm… Buon sapore di Liguria… What could I possibly write about? Walnut sauce..? Polpettone...? Minestrone..? Fried anchovies..? Farinata..? There’s plenty… but I know there’s only one thing I can share today and it’s pesto, of course!

I love pesto. In fact, pasta with pesto was the only food I tolerated during the first trimester of my pregnancy. I lived on it for few weeks. Some days I feared my baby was going to be born completely green; but somehow when I started the second trimester I developed a strong love for carrots and then I feared that my baby was going to be born orange; in the end she turned out pinky-blue as any other newborn (or: probably too much berry ice-cream in my third trimester ;) ).

I say it again: I love pesto. In fact, when I first started going out with C., he saw me eating pesto straight from the jar, spoon by spoon. Earlier that day I had ordered double espresso at the coffee shop. If you think that your love was written somewhere between the stars, our must have been written somewhere between that cup of coffee and jar of pesto, half eaten by me before pasta was ready…

Pesto originally comes from Genoa and it has a long history. C. makes his own pesto at home and it’s my favourite one. The consistency, the colour, the basil smell and the garlicky taste- it’s just perfect. It’s very easy to make and all you need is some fresh basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic and pine kernels. These days cooking recipes suggest to use electronic blenders to crush all the ingredients and mix them well together but C. makes his pesto in more traditional way, using a mortar.




jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad, caitlin, joyce, ani, couturecoucou, kim, a day that is dessert, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeanette, outi, schanett, ritva, dongdong, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemian girl, ruth, dianna, isabelle, amber, all the lovelies, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, jenna, skymring, elizabeth, audrey, allison, lise, cate, mon, victoria, crescent moon, erin, otli, amy, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la luna dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, virgina, april, rebecca, b, sunnymama, kyndale, samantha, karen, kristina, angelina, juanita, pamela, emily, dorit, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, desiree, travellingmama, aimee, mirtille, madchen, guusje, boise, daan, woolie, 2ndspring, jenell, tina, inna,

26 comments:

  1. I love the story of the colors of your food cravings during pregnancy! I was never able to eat or smell garlic during pregnancy, that's why I'm making up for it now:)!

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  2. aaaaa pesto. YUM!! thanks for posting. I can almost taste it!

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  3. What a great post! I loved your first trimester anecdote - I was sure my daughter was going to be born olive green; I ate so many green pimento-stuffed olives, I could barely face one for years afterwards!

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  4. You can invite me over any time...I love homemade pesto! And wouldn´t mind the double espresso either. :)

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  5. Yummm... will you be willing to share a pesto recipe sometime? Thank goodness your baby came out in the perfect shade of color, even though green is one of my favorite colors. smile.... xoxo

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  6. Hi Kasia,
    yes, those are gooseberries. I also bought some jostaberries. These are a crossbreed between gooseberries and black currants. Delicious!
    Shall I send some? ;)

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  7. Now i know what we'll have for dinner!
    Thank you!

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  8. wonderful love story-you, c, pesto and coffee. what could be more romantic?

    and a fine man, one who grinds his pesto by hand. surely it tastes of that secret ingredient: love.

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  9. Very cute blog! Would love to follow one another here in the blog world!:) I always trying to network with other creative bloggers! Let me know, or add me and I will add you too! Happy blogging, and have a great day!

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  10. We love making our own pesto. Your pictures are super yummy!

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  11. kasia- what a beautiful post. i will never look at pesto in the same way again:) besos-jane

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  12. As soon as I saw those pictures, my mouth started to salivate and I knew what we were talkin' about. MMM pesto! There is a certain sandwhich at a local shop that is chicken, cheese, spinach and pesto that I am addicted to!

    Also I loved the story about your pregnancy, so funny.

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  13. Oh how I love pesto too! Yes, it can only be made with a mortar + pestle. Love your blog!

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  14. YEP! one of my all time favorites too. We usually just use the food processor though :)
    cheers,

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  15. i also love the story about your pregnancy!!!!

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  16. i love pesto! we make all sorts of strange kinds. broccoli walnut, cauliflour cheddar, sun dried tomato basil.

    just add nuts, cheese, and olive oil its alwasys a seller!

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  17. Thank you for sharing the pesto stories! I never used to like pesto till I tasted fresh pesto in Liguria!!

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  18. i learned cooking in italy...that's why i'm still in love con la cucina italiana. i liked your story about the pregnancy. very funny ;-) wish you a good week*

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  19. What a delicious post! Thank you for that corner view. I'm partial to pesto as well and have been making a spinach version with walnuts that is outstanding.

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  20. Such a fun story of your green and then orange baby ;-)
    I love pesto too, in fact I just made pesto pizza yesterday and pesto pasta over the weekend...yummy!!

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  21. oi, that's it! i'm off to the garden to harvest our basil!

    what a beautiful post! i already knew you had a thing with pesto and is what great to get the full story :)

    have a wonderful day ~ trinsch

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  22. yummy yummy ! i love pesto too !! but maybe not as much as you ... :)

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  23. Nice post and I agree, pesto is very nice.

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  24. mmmmmm, fantastic post, i love pasta and i love pesto!

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  25. I think I will try soon ...

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