Tarragon Pesto

Summer's almost over! :'( It seems as though every year, summer just passes me by without being able to fully enjoy it. I've been to the farmer's market twice, and I've also only been to the beach twice. Twice! This entire summer! I also haven't gotten around to collecting any dock or cattail roots. I will, however, have an ice cream party at the beginning of September (when my whole30 is over). I've been enjoying summer fruit, but only from the grocery store. Today it was 31 degrees, and I was working so I couldn't enjoy the heat. It was so hot, my swiss chard was wilting in the garden. At least tomorrow's also supposed to be warm, and I'm not working, so maybe I'll be able to go to the beach!

Yes, this beautiful cherry tomato did come from my garden :)

The inspiration for this recipe comes from my massive tarragon plant. Pesto is the best way to use up large amounts of herbs, plus it just tastes delicious. This goes best with fish, but would probably also work with chicken, eggs, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini pasta, etc. Or eat it with all those things together. Mmmm, that sounds good!

I can't seem to find the paper that I wrote the recipe for this on (my guess is my brother threw it away. Nothing is safe from the garbage with him around :P), so I'm going by memory. Just taste as you go, that's what I always do anyway. Feel free to add some parsley or substitute parsley for some of the tarragon. It'll make a less tarragon-y pesto.

Tarragon Pesto

1 1/2 cups fresh tarragon

1/2 cup spinach (or more, for a milder taste)

juice of 1 lemon

3 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsley chopped

1 Tbsp mustard

1 tsp fennel seeds

12 olives, or equivalent amount of capers

1/2 cup almonds

3/4 cup olive oil, or as needed

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Put all the ingredients, except for 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a food processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped.

2. Slowly pour in the remaining olive oil until the desired consistency is reached.

3. That's it!

Garden update: my peas are all drying up, probably just because their life span is over. I'll wait till they're dry to harvest the seeds. My beans are growing, but not too crazy. Soon I'll be able to harvest more chard, kale, and broccoli (can't wait for the broccoli!). The seed pods on my arugula and mustard are getting plump, and the lettuce and spinach that I recently planted are sprouting. A few tomatoes and cucumbers are growing, and I have tiny peppers! My parsley may actually grow something yet, and the stevia's doing great. The basil's growing, the quinoa's growing, and so are the carrots and beets, though they'll be a fall harvest. My radishes might almost be ready, although I don't have much faith in them. Lastly, I'm really anxious to see if my calendula and nasturtiums will bloom (a very late planting, I know)! So that's my garden. Ice cream recipes will be posted in the next two weeks.