This is a big bowl of basil form the garden, ready to make this summers first batch of basil pesto. I love the gorgeous color and sweet aroma of basil. It's my favorite herb.
So I went to my cookbook shelf and grabbed my favorite pesto recipe from Giada DeLaurentis and got to work. It's pretty simple I must say; basil, toasted pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Put it all in the food processor and spin away.
Then add a pound of pasta and a simple summer supper is born. You can also add in some sliced chicken or grilled shrimp and you have a virtual feast on your hands filled with the aroma of summer.
{happy}
It was a quiet July 4th celebration this year. Between the power outage last weekend and the heat wave that's overcome our area, we decided to stay in. Miss Courtney does not handle the heat well at all so the majority of the summer is usually spent indoors. It is one of the many adjustments we have made over the years with Miss Court. As long as she stays cool, all is right with the world.
This year we continued our tradition of a board game marathon. J-man choses the games and the smack talk begins. This year we started with family favorite Monopoly. I was the thimble, Jerry the battleship and J-man the puppy. We settled in with fresh sweet tea and began strategizing immediately.
The money was counted and the dice rolled. We played for a few hours going back and forth, trading properties, buying houses, selling houses, etc...
There was laughter and lots of teasing.
Apparently I have been raising a robber baron these last 22 years! J-man was on a roll and just kept buying property after property and before you know it...Jerry was bankrupt and I was not far behind.
This was the end of the game...mortgaged properties and no cash. I have never been good at Monopoly but I must say it was a lot of fun to spend that much uninterrupted time with my two guys. I know the time draws near where this will be a rare occasion so I decided to take it all in.
{funny}
Do you see the face of the robber baron to the right? There was evil laughter to go with it. My boy could make Donald Trump weep with the way he cleaned up. Now if he could translate that success into real life...watch out world!
{real}
Our meal for the 4th was simple and all came from the freezer or garden. We enjoyed pulled pork (from the freezer) topped with cole slaw (made with cabbage from the garden), mac and cheese (from the freezer) and cucumber/tomato salad (from the garden).
All I had to do was chop a few things and microwave the others. That's the kind of celebration I needed after all the drama of the past week. It was a lovely day filled with family and laughter.
Memories were made.
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
