Pesto, Pasta, and Pork Loin

One of the best things about living at home is having access to my dad's fabulous garden.  The garden has been very productive this summer.  We've had asparagus, radishes, swiss chard, zucchini, squash, lettuce, cabbage, beets, rhubarb, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers (bell and hot), green and yellow beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, corn, blueberries, pears, peas, carrots, onions, dill, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and pumpkins.  The list alone is very impressive, but he also knows how to get all of these plants to produce.  Just an example of that would be the 40+ GALLONS of green and yellow beans he picked.  Needless to say the summer has been spent freezing, canning and cooking with these goodies.


One night this summer I decided to take the fresh basil and other herbs to make us dinner.  I made a yummy pesto sauce with the basil to go over some pasta.

I didn't have pine nuts, so I used walnuts instead

This picture doesn't do it justice, but it was a beautiful and tasty

I also roasted some cherry tomatoes (not from the garden) to go in the pasta.  Roasted cherry or grape tomatoes is one of my new favorite things.  Season them with a little salt, pepper and olive oil and roast in the oven for just a bit.  You just want them slightly cooked.  If they've              burst, then it's too long.  You want them to burst/pop we you bite into them.

To accompany the pasta, I made a tasty herb crusted pork tenderloin.  I used fresh thyme and rosemary.

Here are some pics of the finished meal

Look forward to future posts featuring pumpkins from the garden.


Happy Cooking!!