Rosanne's Pesto

Blend in a food processor:
¼ c pine nuts (or walnuts or pistaccios)
3 cloves garlic (more if you like)

Add:
¾ cup shredded fresh parmesan
½ c olive oil

Add:
2 c. leaves firmly packed basil

Salt to taste, best over angel hair pasta with fresh parm. Keeps a week in the fridge.

This is my friend Rosanne's recipe, which was passed around so much no one knows where it first came from. I am hoping she is having a good time at her first full week in nursing school.


Well, I butchered 4 of the chickens, had one stewed that same day. He was a bit tough (being 2 months overdue for butchering) but the flavor was phenominal. Also, he was way more filling than store bought chicken. I had one leg/thigh piece, and was full until the next morning. I am thinking of trying to make the next one into ground chicken; I think there is enough texture to it. Ground turkey is really good, and this chicken was very similar in flavor and texture to turkey (it could be because it was a Turken.)

We moved the 4 chicks we were raising in the house up to the barn. Tom (youngest son) was very upset about it, even though they are just a few hundred feet away. That child, I know it will make him a great person as an adult that he cares so much about things, but sometimes it is tough to deal with. I just kept telling him it is a good thing to bring them all out there, and he can go visit them and get them out whenever he likes. They are back with their moms, which is good. The problem was the front room smelled like chickens, and when his dad gets back from NC he will be hit with chicken smell which is no pleasant welcome. Now I just need to really clean that room.

I bought a 1/2 bushel of peppers at the farmers market yesterday for $5, and when I cut them up and scalded them for freezing I ended up with 7.5 pounds. Not a bad deal at all, I would say. I also bought a 1/2 bushel of Roma tomatoes for $6 as well, I need to do those today. I thought I might can some as diced tomatoes, and make a large batch of sauce to freeze in quart bags. I start school next week so need as much already done as possible. I was hoping to get around to picking blueberries and raspberries for jam, but I am not sure how much time I will have. Maybe later this morning I can go pick berries; I was going to butcher the rest of the chickens today, but the boys went up to the barn to get some wood and let them all out.

The baby finches are out of the nest, I am hoping that is the last of the babies for a while. I need to start pulling eggs so they don't keep breeding. I have a home for one, and we just gave a pair to Tom's friend Chris and his mom (his dad wasn't really keen on the idea, but gave the green light). I don't want to keep breeding until we have to rely on strangers to take them. It is difficult to stop them though-they will use their food dish if you take out the nest. They are very determined.

Well, I suppose I should get to those tomatoes.