As I write, I am currently crashed in front of a marathon of Freaks and Geeks (is it still a marathon when there’s only one season to show?). My memories of TV shows from my childhood always remind me that 12-year-old boys and 12-year-old girls are very different. While I spent most of my free time from age 11 – 16 watching CW dramas and crying intermittently, it seems that Ryan spent most of his time at the same age “playing outside.” Therefore, when I refer to someone on a clear downhill spiral as “having a totally Mary-trashing-the-gym moment”, I get a blank stare.
I also frequently get a blank stare when I slather yet another meat/pasta/veggie/sandwich/anything with pesto. I love it. Ryan loves it…in moderation. And we used to have it in moderation, until I learned how ridiculously easy it is to make, freeze, and defrost your own homemade pesto. As someone who frequently finds myself pacing in the kitchen at 6:00 PM, feeling uninspired, it’s an amazing trick to have up your sleeve.
Basically the steps to having a delicious dinner are: 1. remove pesto ice cube from freezer, 2. place in (hot) pot/dish with whatever (hot item) you wish to slather in deliciousness, 3. eat. If you want to bake your dish with pesto, you can thaw your little ice cube in the microwave for 20 seconds and spoon it over said dish.
I used this great tutorial from The Yummy Life to make my pesto cubes, and they are delicious. I also was not nearly as vigilant about keeping the air out of my ice cube tray as Monica, and nothing terrible happened – basically the oxidation process will make the cubes a little darker. However, I transferred them to Ziploc bags within a few hours (rather than overnight), so that may have something to do with it.
On a side note, if you’re in the market for some new kitchen tools, I am currently cheating on the love of my life (my Kitchenaid stand mixer), with my food processor. It’s the Cuisanart Elite Collection 14-cup model and it is basically a beast. I use it totally unnecessarily just because I can.
Hope you’re having a great Saturday, whether it’s full of productive kitchen prep, wallowing in cult classic TV (ahem – guilty), or something else fabulous. 🙂
-erin
Cupcakes & Cardigans 