Herbs

My softball game was rained out tonight (??? - no rain since early afternoon), so I spent a good chunk of the evening making pesto and pico de gallo. One batch of pesto took my entire bunch of basil, which is shocking since the end product is about 1/2 a small Tupperware container. Pesto goes a long way, though, and I look forward to eating it on chicken and pasta. Just to show you that I had no concept how blending the ingredients would shrink them - I bought two ice cube trays and prepared to freeze my huge batch in them, as recommended by several websites. lol

Had to get going on these projects tonight, because fresh herbs don't last long once they're picked. Good advice: put them in a glass of water and keep them in the fridge standing up. That really helped. The basil and cilantro, by the way, were only $2 and $1 a bunch respectively, purchased by Blue Moon Farm, located in Urbana. Wow, their stand looks like something you'd see in a photo spread in a food magazine...absolutely gorgeous food and herbs. Absolutely organic, as well - Blue Moon Farm is a certified organic vendor. While market vendors make it a point to not use pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, without going through a timely and costly process, they cannot say they are certified organic. Blue Moon Farm can. Here's some more info I found about them:

Jon Cherniss has been growing vegetables organically since 1988 and has an additional 10 years of general farm work/ marketing experience. He promises to provide a passion for organic produce and a healthy appreciation for humor. His spouse is a soil scientist whose research focus includes organic matter management in organic and alternative crop production systems.

Blue Moon produces one of the widest varieties of certified organic produce and herbs in East Central Illinois. Blue Moon's selection ranges from heirloom tomatoes to exotic Asian vegetables. The farm's salad mix makes Cherniss' stand a perennial favorite at the Urbana Farmers' Market. The farm's produce also is available occasionally through some area natural foods stores. Additionally, Blue Moon produce is featured by several area restaurants, including bacaro Italian restaurant, Radio Maria, Café Kopi, Great Impasta, Kennedy's, Milo's, Café Paradiso, and Timpone's.