So allo, you. Long time no see, eh? Tis been a bit busier than usual round these parts. Mommy’s been working on this and that, cooking up a lil bit of gardening with a dash of exercise and a heaping portion of yumdiddly good foods. Right now I’m gearing up for a month of blogging as I plan on bringing this into the mix for the next few weeks. Maybe longer if I can manage it.

Today I pulled out my remaining tomato plant and the eggplant bush in preparation for this year’s winter garden. Last year’s garden was a great success and we hope to replicate that success this year. Today I applied a whole bunch of finished compost, which has a redolent muskiness. It’s funny because when I first put it in the raised bed you can still see bits of eggshell, small clumps of old tea bags, and bits of hair as we compost all our old haircuts. In about a week when I start putting in my seedlings much of this will have mixed in with the old dirt, but the eggshells will not completely break down until we come back in the spring with our next batch of compost.

This year we will plant chard, carrots, broccoli, kale, beets, lots of lettuce, parsnips, mustard greens, collards, some winter beans and peas and a few different types of flowers. We loved having the garden last winter and the wonderful ease of walking out the front door to pick something fresh for dinner never got old. Most of the work is in getting the plants in the ground and helping them get established. Once that’s done ’tis just a matter of weeding and waiting. Probably after the New Year we’ll be able to start harvesting some tender greens in perfect time for the wee one’s first birthday.

This year has gone by and part of the reason for that is having a new babe in the house. I was never a baby person til I had kids and this new baby has simply pushed me over the edge. I now go gaga for babies (especially when I’m ovulating). Bringing the second baby home was a new experience because the fear and anxiety that I experienced after the kidlet was born never manifested this time around, so I actually got to enjoy the experience of bringing baby home.  Twas a very special time, plus I got to take a little bit more time off from work since my boss was out of the country for while. Having two has been tough but great for me and I’ve been enjoying it. The past nine and a half months have been marked by new growth for every person in this household.

Right now we have a number of things going on, some of which I’ll update you on in the weeks to come. For now I’ll leave you with this recipe that has quickly become a favourite. Enjoy!

Vegan Pesto

• 2/3 cup toasted nuts (we use 1/3 C pumpkin seeds and 1/3 walnuts)
• 2/3 cup olive oil (you can use less or more depending on your preference. we like our pesto a little dry, so we usually estimate to get the right consistency)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast (this is in place of the parmesan. don’t worry you won’t miss it.)
• lots of basil ( i use at least two handfuls, probably equivalent to at least two bunches)
• 2 tsp of your favourite spices (we use a garlic and herb blend, but any savory blend that you like should taste fine)
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Toast nuts and seeds on cookie sheet at 400 F til brown (approx. 8 minutes). Add all  ingredients to blender and blend until preferred consistency is reached. voila!