Recipes of the Week

I bought a lovely bunch of basil at Farmer's Market this past Saturday. Unfortunately our basil plant is not doing well. I had hoped to find a replacement plant at the market but no one had one. That huge bunch of basil made 2 batches of pesto and went into a corn salad. I liked this pesto recipe because it had walnuts and not pine nuts. I always have walnuts on hand. I froze most of the pesto. The best way to freeze it is to put it into an ice cube tray and then pop out the cubes into a freezer bag. The rest I've been mixing into mayo and we eat it on sandwiches.

Basil-Walnut Pesto

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed basil leaves (approx. 2 oz)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons softened butter (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions

1. Place basil, olive oil, walnuts, garlic and salt (if using) in food processor.
2. Blend until thoroughly combined.
3. Add Parmesan and butter (if using) and blend 5-10 seconds more.
4. Just before serving, add 2 Tbsp of hot pasta water from cooked pasta.
5. Serve over pasta with bread and salad.

This pork loin was excellent. We grilled it (of course!) and have been eating the leftovers all week. Brooks thought the rub was too spicy, so we cut the outside off for him. I'm making pulled pork for a party this weekend, so the leftover rub will be used on that.

Pork Loin with Dry Rub

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt or 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons dry ginger powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion salt
• 1 tablespoon mustard powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1 (3-4 lb) pork loin roast
• 10 fresh garlic cloves (can use more or less)
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. In a bowl stir together brown sugar, white sugar, black pepper, salt, ginger, garlic powder, onion salt, dry mustard, cayenne, cumin, paprika and crushed thyme.
2. Make small slits and stuff a garlic clove in the slit (do this all over the roast).
3. Rub the pork loin all over generously with olive oil then rub the roast all over with about 1/2 to 3/4 cup dry using your hands to rub in the spices (store the remaining rub tightly covered in a glass jar in refrigerator to use for the next time).
4. Cover the roast with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
5. Place roast in a foil-lined shallow roasting pan.
6. Let the roast sit out at room temperature for a couple hours.
7. Roast uncovered at 350 degrees F until the internal temperature is 150°F the cooking time will vary depending on the size of your roast.
8. Remove and cover with foil, let stand for 20 minutes before slicing.
9. *NOTE* Store the remaining half of the spice rub in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.