WEX

A moment in time:

 

As I reached up towards the beautiful clear box I could only find interest in one thing. Chocolate or Vanilla?!? One question that seemed to warp my mind as I cringed at the thought of leaving one or the other behind. My gut feeling on this one was not helping; was busy providing butterflies. What do I want? It was a question with areas grayer than black and white. It was almost a metaphor of life. Choosing a cupcake; choosing a path. No wrong choices, simply the struggle of leaving a right one behind. My hand was now hovering over the clear box, which resembled a taste haven! My time was out, like so many other experiences in my life I had to choose. Stay safe with chocolate, or risk higher satisfaction with vanilla. It was at that moment which I headed towards vanilla, one of the many risks I will soon be taking in my life.

 

 

 

Conversation:

 

Simple motions seemed delayed as my guilty conscience tried to pinch my ear and drag me into a conversation that was not mine to speak. I could feel my neck trying to shrink into the unseen crease between my shoulders. My fingers fought my hands, trying to claw their way free; even my internal organs tried to shimmy up my throat and escape. My conscience was determined as my brain fought hard to find a single excuse of why I was not responsible to tell my mom about her unfortunate lost money.

 

 

 

Noise:

 

On the ground I lay momentarily lifeless. If I wasn’t knocked out I should have felt the dry cement pressed coldly against my cheekbone. My eyes were shut but my mouth remained barely open in a small slit, leaving only enough room to breathe. I wasn’t crying but somehow when my shocked watery eyes slammed open, a flood of tears were released. My head ached from the harsh slam. The noise behind me escalated, none voices that I recognized, mostly of worried strangers. It was then that I realized what had happened… while I was standing in a legal walking zone, the car the slammed into me was not in a legal driving zone. 

Pecan Pesto!

1/2 Cup Pecans

1/4 Cup Fresh, Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 Cloves Garlic

2 Tablespoons or more Olive Oil

1/2 cup lemon basil

1/4 cup water

Combine all ingredients in food processor and process briefly. Add two tablespoons of sugar is desired. If a creamier texture is desired continue adding small amounts of olive oil until the desired consistency is found. Pesto can be spread on crackers, used on pasta and added to sauces. Pesto freezes well. Experiment with other herbs and nuts. Traditional pesto uses sweet basil and pine nuts. Recipe makes one cup of pesto. ENJOY!

The first step is to grow the plants

as well as maintain them

and eventually harvest them

here our our needed supplies for the pesto sauce!

time to whip out the parsley!

chop off the stems

take out your garlic

peel off the layers. get that core!

perfect! just like that!

OK, now cut up that garlic into small pieces.

than add some cheese!

cut up some basil

then add some basil!

then add some pecans! yum!

don't forget the olive oil...

stuff that blender!

chop chop!



so close!

does that look delicious or what?!?

mmm

try the sauce with some chips...

...or pasta...

MM, maybe not dog food.

Thanks for reading! ENJOY!

Wonder: The point of this post, and in fact of our entire project was to inspire the class to grow their own foods. I think that we did this because it made it easy for us to see how fun and easy planting and growing plants are. Now that we were experienced in make veggies, we made an entire meal so that we could practice using our fresh plants to live sustainably. I think that the point of this process was to convince the class that growing your own foods and living sustainable is possible, and in fact easy. Cooking these herbs answered our essential question, "Why don't people lives sustainably? And how can I convince them to do so?" because we all had our misconceptions of growing food.... Why grow it when you can buy it? But this project convinced us that's its not hard, and therefore we can convince people to grow their own foods by showing them our examples of cooking herbs on our blogs. 

Reflection: Although the recipe was really fun to make, its turn out was definitely not one of my favorites. If you ask me, I think the cheese was a little much. However, the process was easy and fun, and I'd like to use basil in more recipes in my future.  The process did change the way I look at growing herbs. I use responsibility d to think it would be a hassle, but now I look at it more of a responsibility, a fun. Not one that is annoying, but one that your proud of. 

Pecan Pesto
1/2 Cup Lemon Basil Leaves
1/2 Cup Pecans
1/4 Cup Fresh, Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Cloves Garlic
2 Tablespoons or more Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients in food processor and process briefly. Add two tablespoons of sugar is desired. If a creamier texture is desired continue adding small amounts of olive oil until the desired consistency is found. Pesto can be spread on crackers, used on pasta and added to sauces. Pesto freezes well. Experiment with other herbs and nuts. Traditional pesto uses sweet basil and pine nuts. Recipe makes one cup of pesto. ENJOY!

this I believe

This I believe is an incorporation which carries many intriguing stories. After looking through there official website, I found many stories in which I could relate to. However, one story in particular definitely stood out to me.

Kendra Jones' how to survive life's test really left an impression on me. I think that the reason in which I feel I can realate to her is because I too feel that living a strong, tough, steeliness life is what really pulls you through. Since I was born, I was raised in day care. My parents both worked full time and had to travel the world while I was young. I believe that being rasied as a day care baby you learn an important ethic called survival of the fittest. What I mean by this is that if you put everyone before yourself, you're going to end up last. And while it may be important to be self sacrificial, that will get you no where in life.

However, on the contray, I feel in disagreement with Kendra. Although you should be strong, you dont have to be mean to push yourself to the top. You can be aggressive and assertive, but dont eliminate your competitors for your own sake. While day care may have taught me to be aggressive, it never taught me to be hurtful.

links to more basil recipes!

More lemon basil recipes:

the first one is homemade lemonade

the second one is lemon basil chicken

Here is a link to a delicious food website:

food network

Here is a link to a video of how to make my favorite dinner:

Penne with Chorizo and Baby Spinach