Simply Home

Last weekend we were in Abilene to celebrate our son, Luke's 21st birthday. Going to Abilene is always a great time as there are so many people there who have been friends for years and who we love dearly. We stayed this time with Dennis and Brenda Greer. We've known Dennis and Brenda for nearly 20 yrs. and so any time we get to spend together is wonderful. During the last few years of our time at Dyess, AFB I began making Brenda a Fall wreath or arrangement for her birthday. (Sept. 23) I haven't done one for her since we moved to San Antonio so this trip was the perfect opportunity to revisit the tradition. Brenda and I have very similar tastes and color preferences so doing something like this is always a lot of fun for me as I know if I like it, she'll probably like it too! I asked Brenda what she'd like to have and after some thought she decided she'd like something for her mantle and so off to Hobby Lobby we went. Here is what the final product lo...

Ok, so maybe my intense love for Basil is a little overboard but I gotta tell ya, this winter when I pull homemade pesto from the freezer I won't be sorry! This morning the temperatures in San Antonio were PERFECT for the first BIG harvest of Basil. I've been picking it all summer and even giving quite a bit away to friends but it's time to get some of this wonderful "green-ness" into the freezer and drying for winter use. Below are a couple of pictures BEFORE I went at it with the scissors.   And here it is afterwards   And here is how much I picked! Ok, so what to do with all of this stuff? Here are a couple of recipes. Basil Infused Olive Oil servings: 2 cups ingredients 4 cups of packed basil leaves 2 cups of virgin olive oil (the flavors of extra-virgin olive oil will compete too much) preparation Combine basil and olive oil in a blender. Puree the mixture until smooth. In a saucepan, simmer the olive oil and basil puree over medium heat for 45 seconds...