Welcome to our blog.

This was our original purpose for creating this blog:

We are both baby boomers fast approaching sixty. This blog will chronicle the time leading up to reaching our significant day. Our mutual goal is to complete sixty specific tasks each by our 60th birthdays, and to both celebrate our experiences and our accomplishments.

We are "the fabled tortoise" in this effort. Our blog will begin with a slow start, so we ask for your patience. We are aiming for a strong finish, so we ask for your encouragement. We invite you to join us on our journey, laugh and cry with us, and celebrate with us. We encourage you to leave us your comments and feedback. Most of all, we hope you become inspired to perhaps create and complete your very own "___ by ___ list."

We borrowed this idea from a blog one of our nieces told us about: http://makingitlovely.com . The author is working on her list of "30 Before Thirty."

As we progressed we continued to reflect on the process and the progress:

We would like to make a point of clarification. Because we did not begin our endeavor until April that left us both with less than a year to complete all 60 tasks on each of our lists. Actually, JR has about four months and CEA has about seven months. For that reason we agreed that we would both use CEA's birthday so that we both have the same amount of time to complete our tasks.

Now we are both 60 and moving forward. We have decided to continue the blog, setting goals and celebrating our accomplishments, sharing our experiences and voicing our thoughts, and enjoying life by making the most of every day with which we are blessed.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

CEA's progress report #8

Item #17. Make pesto from my backyard herbs
Did it!  I used the pesto recipe from the Martha Stewart Kitchen's Everyday Food:  Great Food Fast.  The recipe was so fast and easy that I made it right before a dinner party, including going out to the herb garden and harvesting the basil.  I halved the recipe, since it calls for four cups of basil, and I didn't want to use up all of my current crop.  I doubled the number of basil plants in my herb garden this year, and I plan to double that number next year.   I used the Texas Olive Ranch olive oil.  The pesto tasted fresh and delicious, and I plan to make it a staple of my cooking from now on.  I served it with crostini made from the Central Market rosemary baquettes which can be found in the freezer case at major HEB stores.
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2 comments:

The 60 by 60 Ladies said...

This sounds really delicious. Please share.

May 11, 2010 at 10:13 AM
The 60 by 60 Ladies said...

I'm loving this pesto in sandwiches and on crostini. I'm planning on putting it on grilled chicken tomorrow. I made a half-recipe and have plenty. Here's the recipe from the cookbook:
1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts
4 cups fresh basil or parsley leaves, loosely packed
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the pine nuts or walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, tossing occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes. Let cool completely. [I toasted the pine nuts in a nonstick skillet on the stovetop.]
2. In a food processor, combine the toasted nuts, basil or parsley leaves, Parmesan, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Process until finely chopped. With the machine running, pour the olive oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

May 12, 2010 at 9:36 PM

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