Spinach and Basil Pesto Recipe (and Ten More Interesting Pesto Variations)

In early summer, make this Spinach and Basil Pesto to stretch out your basil!

(Updated with better photos and step-by-step directions June 2013.)  One of my favorite things about having a garden is Pesto,  something I make many times every summer.  Pesto is a great way to use and preserve huge bunches of basil, but this Spinach and Basil Pesto is something I make early in the summer when my basil is just starting to come on.  (Later when I have a surplus of basil, I freeze some of the fresh basil for winter and make some into Basil Pesto with Lemon, which I also freeze.)  This double green pesto is delicious on grilled or sauteed vegetables, grilled chicken, fish, or pasta.  Of course, there are as many ways to make pesto as there are cooks who make it; check the list after the recipe to see some of the interesting pesto variations other bloggers have created.

Slow Cooker Vegan Brown Rice Mexican Bowl with Black Beans, Bell Peppers, and Poblano-Avocado Salsa

Slow Cooker Brown Rice Mexican Bowls have a vibrant combination of flavors, with just enough spicy heat to keep it interesting!

I don't remember my mother cooking black beans when I was a kid, but sometime after I left home she must have started using them, because they became my father's favorite type of bean, and any dish that had black beans was something he would enjoy.  I was thinking about that as I missed him on Father's day, and remembered all the black bean salads I made for him the last few years of his life when he was in an assisted living center where I'd visit twice a week and cook lunch.  My dad could be a picky customer when it came to trying new dishes, and I doubt he ever heard of vegan food, but I'm betting he would have enjoyed these Slow Cooker Vegan Brown Rice Mexican Bowls with Black Beans, Bell Peppers, and Poblano-Avocado Salsa, if only because of the black beans, rice and avocados; three foods he always loved.   Using the slow cooker to cook the rice and then heat together the chopped peppers, green chiles, and black beans kept the house cool, and I thought one of these Mexican bowls made a perfect Slow Cooker Summer Dinner.

Capturing Austin Food Photos by iPhone: Curra's Grill, La Condesa, The Salt Lick, and El Sol Y la Luna

A Weekend of Fun and Good Food in Austin Texas, plus BlogHerFood 2013!

Back when I was a relatively new digital camera user, I used to do a blog feature called Friday Night Photos.   I was taking lots of photos then partly to learn to use my new camera, and it was fun sharing some of them on the blog.  Then I guess it started to feel like work, because I quit doing the photos and started Phase One Fridays, a feature that might be more useful to most of my readers.  But fast forward a few years and now I'm the proud owner of a brand new iPhone5, which takes amazing pictures.  I'm having so much fun snapping photos with my phone that I decided to share them on the blog once in a while.  This first batch is from my visit to Austin, Texas last weekend, where I was attending BlogHerFood 2013 and hanging out with a few of my favorite blogging friends.