Pesto - and a disturbing discovery
@owlwings (43910)
Cambridge, England
November 14, 2020 5:26am CST
We have a lot of nasturtium leaves in our garden and the plants will soon succumb to the first frost. Now nasturtiums, in case you didn't know, are good to eat. Every part of them is edible, in fact, and I love to use the peppery-tasting leaves in salads and the less peppery flowers as edible decoration. I have also pickled the unripe seeds as 'poor man's capers' in my time (but there were no seeds this year).
What shall I do, I thought, with all those leaves? They are a little on the old side to use in a salad and, anyway, there are masses of them! I know! I'll make a pesto so that we can enjoy some of that fresh green through the winter (because research told me that, not only can you make pesto out of almost any salad green or edible herb but you can also freeze the result).
So ...
It being a bright, sunny morning, I went out to harvest my leaves. They were rather low down and I am somewhat creaky these days, so I thought that I would get a box to sit on while I picked. All was good! I found a convenient box, placed it conveniently and sat down to pick the leaves. When I had picked what I thought would be enough (at least two cups full, crammed down - and that's quite a lot leaves, believe me!), I tried to get up.
My knees had gone! They just wouldn't work and there was nothing nearby to hang on to to pull myself up with. All of a sudden I realised that, although I'm not arthritic I no longer had leg muscles that worked! That was more disturbing that I thought possible. One realises, of course, that one is getting old and can't move as fast as one did but to suddenly discover that something you thought you'd be able to do is just not possible is like a slap in the face with a wet rag.
In the end, my wife brought a garden chair over and held it while I pulled myself up. It took a while to work out which parts of me had enough strength to do it but, eventually, I managed and, with my bowl of leaves proceeded shakily back inside.
The rest of the pesto-making process went well. Wash the leaves thoroughly, put two cloves of garlic in the whizzy thing and press the button to chop them a little, then fill it with the leaves and whizz again (I also added what was left of a small pot of fresh basil} until they were a green mush - that takes longer than you think because they need pressing down several times till the blades have chopped them all up. Next, a cupful of pumpkin seeds (bought ready hulled) and some olive oil, blitzed until it begins to make a nice paste. More oil, some lemon juice (what was left in the bottle) and finally about a cup of grated Parmagiano Reggiano (again, whatever happened to be left). Taste and season (needed some more salt and about 20 grinds of black pepper) .... hmm ... not bad ... not bad at all! In fact, I can say that it's surprisingly successful, considering that I didn't use a recipe or any specific quantities of anything!
In fact, I say to myself (chuckling) "Hey, PESTO! (but DON'T you EVER sit down again without something sturdy close by to pull yourself up with! Thank goodness my arms still work!)"
27 people like this
25 responses
@LadyDuck (471272)
• Switzerland
14 Nov 20
My vegetable garden, right now, is invaded by nasturtium, both flowers and leaves. I made nasturtium fritters two days ago, I never tried to make nasturtium leaves pesto and you are giving me an excellent idea. You are right, there are no seeds this year, last there were many. I think I will bring a cane to keep near me when I kneed down to pick up the leaves.
7 people like this
@GardenGerty (160612)
• United States
14 Nov 20
I never know when I can count on my knees. I can sympathize.
5 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16755)
• China
14 Nov 20
I guess that you sit there so long that your legs were numb.Here the nasturtium is just used as a herbal medicine to treat the eye conjunctivitis and carbuncle .
3 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
15 Nov 20
@changjiangzhibin89 You should be able to buy the seeds from a garden supplier because it's quite a popular and easy plant to grow in warm summers. The flowers come in yellow, orange, red and deep purple. When I was little I used to call it 'the money plant' because the leaves are like big coins - almost round with the stalk in the middle. The red flowered variety ought to be very auspicious in China (if one is a little bit superstitious, of course!)
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
14 Nov 20
No, my legs weren't numb. I just discovered unexpectedly that I couldn't do what I thought I would still be able to do and forgot that I do usually sit in a chair with arms.
I didn't know that Tropoleum was used for cinjunctivitis and for carbuncles. I must look that up. I can assure you, though, that it's a very good addition to a salad - a little peppery, like cress or rocket/arugula, and very tender and pleasant.
4 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16755)
• China
15 Nov 20
@owlwings A doctor told me that we would have joints or cartilaginous degeneration with age.Not sure if it is the case.Here we see little of the nasturtium,I will try to get some to process it as you said .
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
14 Nov 20
That was very clever of you to make that pesto. I can relate to the difficulty of getting up from a low sitting position - I have an extra firm cushion on my armchair which makes it a bit easier. This getting old thing can be a real bummer, but at least we're still here.
4 people like this
@JudyEv (339450)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Nov 20
I know exactlly what you're saying. For a while, I was doing an exercise, sitting on a chair then rising and sitting as slowly as possible to try to get some power back in my leg muscles. Then I forgot about it but I must get back to doing it again. I find that, more and more, I need to use my arms to pull myself up steps, etc.
3 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
15 Nov 20
A lot of the exercises I find on the Internet start by suggesting that you lie down (and raise each leg in turn to strengthen the gluteus maximus - butt muscles to you and me!). Lying down on the floor is clearly a no-no! I think I shall have to do that in a sitting position, on a chair!
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
15 Nov 20
@JudyEv That sounds a very ingenious idea and workable if you happen to have a lot of books (which I do!). I shall have to practice!
Yes, low cupboards are a real bugbear! I think that I need a mini-forklift with pallets or boxes for things in the bottom cupboards then you could bring out a whole pallet or tray of stuff, raise it to waist height, take out or put in what you want and lower and slide it all back in. It wouldn't even need to be electric - a hand operated thing would work as well (for me, anyway).
3 people like this
@JudyEv (339450)
• Rockingham, Australia
15 Nov 20
@owlwings I watched a really interesting video suggested by some local 'ageing safely' government agency. It was mostly to do with getting up if you fell indoors. Among a number of suggestions was that, if you were near a bookcase, you pulled down books one by one and placed them under each cheek alternately, gradually lifting yourself up to a height where you could maybe get on to your knees or grab a chair for support. It's hard to explain but I was quite impressed with the ingenuity of the ideas.
Everything just gets so much harder as you get older - trying to clean the bottom of cupboards or retrieving something from the back of cupboards. It's all a bit sad.
3 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (47256)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
14 Nov 20
That's happened to me a few times, the not being able to stand up again after squatting. Frightening, isn't it?
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (79648)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9 Dec 20
I am a great lover of pesto but have not had any in a long time, I usually put in extra garlic.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
9 Dec 20
I like quite a bit of garlic, too. We have a plant here called Jack-by-the-Hedge or Hedge Garlic (not the same as Wild Garlic), which is a member of the mustard family and I think that would make a good pesto, too. I shall have to wait till spring to try, though!
2 people like this
@DianneN (247186)
• United States
16 Dec 20
I can imagine your fright of not being able to get up on your own. Perhaps you pesto is loaded with vitamins to give you the zest your body needs.
I’ve grown nasturtium once, because the deer don’t ear it. Perhaps I will give the leaves a try. I need the flowers to bring color to my garden.
3 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
23 Jan 21
i don't think that it's a pesticide so much as a deterrent. Some people believe that they can act as a 'trap crop' and can attract certain pests like butterflies and beetles whose grubs and caterpillars might otherwise harm your crops.
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (180366)
• United States
23 Nov 20
It is a good thing wifey was available. You would look pretty silly rolling to the house..
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (89832)
• Arvada, Colorado
17 Nov 20
Presto Pesto!!! Good on you Owl.
2 people like this
@MarshaMusselman (38865)
• Midland, Michigan
6 Dec 20
I'm s bit younger than you but I make sure I have something sturdy and higher than my knees to sit on just to be safe. I now have new ones but I can't say I've been working the muscles like I should especially with covid and things being closed.
I've frozen store bought pesto before with success but never made my own.
2 people like this