Dark Days: The Leftover Life

Sunday, January 04, 2009

This week’s Dark Days challenge update includes lots and lots of leftovers.  The black-eyed pea and mushroom ragout with polenta made excellent lunches! 

From the leftover lamb from the roasted leg of lamb I made lamb pot pie.  I think it does qualify for the Dark Days challenge, even though I cheated and used store-bought pie dough.  The lamb was, of course, local - but so was the carrot (Lancaster Farm Fresh), onion (Landisdale Farm), parsnips (Lancaster Farm Fresh), beef stock, lamb demiglace, garlic (my garden), flour, and stout beer used for filling and gravy.  And that also made tremendously good leftovers all week!  Seriously, I could eat pot pie every day of the week during the Winter.  There’s something incredibly comforting and warming about it.  I also froze the lamb leg bone for making stock.

With all those leftovers, I really didn’t have to cook much this week.

Today, though, I did head into the kitchen.  I’ve been craving frittata lately.  I have a zillion pounds of sweet potatoes hibernating on the back porch - toward the end of the CSA season with Landisdale Farm, we ended up with many, many sweet potatoes.  I like sweet potatoes just fine, but I don’t really know very many ways to use them.  But this morning it occured to me that maybe I could use them in place of regular potatoes for frittata...plus, I had a few duck eggs left that I really needed to use double quick.

In our cast iron skillet, I melted some butter that I made from local cream (over medium high heat) and sauted chopped onion (Landisdale Farm) and garlic (my garden), along with some sausage (Country Time Farm) removed from its casing.  I threw in some salt and pepper, and a teaspoon of dried, rubbed sage (my garden).  And then I added in spinach (Rineer Family Farms) and fresh cranberries (Paradise Hill Farm), and sauted that for another few minutes until the spinach was just wilted.  I scooped all of that out and layered sliced white sweet potato (I used a mandoline to get the potatoes sliced thinly) into the skillet in concentric circles.  After the first layer, I spooned in some of the sausage/spinach mix, and then just kept layering potatoes and then sausage/spinach mix.

When I got everything layered into the skillet, I let it all cook on the stove for 15 minutes.  While that was cooking, I whisked together the last six duck eggs with a cup of milk (Natural by Nature) and then dumped it into the skillet.  The skillet went into the oven (preheated to 350 degrees) for 40 minutes.  After it was out, I shredded some raw milk cheddar (Green Meadow Farm) over top.

It was better than I imagined.  The cranberries were perfect against the sausage, and the sweet potatoes were great!  And it looks like I’ll have enough to eat for leftovers this coming week!  I guess I know what will be in my report for next week!

One More Lazy Morning

No matter if you are a complete improviser or a strict adherent to recipes, you can not be afraid of failure in the kitchen.  The small frustrations - not to mention the immense disasters - are part of becoming a better cook.  You might even say that if you can say you’ve never failed in the kitchen, then you’ve never succeeded either.  Nevertheless, there are some things that I do not attempt, knowing that they would be too trying for my limited patience.  Crepes are a perfect example.  My batter is never the right consistency, and my pan is never the right temperature.  Because I love crepes, you can imagine this creates quite a problem.  So when my wife offered to make some for breakfast today, I eagerly agreed. 

Thus, in celebration of our final lazy morning before returning to school, she put together this local breakfast: buttermilk buckwheat crepes with egg, farmer’s cheese and caramelized onions and bacon.  The buckwheat and white spelt flours are from the Fair Food Farmstand, as is the Farmer’s cheese we grated into the crepes.  The eggs and bacon are from Meadow Run Farm.  The buttermilk and onions from Winter Harvest. 

I’ve written before about the versatility of buttermilk (here and here), but it continues to amaze me.  In this case, it gave the savory buckwheat crepes an extra, acidic tang.  The recipe comes from Mark Bittman’s modestly-titled The Best Recipes in The World.

Buttermilk Buckwheat Crepes

1/4 c. white spelt flour
1 c. buckwheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 c. water
butter or “neutral” oil (for frying)

1.  Combine first five ingredients in a bowl and wisk until smooth.  Let sit for one hour.  (Note: Due to the thickness of the buttermilk, you may need additional water to thin batter.  The consistency should be something like runny pancake batter.)
2.  Heat a eight- or ten-inch nonstick skillet over high heat for approximately two minutes.  Add a teaspoon or two of butter or oil, coat the pan, then drain most of the oil (reuse for the next crepe).  There should only be a trace of oil or butter in the pan. 
3.  Pour in 1/4 cup of the batter and swirl around the pan, completely coating the bottom.  Pour any excess back into the remaining batter.  Turn in one to two minutes and cook the other side for approximately 30 seconds.  (Note:  You may need to adjust the heat.) Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter or oil to the pan as necessary. 

Cold Comfort Curry

Saturday, December 27, 2008

I’ve had a bad cold all week.  Well, you know what they say: feed a cold and starve a fever.  I’ve been really hungry!  Luckily, there are lots of great recipes that don’t require a lot of preparation.

I mentioned earlier in the week that I broke out a bag of black-eyed peas that I’d been hoarding.  I’m planning to use more of them today, but my first meal with the peas was a curry.  Thankfully, it was ridiculously easy to make - and aside from the spices, it was entirely made from locally grown ingredients!

The tomatoes I canned this Summer came in handy for this recipe, although with each jar I use I cringe a little - the lesson I learned this year is that I need to can more chopped tomatoes next year.  I use them a lot, and get cranky as I see my supply diminishing!  Because I couldn’t be bothered with being too fussy thanks to being sick, I didn’t peel the potatoes and I sliced rather than chopped the onion.  I think it made the dish better.  I also did not use fresh ginger or cilantro.

The sauce made from puree peas was really good.  The dish was just slightly spicy, and even my husband liked it.  It’s definitely a good dish for the mid-Winter - very hearty, and easy to make with a little help from my stash!

World Peas

Monday, December 22, 2008

A bag of dried black eyed peas from Margerum’s has been languising in my cupboard since August.  By chance, I decided to haul them out and make something.  But what?  Googling for “black eyed peas” reveals millions of recipes for the same thing: peas with ham hocks, with and without collard greens. 

Black eyed peas are very much a part of the New Years Eve tradition for millions of people.  Eating black eyed peas on New Years Day is supposed to guarantee luck in the coming year.  My own family New Years Day tradition does not include black eyed peas (we’re more porkette, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes people).  That said, I wanted to make something with black eyed peas and maybe ham, but something that isn’t the standard New Years tradition type of recipe.

It took some research, but I finally came up with some options.

Stewed Black Eyed Peas with Ham
Curried pumpkin and black eyed peas
Pickled black eyed peas
Creamy Black Eyed Pea Soup
Black eyed pea hummus
Beans with pancetta and caramelized onions
Pork Belly with Tomatillo, Black Eyed Peas and Shiitake Mushrooms
Mushroom and black eyed peas ragout

In the end, I ended up going with a curry: Black eyed pea curry.  Everything was local except the ginger and spices were locally grown.  And it was good (more on that later)!

Ecovore Eating, Even in the Winter!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

The last week has largely been devoted to attending to my academic duties and neglecting my food blogs. But papers and grades are in, the dust has settled and I am slowly returning to my food writing. I am dividing the holidays been CT and San Francisco. I must say, I already miss Philly and my local food routine, but I know I can get some good meals in CT (where I am now) and will definitely be overwhelmed by the local and eco options in San Francisco (I’m sure I won’t be able to resist posting about my meal at Chez Panisse!!!!!). Regardless, I am sad to miss going to the farmer’s market at Clark Park each Saturday and regret having to postpone my CSA share a few weeks. That being said, the winter weather has gifted me only one missed share instead of two!

Yes, the organic Keystone Farm has a winter share worth mourning. For $250 one gets a half vegetarian share for 24 weeks. This includes 1 pound of granola, one local cheese, half a dozen eggs, vegetables and fruit. Of course, some might question the value of fresh, local produce in the winter. But delicious, nourishing and filling local meals can be had even in the darkest of months (as the “Dark Days Challenge” shows here). Root vegetables and winter squash are durable suckers that, if properly stored, can be enjoyed throughout the season. From these ingredients any number of soups, stews, gratins and lentil dishes can be made. Roasted vegetables are always a treat too.

The other night I sliced a sugar pumpkin, tossed it with olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary, and roasted it.

A few weeks ago I made a tasty gratin based on an Alice Waters’ recipe with sweet potatoes, turnips and regular potatoes.

Sweet Potato-Turnip-Potato Gratin

3 small to medium potatoes (I used red potatoes, but Yukons would be good too)
3 small sweet potatoes
3 small to medium turnips
ca. 1 cup raw milk
3 tbs butter
salt and pepper

Thinly slice potatoes, sweet potatoes and turnips. In a baking dish that has been greased with butter line the various roots in an order you see fit (I had a row of sweet potatoes, then turnip, then potatoes). Overlap the slices like shingles. Salt and pepper this layer, then add another layer. Salt and pepper it and add another layer if you have more slices (you don’t want to make more than three layers). Chop the butter into pieces and disperse them over the surface of the gratin. Pour in milk carefully. You want the milk to come to the top of the bottom of the top layer. Adjust milk accordingly. Bake in an oven heated to 350˚F for 1 hour, or until potatoes are soft and top is golden brown.

A Radish Bonanza!

Watermelon radishes sure are pretty!  An heirloom variety of Daikon radish, this Winter radish tastes pretty much exactly like any other radish.  I’m not a huge fan of radishes, though.  Every now and then I get in the mood to eat them with salt...but there just doesn’t seem to be much to do with them.  But because watermelon radishes are so attractive, I do try to work them into meals when I can.

Last weekend I made deviled eggs (based on this recipe, the yolk filling of which contained minced watermelon radish and minced shrimp.  The eggs were delicious, and the radish added a nice peppery bite and some nice texture.  I had to laugh a little when one of the contestants on Top Chef made deviled eggs for a challenge on this week’s episode.  Who knew I was on top of food trends?

Beyond using them last weekend, I’ve had braised radishes and I once made raita using radishes.  And, of course, radish kimchi.  But there must be other things to do with radishes.  Considering that it’s so easy to find radishes practically year ‘round, I got a little curious.

Apparently, watermelon radish and trout are natural partners.  I found several recipes pairing the two: Smoked Trout, Grapefruit, and Watermelon Salad and Smoked Trout Spread with Watermelon Radish.  Un-trout-related recipes include Watermelon Radish Parathas, Beef Briskey with Red Miso and Watermelon Radish, and Tempura Avocado with Watermelon Radish and Wasabi Mayo.  Apparently, you can even boil and mash these radishes.  No doubt they’d be a very pretty color, but I’m not so sure I’d love mashed potatoes with a radish-y bite.

Can Winter radishes stand in for Spring radish varieties?  Well, maybe.  In most cases, I would say yes.  And considering some of the interesting radish recipes I’ve found, I might have to look into make the substitution:

Radish Basil Pesto
Ricotta and Radish Crostini
Radish Cream Sauce
Carrot Radish and Mushroom Stirfry
Radish Penne
Radish Hot and Sour Soup
Cream of Radish Greens Soup
Steak and Radish Salad with Tahini Sauce

As with most vegetables, you can also pickle radishes.

Easily the weirdest recipe I found is this: Pan-Seared Rougie Foie Gras with Cascabel, Roasted Banana, Basil, Baby Arugula, Daikon Radish and Black Pepper Marshmallow.  I’m pretty sure you won’t be finding me trying to make that one!

Roasted Vegetable and Kale Soup

Thursday, December 11, 2008

This is one of my favorite winter soup recipes. It’s easy to vary the ingredients depending on what you have on hand and you can omit a few of the steps if you’re pressed for time.  It’s colorful and filling and easy to make with entirely local ingredients (though I used a can of beans). I even had tomatoes from my garden.  The roasted vegetables add a sweetness and the kale makes it a nutritional powerhouse. It smells so good when it’s cooking my husband excitedly asked if I was making bacon. The answer was no, but the soup was not a disappointment.

Roasted Vegetable and Kale Soup
adapted from epicurious

* Nonstick vegetable oil spray
* 3 medium carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise
* 2 large tomatoes, quartered
* 1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
* 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
* 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 6 cups (or more) vegetable broth (I use chicken)
* 4 cups finely chopped kale
* 1/4 red cabbage, shredded
* 3 large fresh thyme sprigs
* 1 bay leaf

* 1 15-ounce can Great Northern or Cannelini beans, drained

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with oil spray. Arrange carrots, tomatoes, onion, squash and garlic on sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake until vegetables are brown and tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Transfer carrots and squash to work surface. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside. Peel garlic cloves; place in processor. Add tomatoes and onion; puree until almost smooth. Pour 1/2 cup broth onto baking sheet; scrape up any browned bits. Transfer broth and vegetable puree to large pot. Add 5 1/2 cups broth, kale, thyme and bay leaf to pot; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until kale is tender, about 30 minutes.

Add cabbage, beans and reserved carrots and squash to soup. Simmer 8 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to simmer before serving. Like most soups, this tastes even better the next day.

Made from all local ingredients except for beans, bay leaf, olive oil, salt and pepper

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Dal

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

I don’t know about you, but I find that I have a considerable stock of sweet potatoes and winter squash from my CSA. I truly enjoy both of these fall ingredients, but I inevitably have some that don’t get cooked one week and get dragged into the next week (and the next week and next week). So with a new crop of sweet potatoes and a blossom squash in this week’s share, I realized I had to be serious about cooking some of them!

I always have assorted legumes and spices, so this dish came together in a jiffy and without having to wander farther than my pantry. I’ve made a hundred variations of this dish, so please feel free to improvise (I always do). I am attempting to provide some concrete measurements here, but—again—they are flexible.

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Dal
makes 4 hearty servings

1 small onion diced
2 garlic cloves diced
2 cups winter squash, peeled and chopped (I used a plain old sugar pumpkin)
2 small-medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cup dal (I used yellow dal or Masoor dal)

In 2tsp olive oil sautee onions and garlic until onion is soft and glassy. Add sweet potato, salt and spices. Sautee another 5 minutes or so. Add pumpkin. Sautee another minute or two. Add 4 cups water and dal. Bring to boil, then let simmer, stirring occasionally, until pumpkin becomes good and mushy and dal has totally broken down (unlike French lentils, yellow dal does not hold it’s shape). This should take 30 minutes or less. The consistency should be pretty thick. The dish won’t win a beauty contest, but it is tasty and filling! I served it with brown rice.

These are the awesome sweet potatoes that came in this week’s Keystone Farm CSA share. Next week their winter share starts (can’t wait!):

These remind me of the informative and moving documentary by Agnès Varda ”La glaneurs et la glaneuse.” I am fascinated by gleaning and would love to learn more about the state of gleaning in Pennsylvania. Is there gleaning here? Are farmers opening their fields to the hungry? Are there laws regulating gleaning? If any of you readers have any insight into this topic, I would love to hear from you!

Warm Squash Salad

Friday, November 28, 2008

For reasons even I don’t understand, I have a very, very difficult time simply following a recipe.  It might be an egotistical need to leave my imprint and “improve” it, or it might be that after reading Bill Buford’s description of how the The Babbo Cookbook was “written,” I am slightly skeptical of recipes.  Whatever the reason, I can rarely leave well enough alone.  Unfortunately (especially for my wife), this means mixed results.

Looking back, my most successful revisions came when I found an essential flaw in the recipe: what the ingredients and their proportions were attempting could not be achieved with the procedures listed (or vice versa).  In this case, I was working from a recipe found in a Whole Foods circular.  My original incarnation did not work so well because I completely misunderstood what I was trying to do.  On the surface it appeared to be a roast of mixed vegetables.  So, as I saw that vegetables were roasted independently of each other, I saw a mistake.  To my reasoning, a slow roast in one pan would bring out more flavors and allow them to coalesce.  The results, though, were mixed.  The flavors blended, but into an indistinctive blandness rather than a pleasing whole.  Despite this, the combination seemed good enough to try again. 

With my second attempt, I realized that this was really a warm salad.  The flavors should provide contrast and counterpoint rather than blend and complement.  Thus, I decided to prep the ingredients separately, bringing them together only before serving.  Now, the squash and onions, with their variations of sweet, play nicely off the tartness of the dried cranberries.  It makes another fine possibility for squash, in addition this and this.  You could probably add some toasted bread crumbs if you wanted some textural crunch, but I think I am going to stop tinkering at this point. 

Warm Squash Salad

1 Butternut Squash
1 Medium Onion
2 tblsp. Sage Leaves, chopped
1/4 c. Dried Cranberries

1.  Preheat the oven to the 375.  Peel the squash.  Cut in half lengthwise and remove the pulp and seeds.  Cut the squash into bite-size pieces.  Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and sage leaves.  Spread on a cookie sheet and roast for 40 minutes or until soft. 
2.  Caramelize the onions.
3.  In a bowl, combine the roasted squash and sage, the onions, and the dried cranberries. 

Serve warm. 
Note: Be sure to thoroughly peel the squash.  I find that, with my peeler, I need to go back over the squash a second time.  You should see the deep orange of the flesh and not the pale white of the skin.

Cool! Persimmons! (Now what??)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Last week 2 persimmons were in my Highland Orchards fall share. Neato! But then I thought, what do I do with these things that salutes their uniqueness among fruits? Often when this happens, I think about it so long that whatever wonderful item it was goes to Compostland before I get around to the “right” thing. I did remember that The Savory Way (Deborah Madison) had a persimmon bar recipe, but then tonight I found a gorgeous looking cake/bread by following my yarn habit to a blog that just happened to stray from woollens into persimmon territory. It’s a James Beard recipe adapted by David Lebovitz and available on his blog.

He has many wonderful recipes on this blog for quince (another one of those “special” fruits!) and other fruits and veg, plus a simple Jam Tart that could dispatch a couple cups of homemade jam or preserves you’ve been “saving” for no particular occasion.

The family heirloom stew

Monday, November 10, 2008

With soup weather upon us, I’ve been concentrating on making soups that are can-able or freeze-able.  But there’s something so delicious about creamy soups.  And I can never resist trying new recipes for oyster stew - the perfect oyster stew is sort of the holy grail for me.  My great grandmother, a native Nova Scotian, made killer oyster stew, the likes of which I have never been able to recreate. 

A recipe in the November issue of Saveur does come pretty close, though!  And better yet, it’s pretty easy to make using all local ingredients.  Even the oysters can be locally sourced, although I did not use Cape May Salts or any other local oysters this time around.

The recipe is from Antoine’s in the French Quarter.  Apparently, oyster stew is a popular first course for Thanksgiving dinner in New Orleans.  Who knew?  I think I’d probably get run out of town if I tried that at my house, but I’m content to make oyster stew for myself every now and then!

Fall is for Stew

Sunday, October 26, 2008

I had been thinking about making a good, hearty chili for the last couple of days.  Then I started cooking...and ended up with a sort of stew-like concoction instead. 

My approximate recipe:

1 T olive oil
1 t mustard seeds
1 t cumin seeds
spices: salt, pepper, cumin, fenugreek, garam masala, dried hot pepper; to taste
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 giant cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 large beauregard yam
3 medium carrots
4 leaves chard
1/3 c dark beer
1 c slightly fermented cider

Heat olive oil and seeds until seeds start to pop, about 1 minute.  Add onion and sauté until clear around the edges.  Add garlic and sauté another minute or two.  Add beef and stir until it’s mostly come apart (I often forget to thaw it ahead of time).  Add (chopped) yam and cover.  When yam is half cooked, add carrots.  When carrots are half cooked, add chard stems.  When everything else is nearly done, add chard leaves.  Add beer and/or cider whenever the liquid is lower than the surface, at least until the yam is cooked.  Serve with cornbread.  (I use the recipe in the Tassajara Bread Book.)

(Everything except the spices, the olive oil, and the beer were local.  Any recommendations for local oatmeal stout would be welcomed.)

Onion and Shredded Chicken Soup

Monday, October 20, 2008

I am so glad that it’s getting colder. I like the cold, and I like cold weather food. To wit, I’ve had a roast chicken carcass in the freezer since July (from the terrific Meadow Run Farm buying club), and today felt chilly enough to boil it up with some starting-to-get-bendy carrots and some starting-to-get-wilty parsley from the fridge, A couple hours later, I had about 4 quarts of broth and a couple of good handfuls of boiled chicken. Two quarts went into the freezer.

For the soup, I had 2 onions from Highland Orchard’s CSA (I like them b/c they have small shares and give you a mix of fruits and vegetables) and very s-l-o-w-l-y coked them down, mixed in leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme (garden), added about 2 quarts of broth and 2 medium tomatoes (seeds, skin, and all; also from the garden), and then went at the mixture with a stick blender. Then in went about 1/2t of dried, piquant but not hot pepper from , some salt, and the chicken. This reduced about 15 minutes, and then I dropped in some egg noodles (from the bag--apologies!). Soup was on when the noodles were done. Chives also from the garden.

Landisdale Farm CSA, week 17

Sunday, October 05, 2008

While I was competing at yesterday’s Philadelphia Dragon Boat Festival (my team took the women’s club championship - we’re the fastest chicks on the river!), my husband picked up our Landisdale Farm CSA share yesterday at Clark Park.  Here is what we received this week:

• 2 bunches of kale
• 2 small broccoli heads
• 5 white sweet potatoes
• 5 apples
• 8 baby turnips
• 5 tomatoes
• 2 Kuri winter squash

I am not the biggest fan there ever was when it comes to kale.  There was kale in our share two weeks ago, too, and I haven’t used that yet (and no, it hasn’t gone bad - kale seems to last forever).  There are very few ways that I really like kale, but I’ll be trying to use it.

One way I do like kale is in soup.  My plan is to pick a few soup recipes, make up giant batches of it, and either freeze or can it.

White bean, kale, and sausage soup
Lentil Kale soup
Carrot and kale soup
North African Chickpea and Kale soup
Roasted Pumpkin and Kale soup
Cream of Kale soup
Chestnut Kale soup
Potato Kale soup with Seitan
Island Kale and Sweet Potato soup
Sweet Potato, Corn, and Kale Chowder
Yellow Split Pea Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Kale
Sweet Potato Kale soup

Now, dairy doesn’t freeze or can well...which does leave out a few of the recipes above.  But you can definitely can meat, and any of these soup recipes that are mostly vegetarian would can or freeze perfectly.  There’s something to be said for coming home from a busy day at work on a super cold, blustery Winter day and being able to have a warm bowl of hearty soup without toiling in the kitchen!

On a related note, I thought it would be interesting to compare what was in my Landisdale Farm share this week to what was in my Lancaster Farm Fresh share last year at this time.  Fascinating!

A Pestivus for the Rest of Us

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Occasionally, the bounty of late summer can be overwhelming, and you can find yourself compelled to invention to use up large quantities of something without getting tired of it.  (Nicole has written two excellent posts about what to do with a surfeit of squash or peaches.) My own recent invention-by-necessity involved basil: as part of my Red Earth Farm CSA, I receive and herb and flower share.  My last delivery was, in fact, an overload of basil - not just italian basil, but cinnamon, holy and thai as well.  So, what do I decide to do with it?  Pesto, of course. 

The idea was to create four distinct pestos using the underlying structure I’ve written about here.  The first pesto was, obviously, classic pesto genovese, adhering to the recipe I detailed here.  The second was thai basil, olive oil, toasted almonds, chives, mint, and farmer’s cheese.  The third was holy basil, olive oil, almonds, farmers cheese, parmesan, and onions (both raw and carmelized).  The fourth was cinnamon basil, olive oil, parsley, walnuts and goat cheese. 

The results?  The classic pesto was consistent with past efforts, so no surprises there.  The thai basil lost much of its flavor beyond a sense of something generically “basil.” Ultimately, I think thai basil is unsuited for this type of recipe; the flavors being too delicate.  (I’ve enjoyed it much as something I throw in a dish, leaves whole, almost as I might use parsley.) The cinnamon basil was good - if not quite something I’d occasionally opt for over italian pesto, which was the goal here.  The only recipe that actually met expectations was the holy basil pesto.  If you are unfamiliar with holy basil (and I was prior to this delivery), it has an extraordinary aroma (the Red Earth Farm newsletter credited an intern with qualifying it as something like “bubble gum") and sweetness.  Here, the sweetness combined well with the toasted almonds and onion.  The mild farmer’s cheese added a nice texture without overwhelming the basil. 

It’s one thing to improvise a variation on a theme, as I’ve done in the past.  It’s quite another, I’ve learned, to re-imagine a recipe to an extent that I might consciously choose holy basil or cinnamon over italian.  It may not have been the success I was hoping for (Where’s the Festivus Pole?), but it was an enjoyable challenge - not to mention the leftover basil I now have frozen and waiting for winter.