As I suggested in my posting of this week's pickup, it was time to make some pesto. It was also time to make a dent in the 4-eggplant deluge. And the last remnant from week 9 had to go too, the previously photographed small head of cabbage.

To make the pesto, I just followed a pretty simple recipe I found online, I believe it said this:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups basil leaves
3 cloves garlic
salt
pepper
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan

I didn't really measure the basil leaves, but just used all I had, maybe you can judge from the picture whether that was 2 cups or not. I cut the garlic somewhat fine, threw it in the food processor to mince it, then the basil leaves, then the pine nuts, then the olive oil, salt and pepper, and parmesan. I put that in the fridge while I prepped the rest.

For the eggplant, I chose to work indoors and just saute it, but I was kind of trying to recreate the goodness that is grilled eggplant. So I peeled it (I'm not loving the peel), sliced it as if to grill, salted it, and then cut it into bite size chunks. I put this in my salad spinner, and let it sit for about 20 minutes before spinning away the liquid that was drawn out. I then drizzled olive oil over, worked it in with my hands, and applied some ground black pepper. I got my pan pretty hot and tossed them in, trying not to move them too much so I could get some pseudo-grill flavor. It worked pretty okay, but I don't think anything will touch the grilled eggplant. In the meantime I prepared farfalle pasta (the best kind of pasta there is). Once the eggplant was tender and tasty enough, I added several scoops of the pesto sauce along with the farfalle until everything was to my liking.

For the cabbage, I chopped it up. I toasted some sesame seeds in a pan, then added the cabbage, a few dashes of soy sauce, a dash of tiger sauce, and a little bit of water. I stirred this around a few times, covered it, and let it cook about 15 minutes.

Both dishes were quite tasty and I'm guessing Alli will be jealous, as she was not here to partake.