My allotment is not all that big. Also like on the contrary of what all of those internetguru will say, it is also not really well planned. Sure I don't have the stuff that doesn't like each other next to each other and I have some flowers growing over there, but in the beginning of the season these flowers are not here as yet.
But with not that much space in there and not that many option that means that I plants where the option is. And....it is not in all of that great amounts.
So when something is flourishing and blooming and ready to be harvested, it does not necessarily meant that this is a whole meal that is ready to be eaten.
These are mostly smaller portions which are used as side dishes into something bigger or herbs or additions.
The harvest of this week is nothing different to that
All the small things also count
Let's start off with the bigger leaves. This is paksoi (or bokchoi) that I had just cut off the ends from a supermarket one and I had out them in water to let the roots grow.
Honestly, this is always a fantastic success if you ask me with just effort in there. I wrote about it a while back in this post.
Eventually I put these guys in the garden and the plants literally exploded in growth so much that I can not stir fry against it, that fast they are growing.
Now once I heard that when you would want to make a decent pesto, that not necessarily all pesto leaves have to be made from basil. Some recipe use spinach as well to ' fill up the void' of not having enough basil.
Well I did the same with using the green parts from the bokchoi leaves while making pesto.
Alternatives
Another addition in there next to using just basil is using some oregano. This idea came from miss hivegarden herself @riverflows that this is also one just to make different flavors with.
Yes it is strong, and yes the taste will outrank every else in no time, but it is always worth a try, especially with the bokchoi leaves in there to neutralise it for a bit.
I also read somewhere that you have to harvest a bit of oregano every 2 to 3 weeks to keep it growing, so I am using it in more things.
Still I want to do the drying experiment as well, so that will happen for sure.
Onto making a bit of pesto over here. Some basil leaves from the plants (that one is indoors because they just dont work so well outdoors here as my experience), some oregano leaves, the bokchoi leaves.
Adding any random old nuts that I was able to find for a bit of body in there, some parmigano cheese...Making it a bit more fluid with some olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and pepper.
There you have it!
And the dish itself? Or yeah, just over sprinkle it with some parsley from the garden. I am literally using this on almost everything at the moment because it is growing back so fast.
So even if the harvest is small and not enough for a whole dish, you can literally use everything in everything. Because...why not
