It was the first time we did anything like this, and had agreed to do it sometime before the beginning of the year. If you've been reading along, you know that my sister and I are sometimes mightily challenged by the rollercoaster of taking care of our brother, and this continued to be the case. Getting the yard and gardens into some kind of order as well as preparing a snack and presentation took some doing - but we did it, and it came together pretty well. 
The bus arrived in the driveway at precisely the time it was expected. I was glad nephew Rob went out and got a picture of the bus. Pretty cool.
We had the still filled and all put together, so that it was ready to roll when everyone got settled.
The table was set with lots of goodies. We served a Rooibos tea punch from the soon-to-be-printed Nov/Dec issue, dip and crudites, herbed pretzels, and pesto pockets (from the Sept/Oct '09 issue). Every morsel turned out to be delicious, and the gang loved it all! 
PESTO POCKETS
PESTO POCKETS
2 pkg (10 each) refrigerated biscuits
1/4 C Pesto
1/2 C shredded Mozzarella
1 beated egg white
(optional - bacon, ham, pepperoni)
Separate the biscuits. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each biscuit into a 4" circle with your hand. Spread 1/2 t pesto on half of each circle to within 1/2" of the edge. Use half the cheese to sprinkle over the pesto on each circle. Brush edges with egg white. Fold plain half of each over the filling. With tines of fork, seal edges together. Prick top once with fork. Transfer pockets to a greased baking sheet. Brush tops with egg white. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes until golden. Serve warm. Makes 20.
PESTO
3/4 C basil leaves
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 C grated Parmesand cheese
2 T pine nuts (or walnuts)
1/4 C olive oil
Puree all ingredients together in food processor.
FRESH HERB DIP FOR CRUDITES
1 C Mayonaisse
1 C sour cream
up to 1/2 C snipped and chopped fresh herbs.
I use whatever is out there. For this gathering, that included sage, purple basil, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, holy basil, oregano, chives, and parsley. I added caraway seed and dehydrated onion. Luckily I remembered because the tour folks wanted an exact recipe.
I had intended a weed walk, but instead there was just a bit of time left to walk to the edge of the yard where we talked about elderberries, pawpaws, vitex, holy basil, and lavender - among others.
Everyone hoped on the bus and went over to Kathy and John Musser's place, Cloverleaf Herb Farm.
I had intended a weed walk, but instead there was just a bit of time left to walk to the edge of the yard where we talked about elderberries, pawpaws, vitex, holy basil, and lavender - among others.
Everyone hoped on the bus and went over to Kathy and John Musser's place, Cloverleaf Herb Farm.
Kathy took us on a tour of her gardens and then into the shop where we gave her a hand (as she had done for us, coming over a bit before the bus got to our place).
All in all it was a lot of fun and now my yard looks beautiful!Our brother John managed to hold out during the day, but there was no doubt he was sick again. I'll talk about that on his blog.
4 comments:
oo i love roobibos tea! glad your day was such a success!! :)
What a fun reason to clean up the yard! ;>
It looks like it was perfect weather-wise as well.
What do you do with pawpaws? Besides eat them as fast as you can before they go bad, of course.
My Pops has a tree and it seems like I must be the only one who likes them. I've dried slices (they're great!) and frozen pureed pulp for use in cakes, but no one can eat that much cake. So I'm looking for better ways to enjoy them in February.
This looks AWESOME!!! Wish I could've been there!
We had a fabulous time Tina and Maryanne! Thanks for tasty herbal treats (with recipes), for the distillation demo, the Christmas tree farm info, and the shopping. It was a beautiful day all around, and Susanna and I appreciate your efforts to make our traveling herb seminar a success! The gardens were beautiful.
Nancy
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