Hey Pesto - so Where are the Pesto Recipes??

Nearly two months ago, over the Whitsun weekend (Aghiou Pvenmatos), I came to open up our summer house on Serifos in the Western Cyclades.

Arriving after the whole winter’s absence (due in large part to the difficulty in getting here, few ferries, bad weather, risk of getting stuck for days – which actually wouldn’t be as bad as all that!), always makes me anxious as I wonder what has happened during those long months, leaks, encroaching development, phone/internet not working, internal and external damage to our old stone house that has stood for over a 100 years. As I approach up the hill, round the corner, into the path and finally through the gate (still on his hinges), my heart in my mouth but less so with every step – the house is still standing, the front door opens and the house seems to say ‘oh so you’re back! Summer must be coming! Lovely to have you home again! Have you noticed all the glorious flowers?’

And, yes, I had noticed the glorious flowers, masses and masses of white oleanders laden with their spring blooms, the end of the wisteria dripping (and dropping) over the pergola and veranda, and the mint, a crazy plant in a large pot to stop it from taking over the whole garden, just ready for Mojitos, Pimms and tzatziki and Moroccan tea and all those wonderful things made more wonderful with the addition of MINT – what a welcome!

The Basil plants don’t survive the winter so I had brought a new batch with me that were ceremoniously planted in their special pots and spots to be brushed and touched by anyone passing to give off their heady scent and the watering attached and tested.

It was a busy weekend, made doubly so by trying to watch the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and justifying that by saying it wouldn’t happen again, but, God Willing, the sea would be there for swimming another day and the house things waiting to be done definitely would be there another day!

My return to Serifos took longer than originally anticipated so when I finally set up summer residence, complete with cat and dog (and joy of joys, my daughter and son, albeit just for three days – serious ‘quality time’) six or so weeks had passed and a lengthy heat wave and the break down of the watering system! Everything looked a little sad at first inspection – not a flower to be seen except for the plumbago – oleanders give a fantastic show in the spring, then relax for a bit and then do it all over again late summer/early autumn – takes more than a heat wave to kill an oleander but they did look a bit thin. 10 loads of those useful blue Ikea bags filled with dead leaves! But just look at my beautiful mint! My crazy mint – twigs!  The Basils had completely dried up – and I hadn’t brought any of my spares from the Athens jungle as really there was no room in the overloaded lorry (aka car!).

Could this really be my same
Crazy Mint??

 What had happened to the watering? Well, firstly it wasn’t on often enough and my very dear gardener who was absent from the island had told his boy to set it for 10minutes every two days – fine for the spring, but not for a heat wave; and somehow these sensitive timers seem to have given up in spite of new batteries.

 I have to say a word here about my very dear gardener, Antoni, whom I have known for years and years, first as a taverna/café owner and then thanks to his plant nursery – always reliable and helpful (the times I would arrive with heavy stuff in the car and he’d come and help me unload, mirrors, tables, all the stuff that gets carted around between homes!) and often during the winter I would see him at receptions in Athens where he worked as a barman. When I spoke to him during my pre-summer visit, he was in town and sounded a bit strange, but wouldn’t say in spite of my pressing ‘Antoni, are you all right, I don’t hear you very well?’ – ‘I’m fine, Kiria Brigitte, I’ll see you back on the island soon’.

Sadly this was not to be and I cried and cried when I heard that he had passed away, as did the whole island. This fine, honest man, always with a ready smile, will be sadly missed; he leaves a wife and two student daughters of whom he was, rightly, very proud. Watch over my/our garden, Antoni – I shall tend the lemon tree you planted last autumn with great care in your memory.

 I was going to tell of an automatic watering fiasco in my previous home, well, why not, just to lighten the mood: I had installed this magic answer to my watering needs on all the large balconies, laden with my usual jungle planting, in my top floor apartment and off I went for a work weekend out of town. Saturday evening, when mobile phones were quite new and the coverage not very reliable, I received a call to say that water was pouring into the apartments below me (all five floors!) – I was on an island with no means of getting off it mainly because there was a festival in the village on the mainland and everyone had gone to enjoy themselves (nothing wrong with that!) and in any case I was a good 4hours drive from home had I been able to get ashore! Luckily I was able to get hold of the lady who helped me in the house, and she in turn called her boyfriend and they jumped in their trusty steed (named BMW) and whizzed over to the flat in the middle of the night – water everywhere because the chap who had installed the automatic system had set the Time On but not the Time Off – I suppose I should be thankful for small mercies (and I AM, regularly!) that it was only on one of the four balconies that he slipped up! Hours of mopping up and eventually negotiations with the neighbours below, one of whom, thought he could get his whole flat redecorated and new drapes into the bargain, but lessons to be learned: automatic watering is GREAT, as is all technology, when it works and is used correctly – as my IT professor taught me, eons ago, ‘rubbish in, rubbish out!’

PESTO Recipes??? Well, if I had any Basil plants (!) I would be adding their fragrant leaves to everything. A simple tomato salad (and I do like to skin my toms, they taste completely different) is fit for royalty when tossed with basil leaves (and not straight from the ‘fridge!). Roasted tomatoes and red peppers with oil drenched leaves are sublime with fresh ones sprinkled over before serving, warm.

 I, when I actually have my basil plants, make a sauce by processing a large bunch of leaves with a little bit of garlic, salt and pepper and oodles of the best olive oil that I keep in the fridge and it is ready for serving over sliced tomatoes, with or without mozzarella or our local Ksino Mizithra goats cheese (Heaven), or with the additional of  parmesan and pine nuts or (my preference) walnuts – and there you are, instant Pesto. Everything summery benefits from the addition of Basil – no wonder it is used as a Holy plant for sprinkling Holy Water on the faithful by the priests.

PS I have cut back my mint ‘twigs’ and am watering and Reiki-ing the pot and I know it’ll be fine for next year and a new Basil has been planted (yia to kalo [for the good] as they say here) as no garden is complete without one to touch in passing, although it wont grow enough to use for cooking!

Wishing you Sunshine (and, yes, I know there is another heat wave in progress and most of us would love some rain! Or at least a cool refreshing wind) whatever the weather. Enjoy the sunshine in your heart and Basil in your pots!