Pesto and Pesto Crostini Appetizer

This summer has been going by quickly! I'm so disappointed in our sub-par weather, and I hope August turns out to be a warm, sunny month. I've been spending my time working on my grad class entitled "Teaching Financial Literacy" - interesting topic and completely appropriate in today's society. I've also been READING. I've read so many books, and there have been several that are worth recommending. Check out my Facebook page "WeRead" section for my titles!

Last night I attended one of my book clubs, where I brought a really yummy appetizer - Pesto Crostini. I have been taking good care of my basil plants all summer, and I depleted them of their sweet, peppery leaves in order to make the homemade pesto - totally worth it! Here are the recipes!

Pesto
1/4 c. walnuts
1/4 c. pignoli (pine nuts)
3 Tbsp. chopped garlic (you may want to use a bit less if you aren't a garlic lover)
5 c. fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 c. good olive oil (I used 1 cup - thought it would be too runny with all of it)
1 c. freshly grated Parmigano-Reggiano

Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is throroughly pureed. You may need to scrape the sides. Add the Parmesan and puree 1 minute. Use right away or store in refrigerator/freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Pesto Crostini Appetizer
Skinny loaf French or Italian bread, cut into 1/4 inch slices (crostini)
Pesto
Cream cheese (I used Philly whipped)
Grated Parmigano-Reggiano

Place crostini slices on a cookie sheet - bake at 375 degrees for approx. 10 minutes or until lightly toasted - do NOT overbake, or appetizers will be difficult to eat. Remove from oven to a cooling rack. When cool, spread a layer of cream cheese on crostini, followed by 1 tsp. or so of the pesto - do not spread pesto to edges (leave an edge of cream cheese.) Top with grated or shaved Parmesan.

New Kitty and Summer Pictures

I finally had time to figure out iPhoto on my new computer, and was able to make my camera compatible with it...so here are a few pics I took recently, including our ever-growing kitten, Max, and some shots of Pentwater this year. Sadly, we said goodbye to Adam's convertible...the Beemer went to a good home, in order to make room for more baby-related "stuff." :-)

It's a.....

BOY!!

We're so excited, surprised, and in total awe of this whole process - when Adam scans the pics of the ultrasound, I'll post them...he is due sometime around November 13!! He was moving all over the place and very photogenic, according to the doctor - he kept pushing his face up toward the ultrasound 'wand.' So far, so good - he is moving all over the place as we speak, and Adam can feel him kick. The only down side is that he was in the 92nd percentile for size!! The nurse thought this was quite comical, because I was convinced I'd have small babies (my mom did, I was small, etc.) - apparently I was in denial on the fact that baby size is usually determined by the father - and Adam is 6'5! :) We shall see how big he ends up getting!

We're looking forward to the next two weeks, where we'll be visiting my family in Pentwater and deciding how to decorate the nursery! It's actually a little overwhelming, so I'm trying to just piece together ideas and come up with something we like...I'm a bit picky on the bedding, and so is Adam, so it's been a challenge to find something I like. I was certain that Pottery Barn Kids would have ten things I'd love, but unfortunately it looks like they're changing "seasons" and most of the bedding we like is out of stock, discontinued, etc. I'm hoping they show new collections soon! It would be nice to have a store here in GR, but hey - we have little else, so I'm not surprised. :)

Here's the link to our registry!
http://www.toysrus.com/ControllerServlet?searchBy=&defLName=hubner&defFName=kristin&defCity=rockford&defState=MI&maidenName=&maidFName=&maidCity=&maidState=®istryNumber=&submit.x=65&submit.y=4&target=search&userType=giftGiver&searchForPerson=primReg&whereTo=viewRegistry&firstName=kristin&lastName=hubner&city=rockford&state=MI