Minneapolis Taste Buds

My dad bought me a fancy Cuisinart Food Processor . Very exciting! Tonight I made the basil pesto recipe out of the manual to try something different and it's fantastic! I froze it in 4 containers to use later. My second Cuisinart attempt was to grind the flax seed I accidentally bought whole. I normally buy Bob's Red Mill Organic Flaxseed Meal & mix it in with my yogurt, but must not have been paying attention at Target. Failure on the grinding. It just wouldn't cut through the little guys. I did a some reading online about ground vs. whole, but couldn't seem to find reliable sources to answer these questions: What's the best way to grind flax seed? Is ground flax better than whole? Or, Is there value in eating both versions?

Subtle signs of Fall are all around this week . . . The Minnesota State Fair is here already. It's a little bit darker each morning when I run before work and the morning temps are perfect. I can actually turn the A/C off and get a good night's sleep. The sedum and morning glories are blooming and my basil plants are enormous. Every August I start frantically planning recipes that revolve around using my herbs-knowing that the convenience of having an herb garden will disappear sooner than I'd like with the first frost. Today I'll start making basil pesto (basil, pine nuts, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, lots of garlic, water ), to stock the freezer for the winter. Saturday night we made grilled corn on the cob with chive butter, mushroom and cherry tomato kabobs with olive oil & basil, and Cooking Light's Rosemary Shrimp Scampi Skewers . Yesterday I stopped at the St. Paul Farmers' Market and stocked up on eggplant, zucchini, squash, bread, and cilantro (if