Pesto Yogurt, or Yogurt Pesto -- you choose

Hi! Sorry I've been away so long.

Much to catch up on, but first: Tonight's feature is Pesto Yogurt, or if you prefer, Yogurt Pesto.

It is made just like pesto, or just like I make pesto, but instead of adding olive oil and pine nuts, I just chopped basil, garlic and shallots in the food processor and added them to -- ta-da! -- my favorite Greek yogurt. See below. I feel bad for people who can't get Greek yogurt, but I did find it even in the Payless (Kroger) in Lafayette, Ind. Even had a nice chat with the cashier about how good it is on baked potatoes! So, if you can't get it where you are, talk to your store manager. Seriously, it's worth it.

My goal was a sandwich spread, which I plan to use with toast, smoked salmon and hard-boiled eggs. Don't count on a picture of the sandwich, as I plan to eat it while the toast is still hot. Not even a digital camera will capture the moment of hot toast. Believe me, I have tried. There are a lot of things I will do for you people, but eating cold toast isn't one of them.

But this yogurt pesto, or pesto yogurt, would be an awesome dip; would be great on baked potatoes, too. And I think it will even work as a salad dressing -- why not?

Oh, yes, I know, traditional pesto doesn't have shallots and does have parsley. I have always considered parsley optional. Maybe because it is supposed to "tone down" the basil, but I love the basil. When my garden is growing this summer, maybe I will add some arugula (Rocket!) to the pesto mix. I added the shallots because I like their flavor and, frankly, I was running low on garlic. I cook with what I have, although in this case, I guess "cook" is not the right word. I make food with what I have. I'm not making a special trip to the store to buy garlic when I have perfectly lovely shallots on hand. Also, with the salmon, I really like shallots, anyway.

If I were not planning to eat this with smoked salmon, I would add salt, unless of course it was going to be a dip for something already salty, like potato chips.

But: Speaking of pesto. I was talking to my dear friend Star tonight, who called while I was making the pesto and she was roasting garlic. (Roasted garlic: mmm, yum, yum, good, good.) She roasts a lot of garlic at a time, and as it takes about an hour, she had time to talk. But here's what kills me: Then, she puts it in little jars, adds olive oil, and freezes it. I had always read and been told -- even by Star! -- that if you are freezing pesto, don't add the garlic because it gets bitter. But tonight she says, Ah, that's if it isn't roasted garlic. (So basically, for freezer pesto, you grind whatever herbs you are using and olive oil, make patties, put them between waxed paper, and put them in a freezer bag. Then you get them out whenever, add the garlic and I would say the pine nuts or whatever, and you are good to go.)

But then she says, oh, and then, you take the roasted garlic out of the freezer, drain the oil off it, and use the garlic for whatever you want. And then you have garlic oil for -- oh, she's killing me now -- popcorn! Or whatever. I would probably brew up a batch of pasta and call it a day.

Needless to say, I will be buying a large quantity of garlic soon. Thank you, Star.

And Star, don't worry, I won't give away your secret recipe for dill pesto. Oh, wait, I will give a hint: It's pesto made with dill instead of basil. But Star grows dill, and I don't, at least not yet. Have to think about that. Don't think it would work with dried dill weed. Maybe as a yogurt dip, though. And If I made dill yogurt pesto, I would slap that on grilled salmon in a heartbeat!

By the way, the pesto yogurt is being shown in a glass refrigerator jar much like the ones I grew up with. But these I bought in an "antique" store in West Virginia a few years ago. There's this one, a rectangular one and a big square one. They are glass, not plastic, which I like. You can see what is in them. And they don't develop funny odors/stains. The lids just sit on them, though, so they are not really good for the freezer. And I don't think they are true Pyrex, so I haven't tried them in the microwave. But I really like them for the fridge. Any kind of glass jar is also good. So, thanks, Mom, for the Mason jars I just got from your basement. They will be put to good use. Both in the fridge and to store stuff "bug-proof" in the pantry.

I mostly use plastic containers now only for transporting food to work, and then am able to put it on an actual plate to heat in the microwave. If it weren't for the klutz factor, I might use glass even for transporting the food.

Speaking of basil, I'm happy to say I have kept a couple of plants alive all winter in my house, which is why I have fresh basil for making pesto. The basil doesn't always make it through the winter inside, so I consider myself lucky this year. On gardening, more to come.