Basil is near the top in the pantheon of culinary herbs, and pesto is one of the most classic preparations for basil that I know of, and one that I love. In theory, you can make pesto with most any herb, and I’ve tried variations over the years, but always come back to basil pesto, especially with pasta. Since we’re talking about classics, I like the basic recipe in Joy of Cooking, although use a food processor rather than mortar and pestle. Adding your thin stream of olive oil while the processor is running, really incorporates it into the pesto, and lets you easily assess your desired texture.

Then there is the school of thought that says a classic dish is just a framework to build your own dish around. My only variation tonight, is to combine sweet basil, Thai basil and cinnamon basil, since I didn’t really have enough of the sweet alone for the size batch I had in mind. The three basil pesto was a hit at dinner, although truthfully, any difference from my usual pesto may have been more imagined than tasted.

Dressings and marinates with little or no cooking, often benefit from fresh over dried herbs. Looking for something different to do with the yellow squash and peppers in the harvest basket, I ran across some fresh vegetable relishes from my grandmother, while browsing though our little metal box of favorite recipes on index cards. The extended family on both sides while I was growing up included some great cooks, and sharing recipes on index cards (like Momma’s distinctive ones) was sharing the love. My mother was raised on a farm, and her mother, Momma, could and did feed the masses, largely with food they grew and raised, and cooked in a distinctly delicious country style.

Along with the produce she picked that day from her sizable garden, her succulent meats and all the fixings, she would set out a jar of vegetables she had pickled, or a relish of corn, or cukes or tomatoes. I’m going to take the theme from three of her recipe cards and see if I can apply it to some cubed yellow squash, sweet and hot peppers and some onion. And I’ll have to add in a bunch of herbs, to put my stamp on it.

I blanched the vegetables in some sweetened vinegar and water while picking an assortment of herbs. The chopped mixture of thyme, marjoram, chives, rosemary and sage were added and stirred in before straining off the liquid for reduction. While the vinegar liquid reduced (added salt and pepper, mustard seeds to it) the cubed veggies cooled. Then that was cooled, reunited with the squash et al and put in a jar to flavor meld and chill for an interesting side dish. The result is totally different from her’s, but has her feel to it, and it absolutely does evoke the emotions of those delightful family feasts at the farm.