Leah L Harbottle
Gregory HarbottleAloha Family & Friends
Aloha Family & Friends
First of all, we’d like to thank everyone for their kindness regarding the recent Lahaina fire. As you can imagine, we are only now getting out of a state of overwhelm regarding the effect on our town, friends, and neighbors. A crisis such as this results in a broken heart for all concerned. On a more personal note, following a series of his appointments with a cardiologist, we found out a few weeks ago that Greg’s heart literally WAS broken. Never one to do things in a minor way, he was scheduled for a routine angiogram and ended up with a quadruple bypass! Thanks to the excellent care of the Maui Memorial Cardiology Department and ICU nursing staff, the surgery went very well, and Greg is home recovering quite nicely.
Yes, this is all happening while we continue to try to help our community as much as we can. These past six weeks have been intense, for sure. We wish we could wave a magic wand and fix it all, which of course, no one can. But when that sense of overwhelm starts to creep back in, we always remind ourselves of the Starfish Story:
Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one day, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the man noticed a small girl approaching. As the girl walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that she was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The girl came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young girl paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The girl bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she turned, smiled, and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
So over the past few weeks…
Every time we hand out a gas card, put together a supply basket or – most relevant for us – find an interim rental for a family who lost their home – we think to ourselves, “Made a difference to that one.”
The Harbottle family – Greg, Leah and Gidget – wish you a lovely fall with plenty of starfish opportunities.
And back to the issue of Heart Health, here’s a recipe that fits with our newly adopted lifestyle. We recommend baking with a light, flaky fish!
Aloha, Greg & Leah
Enjoy this gluten free and vegan pesto recipe!
Lemon Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (110 grams) Almonds or Walnuts
- 4 cups (100 grams) Fresh Basil loosely packed, leaves and tenderest stems
- 3-4 Cloves of Garlic plump and large
- 1 Lemon zest + juice
- 1/2 cup (75 grams) Parmesan* small dice, if using grated parm 3/4 C (75g)
- 1 cup (200 grams) Extra Virgin Olive Oil + up to 1/4 C (50g) more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- A few Grinds of Fresh Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (176 Celsius) and toast nuts for 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they go from toasty to over toasted fast! Alternatively, toast the nuts on the stovetop in a dry pan on low for about 3-5 minutes, tossing frequently to avoid scorching. Set aside to cool.
- In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with an S blade, add the basil, nuts, parm, garlic, lemon zest and juice, salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. Process, just to get the ingredients moving then with the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil in a slow steady stream. Once all the olive oil is added stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Process again until the ingredients are smoothish. Add up to 1/4 cup (50 grams) more olive oil depending on how thick or thin you prefer pesto.
- Transfer the basil pesto to your storage container of choice. If storing in a jar, add a thin layer of olive oil on top to help preserve basil’s vibrant green color.
How to Store and Freeze Pesto
Store pesto in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can also freeze basil pesto up to a year. It freezes beautifully and is so convenient to have on hand with a quick thaw. Here are two ways to freeze pesto:
- Store this basil pesto recipe in a lidded freezer container, I like using small 8oz canning jars. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and use as desired. It can be refrozen multiple times.
- For smaller portions, freeze the almond basil pesto in ice cube trays. Simply spoon the pesto into the tray and freeze. This recipe will fill one ice cube tray. Once frozen, and to store, set the tray out at room temperature for about 10 minutes (do not allow to thaw), then spoon the pesto cubes out and into a freezer bag or container. While I’ve read you can line the ice cube tray with plastic wrap for easier release, I’ve never tried this in my efforts to reduce kitchen waste and I don’t find it necessary.