I am a die-hard fan of pesto and that is why this morning’s entry is a repost of one of my favorite cooking journals: 101cookbooks
One key to perfect pesto is chopping all the ingredients by hand, preferably with a sharp mezzaluna or knife. I gave my double-bladed mezzaluna to a friend last year because it was collecting dust (I also didn’t like how ingredients would get stuck between the blades), but have a large half-moon shaped pizza cutter that works like a dream. Francesca’s mom even approved and said it cut her chopping time in half. This pesto will keep a bit in the refrigerator, but it really hits its peak when served soon after it is made…
1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic
one small handful of raw pine nuts
roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Special equipment: large mezzaluna for chopping
Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop. At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil “cake” - see the photo up above. Transfer the pesto “cake” to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake). Cover with a bit of olive oil, it doesn’t take much, just a few tablespoons.
You can set this aside or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just before serving give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil. She occasionally thins the pesto with a splash of pasta water for more coverage, but for our gnocchi this wasn’t necessary.
Makes about 1 cup.
You should go to her site and read the full entry: How to make pesto like an Italian grandmother- she has a lot more explanation about this perfect pesto and, well, her writing is nice too 
The canvas, displayed in the Women’s and Children’s waiting area, is an interactive light wall, 14-feet long and 6-feet high, that uses touch screen and Philips technologies to animate 1,420 LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights. By using their hands to draw on the wall, visitors can “paint with light”, using an entire spectrum of colors and shapes. The images will remain visible for a few minutes and then disappear. The Imagination Light Canvas can accommodate up to six people drawing at the same time, yet only consumes the daily energy equivalent of a single toaster.
“We created the Imagination Light Canvas specifically for the Women’s and Children’s waiting room of the new hospital,” he explained, “to lessen the tension, anxiety and stress that families often experience when waiting for child birth. We predict it will be a big hit with both children and adults.”
Interesting. They should’ve taken video of kids playing with it, then I would be completely sold… here
I’m reposting from Core77:
Designed for the “locavore,” Local River, created by Mathieu Lehanneur and Anthony van den Bossche is a home storage unit for fish and greens. This DIY fish-farm-cum-kitchen-garden is based on the exchange and
interdependence of two living organisms - plants and fish.
Here’s the dirty stuff:
The plants extract nutrients from the nitrate-rich dejecta of the fish. In doing so they act as a natural filter that purifies the water and maintains a vital balance for the eco-system in which the fish live. The same technique is used on large-scale pioneer aquaponics/fish-farms, which raise tilapia (a food fish from the Far East) and lettuce planted in trays floating on the surface of ponds.
Simply put, now you can have your fish, lettuce, and eat ‘em too! The ultimate goal of Local River is not just decorative, but functional too — serving as an aquarium/refrigerator it allows fish and greens to cohabit until …..um…..dinner time rolls around.
On view at Artists Space from 25 April to 21 June 2008.
Check out more pix here.
Nicholas Jones’ Background:
I come from a fine art sculpture background, studying from 1995- 1997 at the VCA. For the majority of my course, I made work from the expected media such as bronze, aluminium, clay, wood etc…, but when I got to my final semester, I started experimenting with books and found paper as a potential sculptural material. One of my lecturers, Elizabeth Presa had been working with folded books, wax and mixed media and these were media I empathised with. The more I read about deconstructivist theory as expounded by Jacques Derrida and the Baroque and the Double Fold, by Deleuze and Guattari, the more I started to feel that my chosen medium had relevance. The idea of divesting a book of its utilitarianism and forcing it into the realm of the surreal and futile was confounding and enticing at the same moment. Books become objectified rather than useful and beautiful, rather than taken for granted. The Japanese theory of Wabi Sabi also inspires me greatly and the notion that nothing is perfect holds a great deal of weight.
aaaand the best part: The Artist Studio shot
Read an interview with the artist
Contact Nicholas: bibliopath@excite.com
Its a little slow, but very interesting - esp to product designers Found via metafilter here
