Stuffed Portabellos and Homemade Pesto

Occasionally, when I'm not feeling very inspired about any one particular thing, I'll head to the market with no plan in mind and make things up as i go. Last Sunday the inspiration hit me when I was gifted fresh portabello mushrooms. I'd never worked with them before, in any capacity other than stuffing them into my face. So i headed out in search of ideas. While wandering through the grocery isles it hit me that i should stuff the shrooms before stuffing them in my face. I started grabbing everything in sight to throw in the mix.

My garden inspires too. While digging around for more things to add to the stuffed ports, i realized my basil plants were now big and healthy enough for the first homemade pesto dish of the summer. And a bonus to the mix, ripe cherry tomatoes to add to a homegrown salad. It was veggie heaven, all natural and well worth the time spent preparing. And after-all, it was Sunday night, True Blood was on HBO, and I had an incredible bottle of red wine to help pass the time.

Stuffed Portabellos:
2 large portabello mushrooms (or 8-10 smaller ones, if making for an appetizer)
4 oz. block style feta cheese (President All-Natural, don't go cheap!)
½ c to 2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1 tomato, chopped
½ c. Mediterranean olive mix from deli (had green and kalamata olives, garlic, roasted peppers, etc), chopped
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on size, and preference)
2 cherry peppers in marinade, diced
2 tbsp chopped parsley (fresh)
2 tbsp chopped sliced basil (fresh)
1 tbsp oregano leaves (fresh)
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Clean gills and stems from mushrooms.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cube feta into ¼ inch cubes. Combine with chopped tomato, garlic, olive oil, olive blend, herbs, and peppers. Taste, season with salt and pepper accordingly. Stuff into mushrooms- piling on top if using the large mushroom caps, or mound if using small.
Combine Parmesan with breadcrumbs. Top mushrooms with breadcrumb blend.
Place on baking pan over oiled foil.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, checking often. Smaller mushrooms will take less time to cook. They are done when mushrooms are tender, and don’t bounce back when poked. If filling looks done but crumbs are not brown, place under low broiler for 3-5 minutes.

Homemade Pesto:
3 packed cups of basil leaves
2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on size and preference)
1/2 cup of pinenuts (or you can use walnuts or almonds as a substitute)
3/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese (not the nasty powdered stuff)
3/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste

You can be as liberal or conservative with any of the ingredients as you like. Combine them all in a blender or food processor until the mix becomes a smooth paste... and... Presto, you have Pesto.