I decided today that there would be no conditions to this blogpost.  I’m going to make it an open field and just let the truth come out.  (I learned on television this week that you can really start a buzz about something if you say those sentences first.)

My original intent today was to get on my cereal box (same thing as a soap box just tastier inside) and talk about current events.  It seemed the only thing we heard on the news was stories about people who weren’t living honest lives.  (Is this where I should toss in the word “allegedly” so I don’t get sued?)

Every “news” channel had on the same two stories, one champion athlete admits he was a liar and the other star football player is a “victim” in a hoax.  (Did he not learn anything from the Brady Bunch and Jan’s make believe boyfriend, George Glass?)

Now, I am not judging either one of these guys because I am sure we all have skeletons in our closets.  And just so I am putting everything on the table, I will share some of my own deceptions.

First, I used steroids in Junior high and high school.  (I had the chubby cheeks to prove it.)  They weren’t the performance enhancing kind.   But I will say I had marathon television watching down to a science!

Second, I never died in high school.  This was a rumor someone (probably my sister) started when I was out of school for a while due to my Crohn’s’ disease.  The good thing about this rumor was that there wasn’t an Internet around to spread it and, honestly, I wasn’t popular enough for anyone to notice.  (I wish I were creative enough to come back and pretend I was a twin…that would have been a good hoax!)

Finally, some of my pesto sauce doesn’t actually have basil in it.  (Gasp!!!)  I find basil pesto kind of overpowering and expensive to make.  (Unless it is summer and I have it growing in my garden.)  So I have been making it with arugula.

Now in my defense, when I serve arugula pesto I don’t lie about its contents.  I, personally, feel that for my food to feel like a star or champion, I have to be proud of how I make it.  It doesn’t need to be embellished with fake ingredients or hoax the eater into thinking it is something else.  It just has to be good and true to itself.

Arugula Pesto

(1 cup.  Serves about 2-3 on top of pasta)

Ingredients

2 cups arugula

2 cloves of garlic (if you like it less garlicky, add one, mix it together and add more if you it isn’t strong enough)

1 Tbsp olive oil (use the best one you have in the house)

1 Tbsp toasted pine nuts (walnuts can be used as a substitute)

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan (use fresh grated and save the green bottled stuff for another night)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Option

8 ounces cooked hot linguine

Directions

In your food processor, chop garlic.  Add arugula, Parmesan and pine nuts and give it another twirl.

Drizzle in olive oil and lemon juice.

Taste!!!!!!  Add a little salt and pepper if needed.  If your arugula is really dry, add a smidge more olive oil.

I tossed mine with hot linguine and it was FABULOUS!!!!!!

If you really do love basil, I am sure you can toss in a leaf or two for flavor but honestly…it doesn’t need it.

Sometimes you just have to recognize when you have a good thing and you don’t need to embellish it.   I wish everyone could do that.