Secret Project number two

Hello Internet! This week's secret project comes all the way from Hungary! JonClark is the fellow who submitted this new project. Jon and I crossed paths a number of times over the past few years, meeting at UW, catching up at art shows, and strolling in Rome. Of course, not that all of the secret projects coming in will be so international. These international friends just happen to be the first to get their projects completed. Come on local(er) friends! Next week this blog is going to get really really local, with a secret project by the intern. I've had a sneak peek, and I can't give away the topic... but you're going to like it.

Here we go, enjoy!

My name is JonClark and I'm a graudate of UW that ventured out into the world. I found myself in Hungary teaching English to students ranging from grade school to adults. Food is my passion and I've spent the last year learning all about the culture and history of Hungary and its people and food. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't like to recreate classics from home or my other travels. You can find my work at www.chasqui8.blogspot.com for more food finds and classic Hungarian moments. I wanted to do something special for Franny who spent all of Monday morning in Budapest retrieving my laptop from the service center there. There were of course many obstacles, it's Hungary after all, such as being told that it would cost 10,000 HUF, but then slapping another 2,500 HUF on for tax, which was of course the money needed for the train back home. So then she had to go back across the city to borrow some money from a good friend so that she could then get to the train station and finally home. I knew this ordeal had created a long day before her already long day of teaching even started so I set out to make a special lunch.

But enough talk of the ordeal, now for the food. The garlic is from a student's grandmother who in appreciation for the English lessons for her granddaughter wove bulbs of garlic together as a beautiful and traditional gift for Franny. We only have one bulb left!

We've now been growing herbs in our window boxes for a couple of months, but I got the first basil plant in the early spring. Now we have two basil plants and both are going strong right into the end of September! These plants are very special to us.

The walnuts are also from Hungary, from the farmer's market in fact. We're sure to pick up a kilo before long trips as they make wonderful and delicious snacks while traveling through the fall and winter.

I started by crushing the garlic in the mortar with a little bit of salt adding the basil soon after. Once I ground that enough I added three beautiful walnuts as it was a batch only for her. I finished off the pesto with olive oil and Parmigiano-Reggiano. It's very simple, but I like to keep things simple, especially after a very complicated day. Buon Appetito!