Every year around this time, I plug my ears a lot. The second week of August people start talking of fall. School starts and people start acting like summer is over. I can’t stand it, I love summer sooo much. I am constantly changing the subject when people bring it up. I love the fresh fruits and veggies, and the hot sun. I love more than anything being in the water on the lake or at a beach, which is hard to come by in Missouri. It is so fun drinking kombucha on the lake while scooping cultured veggies from a container while floating on the water in our boat. I grew up in the east coast and always loved the ocean. It was my husband who introduced me to the joy of boating and being on a lake. Sailing across the water puts me in a place I can hardly describe as anything but pure joy. I pile everything I love in our boat, my family our dogs and often friends and of course my cultured foods.

Don’t be surprised if one day I convince my husband to sell our house and live on a boat. I can culture foods anywhere. Just watch me. Cultured foods would be awesome with a little sea air to help them…

Earlier this summer my friend Laurel told me she had been making pesto with kefir in it. She said they were eating it like crazy. I decided to make up my own recipe with pistachio and kefir cheese as the base. It is unbelievably good and served on top of fresh ripe summer tomatoes, it is a  wonderful summer time dish.  As long as there are fresh tomatoes summer is not over. This is my plan and I am stickin to it.

Kefir Pistachio Pesto

2 cloves garlic
1 cup shelled unsalted roasted pistachios
24 fresh basil leaves torn into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup kefir cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano- Reggiano
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt

In  a food processor process the garlic with a few pulses till finely minced. Add the pistachios, basil and parsley and pulse again several times. Add the kefir cheese and the rest of the ingredients and process until pesto is well combined. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Serve immediately or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. This pesto also freezes well.

Serve with cherry tomatoes, baked pita chips, crudities or a million other things.