Anne Can Cook

I am currently 5 miles away from my new apartment at what I can only assume is the nearest location with free wireless internet. What have I gotten myself into?
My name is Anne. I'm 22 and a recent college graduate. I've just embarked on a year of service with the AmeriCorps VISTA program.
There isn't a short answer for my job specifics. I work for the local private college and serve as a liaison between that institute and the local middle school. Most of my time, however, will be spent at the middle school teaching 8th grade students in their new capstone program. My "areas of expertise" are literacy and 21st century skills. This is in keeping with the relatively new state Core Curriculum.
This blog is to document that experience. It is also to document my experiences in the kitchen. I love to cook, but that doesn't mean I'm good at it. I'm still a relative novice, as today's Pesto Disaster proves.

It didn't start out so badly. Pesto, in theory, is not hard. 10 basil leaves from my mother's award winning herb garden? Check. 2 Tbsp. pine nuts? Check. 2 Tbsp. olive oil? Check. Several cloves of garlic and some Parmesan cheese? Check, check, check, and blend. My major error occurred when I went to heat my sauce. I microwaved it for too long. Instead of a paste like consistency, I had grainy chunks that were not willing to be broken apart. What did crumble was at least tasty. My recipe for Pesto Rocks, however, does not seem to be a hit. Back to the pesto drawing board.