Basil Pesto

Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy plants, flowers, the outdoors, and fresh herbs. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment, so I don't have a yard, but I got creative and constructed a small herb garden under the window in my kitchen. This lovely little herb garden has provided me with mint, cilantro, oregano, and basil, which is my favorite.

I'm a big fan of pesto. My dad always made it when out of the basil that he grew and it was delicious. When I was finally able to grow my own basil, I had one end goal in mind: make pesto. So that's exactly what I did recently. When my basil plant had reached a reasonable height and was nice and leafy, I clipped some leaves and made up a delicious batch of pesto. Of course, pesto is delicious with a serving of pasta, but I also love putting it on sandwiches and enjoy a spread of it on a veggie burger. Point is, the recipe itself is very simple. Deciding what to do with the pesto once it's made is the fun part.

Recipe

1 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup walnuts

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper

Blend basil leaves, walnuts, Parmesan cheese and garlic in food processor. While blending, drizzle in olive oil (about 1/4 cup) to make a paste-like consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until use.