Making Pesto

I was a bit late doing this, but I finally got around to harvesting my basil plants last week.

I planted two small plants last spring and they were prolific!

However, by this time of year, they were looking overgrown and a little tired. So it was time for making pesto! I harvested all the leaves and gave them a good wash.

The salad spinner is a great gadget for getting them dry.

I found a really good bargain for pine nuts at Sam's.

I had a lot of basil, so forget those little bags from the grocery store!

I was able to make four batches with my basil and had enough left over to make Zucchini Hummus!

Pesto is easy to make because everything goes into the food processor and it does the work!

Then the pesto is stored in ice cube trays and frozen.

Each cube is about two tablespoons, just the right amount for adding to soups, sauces and stews this winter.

BASIL PESTO

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup pine nuts

2 cups loosely packed basil

1T. lemon juice

1/2t. salt

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Place garlic in food processor; pulse until chopped. Add pine nuts, basil, lemon juice and salt; pulse until nuts are finely chopped. Add olive oil gradually through food chute and process until well combined. Add cheese and pulse 2 or 3 times. Makes about 1 cup.

If you have extra basil, you might as well make up a batch of the following too, since you've already got most of the ingredients on hand!

ZUCCHINI HUMMAS

1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup coarsely chopped zucchini

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2t. salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1t. fresh lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached. Serves four.