presto pesto

I took this picture of my potted basil mid-June.

One month later...

Despite the miserable weather we have had so far this summer, the basil has grown to gigantic proportions over that period! Normally I am much more vigilant about keeping it pruned but, with my sister's wedding and our out of town guests, I've been neglecting it the last few weeks and it had started to flower, which really isn't a good thing.

So when I saw Pam's post at Sidewalk Shoes it was as though she was speaking directly to me - a very timely reminder to cut back my own basil and inspiration to make pesto.

Basil, olive oil, garlic and toasted pine nuts. Into the food processor for a few minutes until puréed and it's done. Like Pam, I intend to freeze the pesto for later use so I will stir in some Parmesan just before serving. I also always add a thin layer of olive oil over the pesto in the jar to keep it fresher.

Pesto is so easy that you can eyeball the amounts of the ingredients and adjust the proportions to taste but if you are looking for a good recipe Pam has posted Mark Bittman's pesto recipe.