Pesto

Remember this post? Well, this year I planted more basil and it's 5 feet tall now. People ask me what I do with it. Here's one answer.

First you take a rediculous amount of garden fresh Basil, rinse and dry it.

Then you put it in your food processor. Sorry, your blender just won't work (you'll need to add too much liquid to get it blended and it will ruin the consistency). Add garlic, toasted nuts (pine nuts are the best, but are horribly expensive, walnuts work but add a little sugar to off set the bitterness) parmesean cheese and lemon juice (so it doesn't turn black).

Process it all up while streaming in olive oil.Put in icecube trays and freeze so you can add it to soups, pastas and spreads all winter long. Or spread on top of toasted french bread slices with bacon and swiss cheese for easy appetizers. Or toss with pasta and chicken for a light dinner.

Pesto:

2 1/2 cups packed basil

1/4 c parmesean

1/4 c toasted pine nuts (or walnuts + 1tsp. sugar)

3 cloves garlic

1 T lemon juice

1/4 c olive oil

opt: salt and pepper to taste

And for those of you who requested the recipe for the pumpkin roll, click here.