Homemade Basil Pesto

Well after a great week in Chicago, we came home and I started school again.  The week off was great but it always goes by so fast.  I've been catching up on school this week since I didn't do as much as I should have last week, but how could I when I was with such a sweet girl all day?  Stephen and I are missing the Murrill's this week and we really miss Monroe!

Anyway, in my determination to get going with school this week, I haven't been baking too much, but today when I went outside to water my garden I knew I had to do something with all the basil that was growing!  I love growing basil.  It grows really fast and you can use it in so much, I definitely recommend growing it.  Anyway, the plants were so big so I harvested and decided to make some fresh pesto.  I've never made it before, but I knew it would  be a good way to use a lot of basil. It was super easy and tastes delicious.  I'm hoping Stephen will make a great pasta creation later... he's very good at those.

Homemade Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup walnuts (or pine nuts)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Remove the basil leaves from the stems and wash well.

 Roughly chop 4 cloves of garlic

 In a large food processor combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and walnuts

 Drizzle olive oil over the ingredients

 Turn on the food processor until all the ingredients are blended.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides if necessary.  If the mixture is too thick, you can add a little more olive oil.

 And that's all, super easy! Enjoy as a sauce on pizza or pasta or spread over toasted bread or crackers!

On another note, my garden is doing pretty well. The plants have grown a lot and I am looking forward to some delicious peppers and vegetables soon!

 I came home last week to find 2 little tomatoes growing!

I perhaps should have put the zucchini plant in a larger container, it has grown a lot and has really pretty yellow flowers on it which were blooming this morning.

This is the basil plant AFTER I harvested this morning! And the eggplant plant is doing well too, getting very large!

The pepper plants are growing, no peppers yet but some flowers.

Dill is getting big too, I'm thinking I will make a potato salad this weekend for our Memorial Day picnic! I don't have a lot of ideas for dill though and it's growing fast so let me know your favorite uses for dill.

Also, no luck on the mulberry bush, I guess a bird dropped it off.  I may make a trip around the neighborhood next week though to scope things out!  Hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend!