Presto pesto!

My first exposure to pesto was several years ago (thanks, BFF Laura!) and even though I loved it immediately, I've never made it for myself.  With my basil growing totally out of control, I decided to give it a try.  Fortunately, making pesto is so incredibly simple that even this Martha-wannabe can do it.

Start by stripping all the basil leaves off the stems and through them into the food processor. 

Add some pine nuts and olive oil.  Any olive oil will work, but try to use the highest-quality one you can find. Mine comes from the Olive Gallery and is infused with butter. Yum!

Give it all a whirl, and be sure to occasionally scrape the sides of the bowl so everything gets chopped and combined.

Finally, toss the pesto with pasta.  I like my pesto and pasta served hot, but eaten cold it's just as good. 

This was so incredibly good!  I'm now kicking myself for only planting two pots of basil...I should have planted two dozen!  Next year, I'll be growing larger crops of this outside so I have enough basil to make pesto in huge batches to freeze. What a great way to have a bit of summer in the winter!  Pesto for everyone!