Pesto

Each summer in NH, one crop would dominate the vegetable garden. No matter what we planted or how the seeds were separated, one veggie a year would rule them all (except for the volunteer rhubarb plant that annually controlled the compost pile). The Year of the Tomato. The Year of the Yellow Squash. The 'ear of the Corn. The Year of the Green Bean. Mom says there was a "lack of vegetables" in our diets, but she glosses over the fact that we always had a fresh garden bounty. The Year of the Basil was particularly successful, though how much basil can one really eat? We filled the freezer with a lifetime of it, wondering how we could use it. Then, a violent thunderstorm knocked out the electricity and we lost the whole crop. But not before we started putting pesto on everything! The Frugal Gourmet, by Jeff Smith, lists the pesto recipe that we used:

--4 cups Fresh Basil (FRESH ONLY)
--1/2 cup Olive Oil
--2 cloves Garlic
--6 sprigs Fresh Parsley
--Salt and Pepper to taste
--1/4 cup Pine Nuts
--1/2 cup Fresh Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

Place the basil in a blender with the olive oil, garlic, parsley, and pine nuts. Blend until all are chopped very fine. Remove from the blender. Add the Parmesan or Romano cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. The uses for this are limitless, though tossing with pasta is always classic.