Pesto Confessions

I spent yesterday morning making pesto. One of the plants husband left alone gave me six batches of pesto! I'm so excited. We will definitely not have to buy the expensive stuff from the store this year.

My family loves pesto. I will share some recipes using it later. Whatever you do don't buy the canned variety. The refrigerated type is heads above the canned in my opinion. I have not found one that is even close to homemade or refrigerated. Of course, I stopped trying a couple of years ago.

My sister always tells me that my pesto is different. She thinks it's due to the fresh basil. It's time to come clean. When I began making pesto, I was complaining about the cost of the pine nuts to the owner of my local greenhouse. She gave me a great solution - use sunflower seeds instead! I was reluctant to try it but being the Betty Bargain that I am, saving money prevailed. To be honest I couldn't tell the difference (my sister is the only one who can). Now I wouldn't consider using pine nuts in this. I save them for pasta dishes that lets them shine.

My secret is out. Here is the recipe I use. I revised it from a recipe my daughter found in a book at school years ago.

Basil Pesto

2 cups of freshly washed basil leaves

1 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of sunflower seeds (use the pine nuts here if you want)

1/2 cup of graded Parmesan cheese

3 cloves of garlic

1. Put garlic, basil, and olive oil in a food processor or blender. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
2. Add cheese and sunflower seeds and blend for 3-4 minutes.

That's it. Now you can use it on pizza, pasta or for dipping bread into. I make lots of pesto in the summer and freeze it for later use. Typically I freeze it in ice cube trays. When it is frozen, I put the cubes into freezer bags. I take out what I need and thaw on the counter or in the refrigerator.