178: Future Pesto

I know, I blew out the sky, but I'm lazy. I'm running out of things to take pictures of, and it was raining when I left the house this morning so I didn't take my camera

Every year, we grow basil in some boxes at our place. My boyfriend uses it in sandwichs, we put it in salads, and then I periodically make pesto with it. I prefer homemade because I find the commercial stuff usually has an unecessary amount of olive oil in it.

To make pesto, all you need is basil, pine nuts, romano and/or parmesan chees, olive oil, and garlic. My secret is I use a whole head (!) of garlic, but I roast it. Cut the top of the garlic head off, drizzle a bit of olive oil, sprinkle some pepper and dried oregono on it, wrap it in foil, and bake for about 30 minutes at about 350 F. Let it cool, and then the garlic will be all nice and buttery-like so you can just squeeze the cloves out.

Anyways, that's all you need for pesto! You can also do fun things like throw in sun dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil - drained, or dried, but re-hydrated), other herbs, or if you want to get really fancy, can replace the basil with things like arugula (rocket for you Brits and Aussies) or flat leaf parsley. The possiblities are endless! Happy cooking!