A good morning for pesto…

I woke up this morning thinking about pesto. I know, kind of weird. But when I have an urge for something fresh and really exploding with the flavors of the meditteranean…I have to act on it right away.

First things first though…I heat water on the stove and leave my hot mate tea brewing while I walk to the garden. The temperature is a little less hot this morning and the short walk to the garden feels refreshing,  beautiful, the sun just over the horizon, its rays filtering through the low limbs of the oaks.

My new water drip system has made all the difference in the garden. The squash is coming along nicely and tomatoes are set and getting ripe.

Big, flat and verdent…the basil leaves are showing their glorious color.  I can almost taste the pesto already.

I’m not an excellent cook or an educated one. I do have a few dishes that I have practiced through the years and they are all very easy with just a few fresh ingredients.

Pesto is a “feel” recipe for me. I don’t measure because it takes too much time. I love the instant gratification of picking it, chopping it and adding the essential ingrediants…garlic, Parmigiano, sea salt, pine nuts or sometimes substituting walnuts… and last but not the least…the most fragrant olive oil.

First I rinse the leaves, take them from their stems and let them dry a bit.

I love this little chopper. Perfect size for the recipe. Add the pinch of sea salt, a handful of pine nuts, garlic, about three cloves of garlic and three rounds around the chopper with the olive oil. I chop it a bit and then check to see if it needs more olive oil. Maybe a little more…

Be sure and taste it through the process, it’s muy sabrosa and a recipe you can’t make a mistake with. Just take your time and add the amounts that taste good to you.

Put it in an airtight container so it doesn’t turn brown and keep in the refrigerator.  It will last a week but I always eat it before then.

I will be stirring it into noodles or fresh hot rice this evening…if I can make myself stay out of it until then. Enjoy!