Making Pesto

There aren't many things in my life that I do and then immediately feel the need to share with others, but I figure that's a great reason for a blog, so my big accomplishment of the night (the week, the summer!) is making pesto with home-grown basil!

Now, I've been growing basil on our balcony for the last few summers, but I never thought I had enough to actually make pesto (which is the reason to grow fresh basil, right? This has been a secret desire of mine for awhile now—it also helps that I'm reading the Italy section of Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and I'm rather obsessed with the idea of spending an extended amount of time learning Italian and eating in Italy (anyone want to join me?).

In the last year, two things changed in my basil/pesto world that made this accomplishment possible. First, I received a mini food processor for Christmas (thanks Cooleys :) and second, I splurged on a bigger pot for the baby pesto plant I bought at the farmer's market. For the last 2 month I've been nurturing my basil plants, watching them get bigger and bigger and snipping small amounts here and there for pizza and pasta, but tonight after work the wait was over. I had enough leaves to make a small batch of pesto and let me tell you, it was delicious!

And to be honest it was really simple. Here's my recipe for success:
1 packed cup of pesto leaves
2 Tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
dash of kosher salt

I "processed" the ingredients 'til it was all green and wet and served over pasta with chicken, fresh roma tomatoes, and parmessan. It was divine. There are even left overs if you want to try it :)