Monday, May 21, 2007

Basil Pesto

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Yesterday afternoon, after all my chores were done, I finally had time to sit down and take a break and read through some magazines. It was a beautiful day so I was relaxing on my patio looking through the May issue of Country Living. I saw a recipe for homemade pesto. It called for 3 cups of basil. I looked over at my basil plant(above) and figured I had enough to make it. There is something so satisfying about growing things and turning them into wonderful dishes to serve my family. I would have loved to put this on pasta but I'm doing the low-carb thing right now so I can lose some weight. Instead I pounded out some chicken breasts and spread the pesto on them, and then put some goat cheese on top of that and rolled them up and baked them. Wow, unbelievably good. My daughter loved it too. After I was almost finished eating I realized I could have mixed a little pesto with some cream to drizzle on top. Oh well, next time.

Here's the pesto recipe just in case you don't have the magazine. If you have it, it's on page 150.

Pulse 3 cups of basil leaves with 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 2 small cloves garlic and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese in food processor until finely chopped. Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, and process until smooth. Store in refrigerator for one week or frozen for three months.

16 comments:

Lori said...

Cindy, Yum! Your Sunday seemed so relaxed and peaceful! Low carb! You love divine to all of us!! Hey, were still waiting to hear how you paint!!! Have a lovely week!

Lori said...

O.K. So it's Monday And I can't spell! Here goes....You LOOK divine to all of us! Of course you may LOVE divine too!

Rosemary said...

Cindy,
Sounds really good. I have made it before. It's pretty easy and fun.
I love Country Living magazine.
Glad you had such a nice day.
Rosemary

Janelle said...

My basil plant's not quite big enough to harvest yet, but come July, I'll be making pesto, too! Thanks for the recipe!

Cottage said...

Thanks Cindy for the recipe...my very Real very Fluffy back-side needs to wittle a few pounds so will try your recipe out first week of June. Until then, it goes on pasta...lol! Love your blog!

Anonymous said...

Cindy,
What a wonderful meal. Sounds like fun.
Posted on Robin Sherwood frecklefarm is the TableTop issue of StyleNews.
Hope all is well.
xo
Robin

Southern Heart said...

Cindy, I think it's great that you grow so many of your own herbs. I haven't tried that yet, but have a sunny spot that might suit them well.

I *love* pesto, and yours looks so delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe, too!

Andrea

Anonymous said...

Hi there! I just wandered over here...well, I don't know how! I'm doing the Cottage Charm Giveawy on my site and was following comments and links and ended up here. And I LOVE your blog! It's awesome! I'm adding it to my blogroll right now! I'm so glad I found it!!!! ~A :-)

Anonymous said...

Your recipe sounds delicious!
You must be a wonderful cook.

cammy said...

How am I just now discovering your beautiful blog? I have lots of reading to do!!

Fresh made basil pesto...my absolute favorite! I think I know now what I am making for dinner.

linda t said...

What a lovely post... I can picture your relaxing day, making pesto.... ummm...
I just read another comment and I too am looking forward to your painting furniture tutorial!
Thanks Cindy!

Lizzie said...

I love pesto on sandwiches, and on chicken, too.

Thanks for sharing the recipe, its a keeper!

Nicole said...

Hmmm, your pesto looks fantastic. In fact, the basil in the urn looks so great, it must have been hard to cut it! Can't wait to try your recipe. It was a glorious day in Palo Alto yesterday too--and it is supposed to continue!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you shared this recipe! My husband loves Pesto, so I can't wait to try it!

Love visiting your blog! Beautiful images with wonderful thoughts!

D~

Anonymous said...

I love making pesto. Its so great to have it on hand year round.

Jennifer said...

Oh, that sounds delicious!! I love basil pesto...I have never made my own, though...just picked it up at the store :)
I got tagged for that Alexa "train" thingy and saw your name on the list, so I thought I'd come visit, and I'm glad I did...lovely place you have here :)