Watermelon, Popsicle's, sunshine, belly flops, fireworks, s'mores, staying up late, sleeping in (obviously pre-early riser children days), and BASIL!!
Basil is so sweet and summery and grows so well in the hot Arizona sunshine that I always seem to have it on hand. It grows great in an outdoor garden bed, and equally well in a small container on the kitchen counter.
Since it is so hot where I live in the summer I do not always want to turn on the oven or stove to make meals. Often, A couple slices of whole wheat crusty bread topped with fresh basil pesto does the trick! Topped with hummus, tomatoes, uncured salami.... all amazing things!!
Adding it to warm fresh pasta is amazing, topped on crusty bread is heavenly, scrambled into eggs is scrumptious, dolloped onto a searing hot piece of steak is phenomenal!
The recipe that follows is for basil pesto, but the beauty of pesto is that you can substitute many different greens and nuts and still come out with a great product!
Some to try:
Kale and Walnut
Cilantro and Pepita's (pumpkin seeds)
Arugula and Cashews
Basic Summertime Basil Pesto
2 cups packed basil (washed and dried - really pack it in)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2.5 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
3 small cloves garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
2.5 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
In the bowl of a food processor add 1/3 cup (half of the called for amount) extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and salt
Crush garlic cloves with your hand or the back of a large knife and roughly chop (garlic gets better the longer it sits out exposed to air)
Wash, dry and pack in the basil to a 2 cup measuring cup (or some combination of cups to equal 2 cups)
Measure out pine nuts and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until you just smell them (do not let them burn or color too dark, just warm enough to wake up and release oils)
Measure out Parmesan cheese
Add everything to the oil/lemon juice/salt mixture in food processor and whirl for a few seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides and then whirl on and off for a few minutes while drizzling in the remaining 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil (stopping every once in a while to scrape down the sides of the processor)
Taste and readjust seasonings to your liking, and empty into your serving/storage bowl. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and I like to top with the main ingredients so people know what is in the mixture (in case people are vegan they would be aware that there is cheese in this version so they could avoid it, etc...)
Pesto is best when chilled for at least an hour so that the flavors can really meld together and intensify.
Enjoy and Happy Eating!!!
