Because You Should

Write this in your recipe book.  Classic Basil Pesto.  Kitchen staple.  Best to grow some basil first, since 2 cups worth from the store is expensive.

Classic Basil Pesto
2 cups of packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons of pine nuts
1/2 cup of olive oil*
1/2 cup of grated Parmasean*
1/2 cup of grated Pecorino Romano*

Chuck it all in the food processor, pulse 'til blended and there you go.  Pesto freezes well, but don't let it stay in there too long.  I like to spoon it into ice cube trays to freeze, then transfer to a plastic bag.  Perfect tablespoon-size servings.

*Note to readers who, like my mother (you know who you are!) are forever tempted to cut corners with cheap ingredients.  This will not do if you want good pesto.  Buy some quality olive oil.  No Laura Lynn generic stuff that you bought in a pinch at Ingles in Cashiers or Piggly Wiggly at the beach or wherever.  Buy a hunk of real Parmasean and real Romano.  Not the pre-shredded stuff.  It will take less than 5 minutes to shred that cheese! And don't skimp and just use Parm.  I tried that once and the results were, shall we say, disappointing.

I meant to include this photo in the last post about the Mill Creek Canyon hike.  Rose hips are such a pretty sign of fall.  I hear you can make tea from them, but have not tried it myself.