Now that September is here, I feel the need to harvest the herbs in my garden and save them for winter cooking. I think it’s wishful thinking that fall weather might really be coming, but if it does, my herbs will be preserved and we’ll have a pile of homemade basil pesto in the freezer.
This pesto is perfect for serving over pasta on a busy night. Just toss in some grilled or roasted chicken and serve hot or cold for a delicious and easy meal. It’s also perfect as a base for pizza instead of the traditional red pizza sauce.
Now if I only had a few more ideas to use up all my mint.
Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
Place basil, pine nuts, garlic, and oil in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Add the cheese and blend a few seconds longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For more ways to use the fresh herbs you’re growing in your garden, check out this refreshing coconut mint spritzer recipe …
… a simple craft for mint soap …
… and one of my favorite recipes for minty lemonade iced tea!
Mmmm, yummy. I love pesto. Thank you for the recipe. Mint??? I am not sure I can help on that one. I am going to try out this pesto recipe though. Thank you, thank you for linking it up. I hope you have a good weekend.
Too bad we didn’t live closer together. Between your mint and my apples, we could make great mint apple jelly.
Hi, i found you over at T&J- Great idea for the basil. I am going to make it this weekend with all of mine. Wish I could help you with the mint? I have no clue!
I love the bible verse at the top of your page.
mmm… sounds great! I planted basil this year and it died within 2 days! I have discovered mint in my garden, lots of it and so I’m going to try my hand at jarring this week.
I use that exact recipe for basil pesto. I haven’t frozen it though. Do you do anything special to freeze? Does it turn color (brown) when frozen?
I have a ton of mint too – I force myself to add it to all of our cold drinks this time of year. I also use it with watermelon. It smells so good, but I find it hard to use up.