Pesto!

I don't mean to brag but for some reason I have become, quite possibly, the greatest cultivator of basil the fire escape garden has ever seen. Last year an exceptional crop and this year looks to continue that extraordinary and years long quest for same. It may have something to do with the discovery that basil doesn't like to be watered all over, i.e. not the leaves just the earth. And perhaps the addition of some organic fertilizer from the local hardware store ... all I know is it looks good, tastes good and has, all of a sudden, become easy to grow. And of course, now that it's become easy for me, I feel I must impress upon you how easy it would be for you too... if you live in a sunny clime and have any kind of sunlight, be it a window sill, a fire escape ... or more. Buy some pots at the farmer's market and get on with it. You can use it in all kinds of dishes -- the pasta, tomato, mozzarella & garlic dish below -- in salads, in tomato sauces ... and when you have too much, you can make some pesto. Recipe is easy, easy and is below:

(My cousin, Cynthia, supplied me with this one, which is, from a cookbook, the name of which I think is "My Homer Cookbook," from Homer, Alaska... )

1 cup fresh basil
1 cup fresh parsley
2-6 gloves of garlic (I used four good sized ones in this edition)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I didn't use any)
3 tablespoons pinenuts
1/3 - 1/2 cup of olive oil (I used a third but see how you go)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Put it all in the blender and turn it on.

You don't have to be precise by the way. I used more than a cup of basil (as I said, I gotta lot of it), and not sure that I used a full cup of parsley. I grow that on the fire escape too, but only one pot of it whereas I have many pots of basil.

Enjoy with spaghetti, with chicken, with ... options I don't even know about yet. It's delicious though. And done in 5 minutes.