The Story of My Basil Plant

Upon moving to Oregon, I wrote a list of exciting west-coast-ardly things I'd get to do as an bona fide Oregonian.

- Get a bike (check!)

- KEENS! (very recent proud owner.)

- Become a connoisseur of all things beer (highly debatable.)

- Plant a garden. 

I had dreams of whimsically wandering out to my garden - clad in my Keens and a gardening hat, braid in my hair while humming a Decemberists song - where I would harvest fresh herbs to season my organic dinner. Maybe even plant a flower bed or two. You know. To put in my hair.

Enter reality.

I don't have a yard. Not even a plot of outside land to make a raised bed. Nevertheless, I made due and crafted a kitchen window-stand to support my boxed herbs. Hooray! The garden dream lives on!

Re-enter reality.

Turns out a lot of these herbs need 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. That's precisely the kind of sunlight that a kitchen window just can't accomodate. I also don't think it helps that we've had an unseasonably cloudy summer here in Portland. (Aside: I keep hearing that term. Unseasonable. Last spring, last winter, last fall, last summer. All "unseasonably" cloudy, rainy, and cold. I think these Oregonians have selective recollection. Slash are straight up lying to themselves.)

Once upon a time, my basil plant was an impressive full bloom from Trader Joe's. I should have known that "you get what you pay for", because, before long, my $2.99 massive basil plant was overgrown, growing at an alarming 45 degree angle, and rapidly killing itself.  This is what she looked like after a few weeks.

My basil plant crossed me.

And when you cross me...you get cut.

And pureed with nuts and garlic. And drowned in olive oil. And pureed some more. And tossed with pasta. And eaten. Mua. Ha. Ha.

::Shortly after this blog post was authored, what was left of aforementioned basil plant was attacked by aphids and died. The end.::

Homemade Basil Pesto 

adapted from The Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients:

1/4 c. walnuts (or pecans) + pine nuts
1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. chopped garlic (about 5 cloves)
2 + 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves, cleaned and packed*
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 c. c. olive oil
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese


*To clean basil, remove the leaves and swirl them in a bowl of water. Then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. I don't own a salad spinner, so I allowed mine to dry on paper towels.

Instructions:

Once you've gotten all your ducks in a row (pictured above), you're almost done! Just grab your food processor and let it take out all of your aggression on the basil leaves that failed you.

First, process the nuts (walnuts + pine nuts) and garlic in the food processor for about 30 seconds.

Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper.

With the processor running, slowly incorporate the olive oil through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed.

Add the Parmesan and puree for an additional minute.

You can either serve immediately (pictured), or store in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top (this will help your pesto keep longer.)

Makes 2 cups.

To you, and to better luck next year.