Pesto Win!

I didn’t even really know what pesto was until I was living in California. My family never made it growing up and I’d never really even heard about it. I think I must have seen it someplace while looking for recipes that were fast and practically threw themselves together because I didn’t cook at the time. I looked at a bunch of versions and made up my own with measurements that looked good to me. I prefer a more oily pesto and I don’t like to put the cheese in the sauce. Instead I always grate it on top of the individual servings so it doesn’t get lost.

It was easy to get fresh bunches of basil for less than a dollar in California and I was incredibly disappointed to find that wasn’t the case in Utah. Here you can usually only find a couple of sorry looking leaves in a plastic container in the produce department and it still costs at least $3. Ridiculous in my opinion. Not even Sunflower Market has fresh basil for a good price. That’s a major reason I wanted to try growing my own this year.

This week, though, I found a good bunch of basil for just under a dollar at WinCo (so going back for more) and bought some with plans to make pesto. I almost forgot about it until I asked Peanut what she wanted for dinner. I had pizza on the brain for some reason until I was looking through the crisper and saw the basil. I asked Peanut if she’d rather have pizza or pesto. She, of course, chose pesto. That’s my girl.

ODD is not a fan of basil in the least so pesto is something I usually try to make when I know he won’t be home. He had a meeting tonight so I made if for Peanut and myself. Peanut has loved it since she was teeny tiny and scarfs it down anytime I make it.

Peanut singing the praises of delicious pesto.

Wingnut tried it for the first time a few months ago. Initially he was a little unsure of all the green flecks but after the first bite he was hooked. This is his second helping from tonight’s batch. He gobbles it up like you wouldn’t believe.