The pungent, aromatic smell of Basil is hard to miss. For me it brings back memories of what I call the pesto summer. I’m not very good with years or numbers, so somewhere in between being too short for the rides at Storyland, and being too cool for Storyland, were the days of the pesto summer. There are three very important characters in this chapter of my life: my sister, my mom and her frozen cookie dough business Be Sweet. She sold her product, five kinds of cookie dough each named after a daughter or cousin in my family, at Portsmouth and Exeter farmers markets.
My mom and I, her curious child with a bad wandering habit, and my selfless and dependable sister would load up my grandmas old minivan before market. Inside was the EZ-up, our finger trap of a tent, five carefully crafted and perfected kinds of frozen cookie dough, and the chairs if we were lucky enough to remember them. Twice a week we drove through the early morning to seacoast farmers markets. These long days of market passed, which for me usually involved a Kellie Brooke Farm breakfast sandwich, mango lassi or lemonade from Tulsi, taking a nap in the heat of our minivan, and lingering around Sugar Mommas Maple stand hoping for a free ice cream or cotton candy. All the while, my sister and mom sold cookie dough, watched shoppers pass, and protected our samples from unattended cookie monster children. At the end of the day we’d pack up and return home to our red house on top of the hill. Many nights of that summer after returning from market the smell of fresh basil pesto would waft around the beams and open spaces in our house. Pink martini playing in the background the three of us ate on the couch, on the porch, or at the dinner table, bowl after bowl of cheesy pesto pasta with kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes.
Now at the start of another summer, several years after the pesto summer, and many bowls of pasta later, fresh basil is here once again, and ready to be enjoyed. Below I’ve included two of my favorite basil recipes and hope that you’ll enjoy them too.
Fresh Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
Directions
1. Pulse basil and pine nuts in a food processor: Place the basil leaves and pine nuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a several times.
2. Add the garlic and cheese: Add the garlic and Parmesan or Romano cheese and pulse several times more. Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.
3. Stream in the olive oil: While the food processor is running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady small stream. Adding the olive oil slowly, while the processor is running, will help it emulsify and help keep the olive oil from separating. Occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor.
4. Stir in salt and freshly ground black pepper, add more to taste. Enjoy!
Basil Lemonade
1 cup of raw cane sugar
6 cups of cold water
1 cup of loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice/ 3-4 lemons
Directions:
- Create a simple syrup by combing 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, and the 1 cup of basil leaves, in a pan.
- Turn the heat on medium and heat until all sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally and set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile juice you’re lemons into a large pitcher
- Add remaining five cups of water to pitcher
- Once your simple syrup is cooled strain out basil leaves and add remaining mixture to water, stir and serve in tall glasses over ice. Enjoy!
resources: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/