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That's weird. I just had pesto for the first time two weeks ago, and it was fantastic. I guess not that surprising that I only recently discovered it, as I didn't even know what alfredo sauce was until I had to eat it while studying abroad in Kenya in 99. My family is a strictly red sauce kind of family for some reason.

The signs of the End are War, Famine, Death, and Pesto. I thought everyone knew that.

No, no, pesto is one of the ten plagues, between cattle disease and darkness. God had to toss in a good plague so that Pharaoh wouldn't let the Hebrews go.

Just before I read your post, I was defrosting the last serving of pesto we had made last summer for dinner tonight.

Now, we are out of pesto. And the basil plants in the yard aren't big enough to make pesto. Truly, pesto is something not to be taken for granted!

Jeremy, you can expect the shine to wear off in ten or fifteen years.

Also, I can testify that living in the Pacific Northwest materially contributes to early onset of Never Want To See Another Pine Nut Syndrome.

Basil's still pretty good, though.

Someday, when you have the time and energy, I am SO going to cook for you. 8)

Pine nuts, olive oil and basil, though... sounds like evidence of Dionysus to me, rather than any Judeo-Christian deity.

Obligatory baby reference: the only way I've found so far to get green vegetables into the baby is to make pesto with some basil and a lot of spinach (which actually works quite well) and put it on noodles. She loves it, although she ends up green from head to foot.

Other basil tips: I've needed at various times to make vegan basil. It works pretty well without the cheese, if you add salt, but if you need a substitute, I've also found that you can use a bit of miso paste.

Tip #2: if you put the pesto in a container and pour a thin layer of olive oil over it, it keeps for a very long time in the fridge.

Tip #3: if you're going to make a big batch and freeze it, which is an excellent thing to do with a big basil harvest, I find that it works best to leave out the cheese and put that in after you thaw it.

Also, yum.

In the second paragraph above, substitute "pesto" for "basil". Also, note that from the baby's perspective, the fact that she winds up green from head to toe is not a negative. Quite the contrary. Also also, I should stop calling her the baby, although "the toddler" seems wrong too. Perhaps I should refer to her as "Nina".

Ok, Jacob prods me into one more:
When freezing pesto, leave out the cheese, and freeze it in ice cube trays. Transfer to ziplocks when frozen, and then you have perfectly portioned pesto cubes for instant dinner.

I like pine nuts, but whenever I make make pesto, I use walnuts, lightly toasted first. Walnuts are a "must try" for pesto if you have only used pine nuts previously.

I'll second the walnuts suggestion. Much cheaper than pine nuts, too.