Summer brings many wonderful things; sunshine, flowers, butterflies, good times and lots of fresh food. An easy thing to grow at home or find at your local Farmer’s Market is fresh basil. Packed with antioxidants and phenolics, this culinary herb is a rich source of vitamin K, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium and dietary fiber. In this blog I show you how to turn a bunch of basil into a delicious sauce for pasta, sandwiches, soups and more. Basil is also:

• anti-inflammaroty
• antioxidant
• cancer-fighter
• analgesic (pain-reducer)
• antipyretic (fever-reducer)
• hepatoprotective (liver-protector)
• immune booster

Pesto pairs basil with another fabulous food: garlic. Known for it’s cardio protective properties, immune boosting and more, garlic adds a beautiful bite to this recipe. Store your pesto in a Mason jar like in the pic above for up to 3 days in the fridge or freeze for longer storage. Click below to make some magic with me!

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (can sub half the basil leaves with baby spinach)
• 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 (can sub chopped walnuts)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 3 teaspoons)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste