Basil Pesto preserves summer flavour

Blogging takes a back seat in the busy summer market season. I am cooking a lot, every day, all day. Except when I take the occassional day off to garden or go for a drive. This is not my garden basil. It's from the market and so lovely.

Basil Pesto
2 cups lightly packed, fresh basil leaves
¼ cup pinenuts, toasted
½ cup nice olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
salt optional

Dry toast the pinenuts in a stovetop pan. Chop basil, pinenuts and garlic with olive oil in food processor until finely minced. Stir in parmesan cheese and more olive oil if necessary. Pack into a jar and float a little olive oil on top to help preserve the mixture. Or, freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray and store the ice cubes in freezer bags for later use.

 And just because my lilies are lovely and at their peak, here's a picture for you. Aren't they purdy?