Basil Mint Pesto, Sorrel Basil Pesto, & Basil Lemonade

This year I planted an entire packet of sweet basil, and I suppose the original idea was to thin out the starts as they got bigger. But, I didn't have the heart to pluck the little guys out, so I transplanted each one individually and ended up with about 80 basil plants.

I gave a lot of the plants to friends and family, but I still have loads, so needless to say, my freezer is filling with pesto, and we've been eating lots of basil-inspired meals.

Here are a couple of regular old pesto recipes, adapted from a book called Pestos! by Dorothy Rankin, and some of the ways we've been eating them.

Basil Mint Pesto
1 cup fresh mint
1 cup fresh basil
2 medium garlic cloves
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

This pesto made a nice addition to fresh pea soup; I added some extra olive oil to a couple of tablespoons of pesto and drizzled it over the soup. Another way to eat this is mixed into your favorite potato salad. (Sorry no pictures; I'm new to the blog world and haven't gotten used to photographing things as I go with later blog-posting in mind...I'll get the hang of it though, I hope.)

Basil Sorrel Pesto
2 cups fresh sorrel
1 cup fresh basil
1 medium garlic clove
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

I used this as a filling for tofu omelette and sprinkled fresh chives over the top. It was light, fresh, and summery. It 's also good in risotto.

Of course there are lots of ways to use basil besides pesto...I like this basil lemonade recipe...it's refreshing and interesting on its own or in cocktails.

And finally,she's kind of hard to see, but here's our cat, Cheeky, resting in the grass on a warm afternoon.

Happy Summer!