+

Basil. It is the one herb that thrives wherever we live. Or perhaps, the one herb I'm yet to kill. Our first basil came without fanfare by way of a small potted plant from the supermarket. Unlike the other herbs purchased at the same time, it survived it's time on the window ledge - which Dave calls my ledge of death - and was planted out in a pot and eventually into our garden. We have never been short of basil for pizza or pasta since.

Recently, I accidentally grew several basil plants from seeds, in a pile of dirt Dave had put aside for a project. I'd tossed the picked seed heads onto the pile without a second thought. Totally neglected, those basil grew quickly with all the rain we've had lately. This weekend Dave started and has almost finished building a retaining wall and that pile of dirt is about to be called into use. Thus, I picked my wild basil and made basil pesto for the first time, using a mortar and pestle. Enough to refrigerate for the week and more in the freezer (the recipe is the same, minus the parmesan.)

Tonight I am looking forward to admiring our finished retaining wall, making fresh pasta to accompany the pesto and a salad with lettuce picked straight from the garden.

What have you been making, baking or cooking this weekend?