Pesto Sauce

I planted basil this year in my FIRST garden ever and it's growing like crazy. I found this recipe and how to freeze basil for pesto in my garden bible this summer - All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. I highly recommend this book and Square Foot Gardening for anyone with small space or wants to start there first garden.

Pesto Sauce
2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 garlic gloves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. Romano cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
dash of salt
1/2 cup olive oil
water

Combine basil, garlic, cheeses, nuts, and salt in food processor or blender. With the machine running slowly add olive oil. Thin with a few drops of water until reaches the consistency of oatmeal - not to thick but not to runny. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Toss with cooked pasta.

To Freeze Basil for Pesto
Wash and dry 2 cups of leaves (a salad spinner works well, love this new addition to my kitchen this summer), and chop them in a small food processor with 1/4 cup olive oil. Scrape the mixture onto plastic wrap, fold it up and put the resulting patty in the freezer. To use, defrost the patty, and put it in the food processor with all the other ingredients. Just remember that there is already 1/4 cup of olive oil in the patty, so be sure to only use an additional 1/4 cup to make up the 1/2 cup called for the recipe.
This is a great way to stock up during the peak growing season, and use them all year long in the recipe above. Freezing basil in this way does no noticeable harm to the color or flavor, so you can have the taste of an Italian summer all year round.