Pesto, Pesto Everywhere!

I had forgotten how easy it is to make pesto. Good for me that it is, since I had so much basil and cilantro from the farmers' market last Saturday that I had to find some way to use them fast. Sure you can freeze them, but I have no room in my freezer, and just freezing the leaves, to me, makes them look and feel shriveled.

I also forgot how expensive it can be if you don't have what you need to make pesto. I bought some unsalted cashews to use in mine because I just don't have enough pine nuts. Cashews really are a good alternative nut to use. I've also used walnuts, but walnuts cause my tongue to get all ulcer-y. I can still eat them, but I just don't enjoy it. That's also why I hate walnuts in my brownies and fudge, which almost always feature walnuts when they feature nuts at all.

There are scores and scores of basil pesto recipes on the internet. I just don't remember which one I used, but I made it in my blender with roughly the following proportions of ingredients:

• 2 cups packed down (or about 4 cups loosely packed) basil leaves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan-romano blend
• 1/4 cup chopped unsalted cashews
• 3 to 4 chopped garlic cloves

I just threw 'em in and blended them all together.

For my cilantro pesto I left out the cheese and kept most of the proportions the same:

• 2 cups packed down (or about 4 cups loosely packed) cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped unsalted cashews
• 3 to 4 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 lemon's worth of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

I had no Thai chilies but I would've liked to add them. I wonder how ginger would've made it taste? Too bad I forgot to put it in.