Last weekend, though, I hit a glitch. It's small and not a big deal, but it seems that I somehow made a few more clicks than I intended. I meant to order one small bundle of basil and ended up with three extra-large bundles in my delivery box. Oops.
When the grocery delivery service gives you that much basil, I guess you make...pesto.
I did what every over-connected, overwhelmed mom I know when she needs a recipe and is too lazy to look it up herself. I asked my Facebook and Twitter friends to send me a link to their favorite pesto recipe.
What I got back was great. I was reminded of how much I love this easy, tasty recipe from Real Simple. I also got suggestions of dishes outside the pasta box to add my pesto to -- a dollop on chicken noodle soup, smeared on a sandwich, a bit inside a quesadilla, to spice up caprese salad, as a bed for brie.
My mouth was watering before I even cracked open the olive oil.
Then I got a message from a friend that stopped me in my food processing tracks. He said to be sure to add a tablet of vitamin C to my mixture.
Vitamin C?! Seriously? I immediately IMed him to find out what the skinny was with popping supplements into spreads.
He told me it not only gives it a bit of tang, the vitamin C makes the pesto burst with green color.
Innnnnteresting.
Another friend told me that she adds a tiny pinch of chili pepper for the kick she likes in her pasta. Still another swears by warming the olive oil and garlic before throwing it into the Cuisinart. Then I found this intriguing recipe that calls for adding radishes for a pepperier pesto.
I may have to give each of these methods a try instead of making one big batch of the same old pesto I've made for years. But before I get started, enlighten me: What secret ingredient do you add to your pesto?
Press on:
[photo credit: Getty Images]
