Hi Anna,

My cousin also has basil by the bushel, and her pesto recipe is very similar.

As a variation, she also blends her pesto with low calorie or fat free mayonnaise, which makes a delicious spread for sandwiches.

That's a great looking recipe and I look forward to trying it out. I love Pesto.

FWIW - Walnuts are a decent substitute for pine nuts as they are more readily available.

Yum! I love basil and pesto season! Sometimes I will use sunflowers seeds if I don't have pine nuts.

Good idea on the sunflower seeds...

I love pesto, but I make mine with a twist. I use 1/2 basil and 1/2 mint and add a squeeze of lemon at the end. It is great with either shrimp or chicken in addition to pasta and the mint and lemon make a clean taste you would walk all the way home for.

Here's a great salad recipe:
1# cooked cheese tortellini or any other pasta
1-15 oz. can artichoke heart quarters
1 C sundried tomatoes
1 C pitted kalamata olives
1/2-3/4C basil pesto
Toss. Add grated parmesan cheese to garnish

I pretty much always use sunflower seeds unless I see pinenuts on sale.

I make like a three year supply of pesto at a time (once or twice each summer) and freeze it in gallon freezer bags. I smush it flat and about a half an inch thick and lay it on a sheet of cardboard or a small cookie sheet in the freezer til it freezes solid. Once all the produce is processed and froozen you can stand them upright like books on a shelf. To use it just break a corner off inside the bag and work it out the opening. Works much better than freezing in ice cube trays.

I use almonds as a substitute for pine nuts. I also put in a small yellow tomato which seems to help it from turning green to brown so fast and adds a little color.