the black eyed susan: Mint Pesto: A twist on an old classic

You may remember that I bought some mint at the farmer's market last weekend. And as much as I wanted to convert all of it into some tasty mojitos, I decided to refrain from such an indulgence. Instead, I made this mint pesto from Martha Stewart.

I am an absolute basil nut, so making pesto with anything but was a little counterintuitive. At least until I smelled the fresh mint again and wanted to devour it immediately. Turns out that mint is the new basil. Side bonus is that I finally got to use the awesome food processor that Tom got me for Christmas.... wait, has it really been sitting unused in my cabinet for over three months??

A note about the recipe: I used soynuts instead of pine nuts to save cost, and the pesto turned out fine. I also didn't measure any of the ingredients - this is one of those 'go with your gut' recipes.

After putting all of the ingredients in the food processor and turning it on for 15 or 20 seconds, I was left with this:

{kindly ignore the unappealing color of this pesto}

I put this pesto on some bread and topped with goat cheese....

Hello fantastic! Hello beautiful day! Hello Friday!

I inserted all those exclamations to convey the power of food over my mood. But seriously, I love this pesto.

Tip: When your basil {or mint!} is in season and you don't know what to do with it all, make a large batch of pesto. Fill an ice cube tray with the pesto and allow to freeze. Once it is frozen, place the cubes of frozen pesto in a plastic bag so that you have pesto at the ready. Each cube is roughly two tablespoons.

I set up a little station for myself on the couch. I've got my laptop, my Martha Stewart magazine, and my snack (pesto, goat cheese, and cracked pepper and parmesan bread all sitting on a pizza stone). Apparantly, pups named Barley have an interest in mint pesto too. I spy with my little eye.....