quick and easy purple basil pesto

this week was the beginning of camp mommy.

exactly a month to school starts for one, add 2 weeks for the other….i have lots of plans. this week though, this week is pool week.

swim lessons in the morning, diving at 2.

i have read 3 books.

i’ve been making lunches and packing way to many snacks.

i’ve been chasing bathing beauties and blue eyed monsters around the pool (should i mention i originally referred to this week as mommy boot camp, it’s been a summer of regression for one of my children, don’t think this summer has been all rainbows and gorgeous skies, it’s been torture to some degree).

any preparation of food this week has been put on the back burner so to speak. i gave in at whole foods and bought pre-cooked pulled pork, i let someone else cut my watermelon, i found turkey hotdogs that the kids adore. my dinners have been simple…pasta, salads, frozen meals i stored away. we have been eating at different times, we all seem to have different schedules. i’ll stop to chomp on some apples and cheese as i watch my children run wild. they never seem to want to snack? they are hungry at 5…me, 8 or 9.

it’s been exhausting. but fun. and of course, a little crazy at times. occasionally i make time to prep simple things. such as this.

purple basil given to me by one of my favorite farmers. it sat for days on my counter in a cup of water. yesterday i had 30 minutes in-between swim lessons and dinner at a friends. i looked at the basil and thought what can i use this for all week…pesto. and then i hit one of my favorite cookbooks and threw this together for dinner later on (pizza dough, i used the rushed version, use your mixer, i made a variation by adding whole wheat flour and honey. top with sauce, cheese, pesto and more basil, mmmm).

quick easy, and then i made pasta salad this morning for lunch…it’s gonna be a good day, i promise.

quick and easy purple basil pesto

• 1 bunch of basil (i used purple, use whatever you have)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 3 cloves of garlic
• a pinch of salt and pepper

1. put everything in a blender and blend to your desired consistency.

just a quick note. i blend my version to a very fine consistency. although my kids eat well and will always try things, if they saw the basil leaves they wouldn’t touch it. it’s a kid thing (they call this purple pasta, for some reason, pasta with color is a lot more fun). and i’m ok with it. feel free to play with the consistency, if i was making this for just me and my husband, i would choose to pulse a couple times and call it a day.