Pesto! (With shrimp and veggie farfalle)

Glorious!

I got an unreasonable amount of pesto from work today. The ladies where I work have a little garden behind the building, and someone planted way too much basil without any actual intention for it. Someone asked me today, "So what do you put basil in?" at which point I felt free to help myself to the basil. I got enough for 3 batches of pesto and some fresh left over. Don't worry, there's still plenty of basil at work- and I'm taking some pesto back to help enlighten them.

Once my delicious fresh pesto was put together, I whipped up some pasta using the veggies in my fridge, some shrimp, and a crusty loaf of french bread. What a great summer dinner!

Ingredients:

• 2 c basil, packed
• 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 c freshly grated parmesan cheese (puh-puh-puh-PLEASE don't use the Kraft pre-grated nonsense!)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 c pine nuts (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine all of these ingredients in a blender or food processor.
2. Press- "Blend" and wait for 30 seconds- 1 minute.

3. Mix in a few spoons full with whatever delicious pasta and veggies you have, and store the rest in a jar or tupperware in the fridge.

Voila! That was so stinkin quick and easy :)