Notice how Italian cuisine takes a big place on my site ❤️? So, we were missing a really good pesto recipe! And here it is, along with some tips for perfecting it. First off, basil is expensive and wilts quickly, so the best way to enjoy it all summer is to have your own basil plant on your windowsill or balcony. To keep it as long as possible: repot it! Store-bought ones are huge for tiny pots where the roots are too crowded; if you leave it like that, it will die. So make sure to use two big pots! And water it daily. When you harvest your basil, cut the branches just above a "node" (the place where several branches split off).

As for the pesto, lots of basil, a garlic clove, some lemon, olive oil, toasted pine nuts, and my three little secrets:

• one or two ice cubes: to keep the basil's vibrant color
• nutritional yeast for the cheesy Parmesan flavor
• almond powder for the thick texture of parmesan. This last ingredient won't be added to the blender to prevent the almond powder from releasing its fats—we don’t want a liquid pesto, we want a nice thick mixture with that creamy Parmesan texture that sticks to breadsticks. ;)