We haven't been able to have much of a garden for the past several years because of the severe drought Santa Fe has been experiencing. But one thing I have tried to maintain is an herb garden, and every year I plant genovese basil. This year, thanks to one of the wettest summers on record, our basil grew to be about three feet tall. So far I think I have harvested over 20 cups of fresh basil leaves. What in the heck do you do with that much basil? You use it on everything that basil goes with, and you can mix it in with your favorite salad greens. And of course you make pesto, and you make lots of it.

My favorite pesto recipe comes from a cookbook called Creme de Colorado. This recipe is intended to be more of a sauce to toss with pasta, but you can decrease the amount of olive oil to make the pesto into more of a paste. As a note, I always use a lot more garlic than just the 2 tsp called for ...

Ponderosa Pesto

• 2 cups fresh basil
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup pine nuts (or walnuts if you can't fine pine nuts)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp freshly grated Romano cheese

Place basil, garlic, salt, and nuts in blender. Blend at high speed until finely chopped. Add oil in slow, steady stream. Can be frozen at this point. Add cheeses and blend until smooth.

And here's another recipe I've been eyeing out of the same cookbook. Since the basil doesn't look like it's going to quit any time soon, I may have to try this one.

Seafood and Pasta with Basil Dressing

• 1 pound bay scallops, rinsed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 pound fusilli, cooked al dente and drained
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 pound medium shrimp, cooked, peeled, and deveined
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, sliced

Basil Dressing

• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 Tbsp virgin olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup virgin olive oil
• 3-4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

In food processor, puree the basil, olive oil, and garlic to a paste. Add 1/2 cup of olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Process until well blended.

Simmer scallops in wine until opaque; drain well. Toss fusilli with garlic powder. Add scallops and shrimp; toss again. Add peas, red pepper, red onion. Pour basil dressing over salad and toss thoroughly. Serve or refrigerate. If made ahead, salad will need extra dressing, so double the dressing ingredients. Scatter olives around salad before serving.

View other herbal pictures we've recently taken ...