eggs, spinach and pesto

I love pesto. My love of pesto is to the point where I will gladly eat pesto, out of a bowl with a spoon. It isn't low fat by any stretch of the imagination, but it IS very good for you! The fat used is olive oil which is a miracle fat. Not to mention that it has pine nuts in it, (or walnuts if you prefer or can't get ahold of pine nuts) which are full of vitamin E, that is good for your skin and brain. I like a mint and basil mix, but you can use all basil which is delightful too. I usually plant a mint plant when I move in somewhere, and it grows like crazy, so this is a good way to use mint. But if you want pure basil pesto, just omit the mint and double the basil. A pure mint pesto is, intense, but very good on lamb also.

Basic Pesto:
1. cup basil
1. cup mint
1/2 c. parmesian (do not use the stuff from the green can, use real cheese!)
1/3 c. pine nuts toasted
2 cloves garlic (optional, I'm not a huge fan)
pepper to taste
apx 1/3 to 1/2 c. olive oil.

Okay the method is easy. First toast your pine nuts in a dry skillet over med high heat. Stir frequently, and watch VERY carefully as pine nuts will go from toasted to burnt in just a moment. And those things are expensive. Be careful!

Throw everything but the olive oil into your food processor and blend it up until it is like a grainy paste. Then with your food processor on, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture. The final product should be a little thick and should hold the olive oil in, and not leach it out.

Pesto is SO versitle. Toss it with some pasta and chicken and you have a great dinner. Mix it with some mayo and spread it on a sandwich. It is just wonderful

But I like it for breakfast. I saute two cups of spinach with 1/2 of a small onion in some coconut oil or butter. Then fry an egg to over easy and put that on top of the spinach mix. Serve with a couple of tomato slices.

Yum