All I can say is that homemade pesto is really, really good.

Already falling miserably behind, I spent last night working on three recipes that all included the wonderful green herb sauce.

Here they are:

Pesto

• 3 cups of packed fresh basil leaves, stems removed
• 3/4 cup of packed fresh parsley, chopped
• 3/4 cup of fresh parmesan cheese, grated
• 3/4 cup of olive oil
• 1/2 cup of pine nuts (or walnuts)
• Six to eight large cloves of fresh garlic
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a blender on low then medium speed. Thoroughly work into a smooth paste. Eat immediately, or put it in freezer jars and freeze for winter eating.

This recipe makes 1 to 2 cups.

Basil-topped tomatoes

• Three tomatoes
• 1/4 cup of ranch salad dressing
• 4 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped
• 4 tablespoons of bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded

Slice tomatoes in half, then scoop out and discard half of the pulp from each tomato half. Spoon dressing equally into each half, and sprinkle them with basil. Combine breadcrumbs and cheese. Top tomato halves with the cheese mixture. Bake tomatoes 12 inches from broiler heat for seven minutes or until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Pesto-stuffed steaks

• Two beef rib eye steaks, 1-1/2 inches thick (about 2 pounds)
• 1/4 cup of basil pesto
• 2 tablespoons of finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Heat coals or gas grill. Make a horizontal cut in the side of each steak, forming a pocket. (Do not cut through to opposite side). Mix pesto and cheese; spread evenly on insides of pockets; press pockets closed. Drizzle oil over beef. Cover and grill beef 4 to 5 inches from medium heat for 12 to 14 minutes for medium doneness, turning once. To serve, cut beef into thick strips.

This recipe makes four servings.

I loved each of the recipes, and they’re ones that may make it into my post-40 recipes diet with ease. I did come across a few problems, though:

• I’ve never cooked a lot of steaks, so I was not quite sure one when they were done. As a result, they ended up a little dry and a little well-done. Still tasty, though.
• The bread crumbs in the cheese mix of the basil-topped tomatoes burned a little quickly, which meant that the tomatoes didn’t have much time to roast. Also, the tomatoes I got were a little too hard to begin with, which means they were a tad stiffer than I would have liked.

The best part of this whole meal, though, has got to be the leftovers I’m looking forward to when I get home. I’m planning on eating a nice leftover meal of basil tomatoes, and a toasted steak sandwich with pesto and mozzarella cheese. In a word: awesome.