By now, you should be aware of how much we like pesto.  So, to make sure he always can have pesto to eat, it was time for our “Top Chef” Cammy to make his own.  His was just like mine, minus the pine nuts. For the recipe, see my Pesto post.

The only problem with his being called the “Top Chef” is that he has decided that I am to be called the “Bottom Chef”.  I have tried to convince him to at least call me his sous chef, but noooo, “Bottom Chef” it is.  And he loves to use it.  At each step of the pesto, I heard “Bottom Chef, what comes next?” We used the pictorial directions from Mollie Katzen’s Pretend Soup, so he then typically followed up by telling me what was next.

So, first things first, we went out to the garden and picked some basil.  His task was the pick the leaves off the stems.

Then smash and peel the garlic.

He loved that he got to use the food processor for this recipe.  It is probably his favorite kitchen appliance.

Thank goodness the food processor will not work without the lid on…

Then add oil, salt and pepper

Then pulse again til the pesto is the consistency you like.

The pesto was ready, so then the “Bottom Chef” made the pasta.  The “Top Chef” took back over to finish the dish…

Stir and…

Serve with parmesan to pass and some peach-mango juice…