Cilantro-basil pesto + Some real talk

Are you one of those people that believe ads? I’m not talking about the usual “Oh I need to get that” kind of belief. It’s more like the “Poor thing, I should help them out by buying some of that new toothpaste” kind of faith. There’s a big part of me that can’t stand advertising (this punchline is just one reason why). My sister was an ad copywriter for the start of her working life and one of the things I’d famously do in my head was secretly hate that profession. I had my head stuck in the clouds about how much better a journalist was. That somehow, my work was more meaningful no matter how much I was forced to fill space with make-up tips I didn’t have the slightest idea about. I was a good pretender. I know my spring colours. If by spring you mean trying to stop your face from melting because it does not exist in India.

That one.

I guess I’m not one to be Miss journalistic ethics but I do believe that a part of me did some good work. Now that I feel a lot more informed and less misguided, I still miss the poop world that us news guys created. No other place let me love and hate with equal fervour and I embraced it, knowing well that some of what we as an industry did was pretty crummy. Like that one time….meh. Fugghedaboutit.

As much as I try not to, I can’t help but be naive. It’s this big, fat stupid baby stuck inside my head that still wants to believe that people are good. I mean they try so hard to put Hawaiian breeze in an easy to spray can that they can’t be that bad, right? And just like Santa’s not real, I get to snap back into reality, except it’s more of a *thud* because shit just hit the fan. At least it’s Hawaiian-scented.

It’s not.

I’m 25 years old and I think I should be used to the idea that everything is something I’m supposed to need. All I ever need is for my body to be nourished well, my mind to be okay. As we become more conscious consumers, this goal become less of a chore and we can easily win. So try. Maybe one day, we’ll have the ad world wrapped around your finger.

I feel like I make this recipe too much because I (eeps) eat too much spaghetti. Judge, judge all you like. I love life in the fast lane. If my instructions are too easy because the recipe is just that. Make it once and you’re expert enough to adapt it the next time. I’m gushing. It’s my fave. Take that “can’t live without Thursday”!

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped roughly or just crushed with a punch of your fist.
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
• 1/4 cup olive oil (you will need less than the quantity stated but have a 1/4 cup ready to pour into the food processor while it’s working the basil, cilantro and pecans)
• 1/4 cup parmesan-reggiano (optional)
• Salt to taste

Put the basil, cilantro, garlic, parmesan and pecans in a food processor. Start it up and set it to low because setting mine to high just makes me paranoid that the blade will fly out and turn me into this.

Why so serious?

Okay that NEVER EVER happened.

As the food processor is working itself up, add the olive oil in a thin stream. Like I said in the ingredients note, you will not need the entire 1/4 cup of olive oil so keep a watch on the contents and how it reacts to the oil. When you notice the ingredients moving around the food processor bowl more freely and looking more pasty, stop stop stop stop. It’s done. Did I scare you? Okay, good.

Make a huge bowl of spaghetti, mix this in and bounce across the room because this is the life.

If you have leftover pesto, bottle it and refrigerate until you’re ready to make another huge bowl of spaghetti.

I don’t have to tell you what to do next.

(Look out for a sandwich recipe using this pesto on Thursday. So I guess as an afterthought, you could skip that second huge bowl of spaghetti.)