Photo Credit: Jasmine

Easy to grow. And make.

If you’re looking for a local (and we mean local) meal to serve the special mom in your life, pesto is a winner even if you rarely go through the cabinets in your kitchen.  It’s almost a lock that you have pasta, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the house already.  All you need from the store is garlic (and parm and pine nuts (if you want to go all out). As an added bonus, your kids can help grow the main ingredient and make the meal.

Here are some simple steps to create a Mother’s Day gift that will last for months:

Step 1: Buy a few small starter plants, clay container pots, and some potting soil from your local garden center.
Step 2: Use markers, paint, or even chalk to draw some designs and a note to mom directly on the pots.
Step 3: Plant the basil in your pots.
Step 4: Position the pots in a sunny window or on the deck for mom to see.
Step 5: Follow this recipe if you need one and don’t forget to clean those Margarita remnants from the blender.

Trust us, this will put a smile on mom’s face throughout the summer. Especially the personalized pots. Moms love that stuff.