Any good cook prefers to use fresh herbs instead of dried. They’re more fragrant, more flavorful, and more colorful. But single cooks run into one major dilema: They usually spoil before we use up even half of what we’ve bought. Drats!

As the fresh food season is upon us, many food blogs are giving tips for how to store or use up leftover herbs. Cookthink has ten great tips, and Cook & Eat spotlights a lovely little recipe and cookbook A Handful Of Herbs. My contribution to this herbal theme is to suggest you try your hand at gardening.

Tip: Pot plants in spring, and enjoy fresh herbs all summer long. I just buy starter plants from the farmer’s market or garden store, or I steal a few cuttings from my mom’s plants. If you’re feeling ambitious, though, start the plants yourself. The directions are on the seed packets and are easy to follow. Note: You can grow several herbs in one large pot, but beware of mint. It spreads rapidly so should be grown alone.

Then, whenever a recipe calls for fresh herbs, all you have to do is stroll out to your patio garden and snip off a few sprigs, wash them, and chop, chop, chop. My tried-and-true trick for chopping fresh herbs is to rinse them, pat them dry in a paper towel, place them in a tumbler glass, and snip them with scissors. It’s super easy and creates almost zero mess.

Recipe: Simple basil pesto (Adapted from Cooking Light)
Yields 1 cup

2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
2 large garlic cloves
2-3/4 cups fresh basil leaves (about 6 bunches)
2 Tbsp grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 tsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Process pine nuts and garlic in food processor until minced. Add basil, cheese, and lemon juice; process until finely minced. With processor on, slowly pour olive oil through food chute, and process until well-blended. Spoon into a zip-top heavy-duty plastic bag. Store in refrigerator for up to three days or in freezer for one month.

Meal suggestions: Pesto lends itself nicely to a large variety of summer dishes. Here are a few of my go-tos:

- Use as a sandwich spread alone or mixed with mayonnaise.
- Drop a few dollops on sliced summer tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil.
- Mix with goat cheese, and spread on toasted slices of French baguette.
- Toss with pasta, sautéed vegetables, and seared shrimp and scallops or grilled chicken.
- Mix with Alfredo sauce to make a delicious white pesto veggie lasagna.
- Add more olive oil and mix with chunks of cooked chicken breast and shredded mozzarella cheese to make pesto chicken salad.