When life gives you basil, make pesto

I went to the farmer's market in Union Square on Saturday (after buying a pair of boots at DSW!). It's a shame that I didn't take advantage of this market as much as I should have when I lived in Manhattan, but no use crying over spilled milk. I bought this HUGE bunch of basil for $2. You can see my hand holding it in the picture above. It's more like a bouquet rather than a bunch. So I used a bit of the basil in chicken stew and then made pesto today.

I also made cookies this afternoon using Alton Brown's recipe for puffy chocolate chip cookies. I normally use the chewy version, but had to use up my cake flour. The puffy ones are good fresh from the oven, but a few hours later, they weren't as cakey anymore. I'll stick to the chewy ones from now on.