There’s no pride in celebrating unhealthy, processed, corporate food, but there’s solace in coming clean. So here it is: I am literally dependent on Buitoni’s Pesto with Basil. Calling it “comfort food” would let me off the hook too easily: I need Buitoni Pesto at least once a week to simply maintain composure—comfort was abandoned years ago. Once, I thought that all pesto was the same mashed-up concoction of basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and cheese. But there’s something in Buitoni Pesto, something in the mix of that completely commercialized commodity that sets it apart from other store-bought pestos that can never seem to find the balance between pepper and basil. Currently, there are five of these adorable green buckets in my freezer, one in the fridge and an empty one in the garbage. At 7 ounces each, that’s over 2.5 pounds of pesto. There are grocery trips I’ve taken exclusively devoted to Buitoni Pesto. I make pasta with it, I use it as a spread on top of baked salmon—it’s a truly all-purpose ingredient. Most importantly, though, I know I’m not alone in this. When Buitoni products go on sale, the pesto disappears and I have to get rain checks. Clearly there are more of us out there . . . right?

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Tags: addiction, buitoni pesto, Food