One of the things I grow in my garden pretty much every year is basil. I don’t use it every day. However, I love the smell of it SO much and it is easy for me to grow. So I always plant it. I almost always end up making pesto with it as well. Probably because it is so easy to make. Hack off a bunch of basil leaves, smash a bunch of garlic cloves, toast slivered almonds, chuck in the blender, add olive oil and pulse. Dump out into container, add smidge more olive oil + grated fresh Parmesan, stir, et voila.
Once you have the mixture you can freeze in tiny containers for later or use within a week. I tend to try to use rather than freeze. The basil loses a lot of its flavor when you freeze it. So I tend to use the frozen stuff in soup or other places where it isn’t the center of the dish.
Living in Houston, if I’m luck I can keep my basil plants going year around. The major hurdles to this are
- not enough water in the summer
- Pot bound plants, my plants can get big and I need to split or size up the pot
- frost Nov – Mar. Putting them in the garage solves this typically.
- Aphids. This is a new problem for me this year and I’m fairly pissed about it. Especially given the fact I JUST planted climbing roses with are also infested. I’m trying a couple organic options before I tap out – pull all my plants getting eaten and go NUCLEAR as I spent enough on roses that I can’t afford to lose them.
Still I’m hopeful I’ll be able to keep the basil going so I can have it to add to stuff well into the fall. Only time will tell at this point. If I DO end up pulling plants I’ll be packing a BIG batch of pesto for the freezer!