basil plant #2 (with stevia plant growing in front of it)
i pinched off the buds that were trying to form blossoms and threw them on the ground next to me. only to discover that puppy thought those buds of concentrated smell were FABULOUS and he had to roll all over them. molly seemed confused by puppys behavior. she just sat there and watched him roll and roll and roll.
i cut the basil plants way back harvesting leaves
SO MANY LEAVES!
big bowl full of only the biggest leaves, soaking in water to rinse them clean. there were so many that i only took the biggest ones and left the little tiny ones.
after picking off all the large leaves and leaving the tiny ones, i thought perhaps the tortoise would be interested in eating basil. sweetpea was not interested at all. she plowed thru the pile and left it behind. the dogs were interested, but only to smell it. they didnt even try to taste it.
filled up the salad spinner and spun the water off the leaves
basil in the food processor, with a small amount of oil to help them get chopped up better.
so many leaves that i had to do two separate batches. they wouldnt all fit.
squishing into an ice cube tray. the internet suggested freezing the basil this way. and from freezing heavy cream this way, i know that each ice cube is 1 tablespoon. i pushed and packed the basil as tight as i could into the tray.
it was a messy process. but the amount of leaves i pureed managed to fit the ice cube tray exactly. the leaf bits were rather dry and loose, despite the small amount of oil i added while chopping up. i was afraid they'd freeze, but not freeze solid/together, so i added more oil. i'm glad i did.
frozen chopped basil
close up, you can see the top bits arent well adhered to each other.
dumped out of the tray and into a bag. you can see how the lower part, with the oil added, is frozen together quite well.
i STILL have not made pesto. i keep forgetting to pick up pine nuts at the grocery store. for now my basil cubes remain in the freezer.
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