Thanks for the basil tips--I'm going to try them all. In the spirit of
sharing--here's what I've been doing. We love pesto so I've been making pesto
up to the point of adding the cheese and then freezing it. The ziplock bags
make nice flat "letters" in the freezer so when I take them out and put them
in warm water, they thaw quickly. Then I add the cheese. Lasts all winter.
Yum.
For pesto I use (loosely measure) 2-4 cups basil leaves, 1/4 c. olive oil, 2
T. pine nuts, 2-4 gloves garlic. I mix them in the food processor. Freeze in
plastic freezer bags. Later, thaw it and mix in 1/2 cup parmesan cheese plus
2 T. romano cheese. I find the proportions can vary widely and still be good.
I've used walnuts instead of pine nuts and that's good too. I've forgotten
the garlic and we've still eaten it. Once I left out the pine nuts--Pesto is
the absent-minded cooks best friend.
I've also been making roasted tomato sauce. Oven roast cherry tomatoes spread
out with a bit of oil on a cookie sheet at 350 for a couple of hours. Then
mix them in the food processor. Makes a delicious thick paste. We like
seeds--good thing--it would be impossible to seed them and have much left.
Anyone else looking forward to the first freeze just a little bit? Gardening
is a big responsibility--can't let those veggies perish in vain.
Laura Kennelly