It's time to do a second cutting of our sweet basil. I tend to grow, on purpose, an extraordinary amount of basil, we love this herb. The fragrance alone makes me want to have them all over the property, so as I walk, I can pick a leaf or two and just inhale it's wonderful smell.
Very calming, a smile maker!
Just breathe it in.
As I was saying, it's time for the second cutting, and the making of my pesto. It does take a lot of basil to make the amount of pesto I like to have after the growing season has concluded.
During the summer and early fall, I use sweet basil fresh picked in all sorts of salads, soups, stir fries' and stews. But making pesto to freeze and use all year round is perfect.
Some people think farming, growing your own food is as simple as planting seeds, watering, then harvesting, Not so, it takes lots of time to start seeds, generally from 2 weeks to 6, just to get the seedlings to nurture indoors, at least where I live for several more weeks before it's safe to plant outdoors. Late frost can destroy months of hard work germinating and nurturing young plants, in just one night of frost.
Timing is everything.
The first sighting...Japanese Beetles.
Basil loving creatures.
As you can see, this beetle is getting fat, chewing holes in those basil leaves. Bummer.
It's actually a very interesting beetle to observe.
Japanese beetles are not new to our #homestead. We are always on the look out for bugs, slogs, beetles and bores through out our #garden. @thebigsweed, part of his morning routine is checking for little "buggers" invading our fruit, veggies and herbs.
But yesterday, I happened to be the one who discovered that basil loving bugger. Time to harvest...here we go, let's make some pesto.
My recipe is very simple.
3 cups of fresh basil.
4 cloves of garlic.
3/4 cup fresh grated or shaved parmesan cheese.
1/2 cup olive oil.
1/4 pine nuts.
1/2 cup of fresh parsley (optional)
Use a food processor to whip it all together!! YUM!
PRESTO...PESTO!
I use a vacuum sealer to package it up in size portions and freeze.
Just love having that fresh basil fragrance waft through my kitchen when I look out the window and see a blanket of snow and leafless trees in the dead of a NEW YORK winter.😬
Let's not go there just yet, the cold weather and I don't seem to get along any more. I think I'll live in the moment. Today, my 45th wedding anniversary, I will celebrate with #alwaysaflower.
Enjoy my flower beds, be proud of what I have grown this summer and hope for an Indian Summer into September, extend the blooming season, if just for a little longer.
Everything has grown amazingly well this year. The weather here has been excellent for the flowers as well as the veggies. We still have much of the harvesting left to do. Carrots and beets are just getting to the point of perfection. The broccoli and cabbages as well as peppers are still producing, the freezer is filling up quickly.
The flowers are for NOW. We can't freeze them or save them some how to enjoy in the winter. Today, we will walk and talk and enjoy the fresh air and each other's company. Smile about how lucky and blessed we are...
Stopping to smell the roses.
Enjoy the riot of color all around us.
Make plans to take a few plants indoors to keep their beauty going.
Hope you enjoyed this little journey, I sure did.
Special thanks to @adagler,and the #amazingnature contest.
This is my entry into this week's competition.
A shout out also to all the #foodies out there, try the pesto, it's de-lish!!
Rejoice and renew on this #beautifulsunday...be at peace.
I will love my company and celebrate 45 years with my best friend on this truly #sublimesunday.
Life is good...
I eat basil quite a lot actually ^^ We always use it on top on our cooked potatoes whenever we eat some .. really delicious looking pesto you created there ! .. I imagine it awesome tasting together with that garlic and the cheese ;)
Beautiful garden! I love basil too.
Here in the subtropics I don't worry about frost much. I just transplanted some basil seedlings today!
Well hello there, thanks for your nice comments.
Best of luck with your basil babies, give them a little love from me. hehe
Have a peaceful and blessed day!!
Oh yum, I think I'll be trying that pesto recipe :-)
I just recently planted basil here for the first time and the seedlings have sprouted. Can't wait to see how they grow over Spring.
Congratulations on your wedding anniversary!
Thank you for the good wishes.
Basil is a wonderful herb, good luck with your crop.
That beetle has a colour which could very well camouflage it.
That’s right, these beetles can be hard to spot.
They can cause a lot of damage too.
Thanks for dropping by.
That beetle is very pretty! Shame he wants to eat your crop! Lovely looking Basil plants! We have a lot of frost here so we have a small pot we keep inside just to add a little flavour to dishes, but not enough to make pesto!
Basil can be grown indoors pretty easily. It’s always nice to have basil plant on my kitchen window sill.
Thanks for swinging by.
I stayed on top of the basil early on, then it got away from me. I pulled the last of it up yesterday, as it had gone by.
Lovely flowers. :))
Hi there, it’s tough sometimes to keep up with all the crops, it doesn’t take much time for those beetles to ruin a basil plant.
You have so much going on at your place it doesn’t surprise me you missed a few🙄
Your fresh herbs look so healthy despite that beetle! I just loooove Pesto, yours looks sooo good! Great idea to freeze it when you have plenty of Basil, clever lady! Hope you're all keeping well @farm-mom:)
Good morning , yes this was a fantastic growing season here in NY. We are still harvesting like crazy. Our freezer is filling up quickly and all my kids are enjoying the fresh produce . In between, we are also getting our wood supply for the cold months ahead.
Keeping busy has never been a problem for us.
I hope things get better for you, this virus has really crushed a lot of people and I knock wood every day that I have yet to get a call about a loved one that caught it.
Stay healthy and have a blessed day my friend.