Plant basil and make my own pesto

It just wasn’t “good” pesto. I’m not sure what happened. But now it’s winter, so I’m going to consider it done as there is not anything really I can keep working on until next summer, maybe, when I grow more pesto.

I’ve still been getting basil with our CSA veggies, so I made it again last night. It just isn’t good! I don’t know what I’m doing wrong…and I know it’s not that I don’t like pesto, because I do. But the stuff I make just isn’t good, compared to the other stuff I’ve had, and I look up new recipes and they are all the same…it just tastes so blah to me… I guess I’ll give this a few more tries, and at some point, I guess I cross it off (I just wish it would taste yummier)

It’s just not as good as the last pesto I had. I’m going to have to email him and ask him how his was so creamy and so good and why mine tastes all plant like and chewy.

I’m out of garlic. what is my problem? I’m never out of garlic (real garlic, at least…still have the powdered stuff.) We got basil in the CSA box this week, and we got an extra CSA box because someone didn’t pick theirs up, so I took their basil and my basil and made pesto tonight (with powdered garlic). We’ll see how it is before I use some of my own (it doesn’t look as creamy as the last homemade pesto I had…)

I pinched off some tops the other day (no idea if I did this correctly, but apparently it helps them get “leafier” rather than “stemmier”). I still need bigger leaves before I dare attempt the pesto, but I did see a recipe in taste the other day that uses green olives and parsley which could help fill out the sauce.

The basil has been growing rapidly so I decided it was pesto time the evening. I harvested some and used my giant stone mortar and pestle to grind up the ingredients. Then I boiled up some cheese tortellini and ate it with my own home made pesto. I even have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

The basil is doing well. I’m just waiting for it to grow a little more and then I can harvest some and make my own pesto. Yum!

Now to see if they sprout. In the past I’ve never had any luck with starting plants from seed, but I thought I’d give it another shot. Besides basil, I also planted oregano, parsley, thyme and chive seeds. Pots are watered and in a sunny location (well, as sunny of a location as it gets in my apartment).

And I have a backup plan for pesto enjoyment in place as well. I bought a basil seedling at the farmer’s market. Now to keep that alive. Someone mentioned that watering helps…must remember to do that.

I planted the basil this evening, now I wait and see how it does.

Everyone who aspires to have a vegetable garden should consider growing basil. If you plant tomatoes, you should definitely plant basil, so you can enjoy them together.

With a good running start, by August you can enjoy pesto repeatedly from just one plant – it’s great.

After your final harvest (around here, about October – it gets too cold for the basil to be happy), you can hang the remaining twigs in the rafters of the garage or attic to dry. Then poke the twigs into your charcoal while you’re grilling the next summer, and you get a nice smoky basil taste to the food you’re cooking – fish, vegetables, chicken, whatever. Yum.