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| Chopped basil in olive oil before freezing |
I love fresh herbs! I love the way they look, I love the way the smell, I love the way they taste and I love cooking with them. During the summer months I always plant herbs in large decorative containers in my backyard. My staples are basil, oregano, parsley, dill, cilantro and chives. Chives are great because they are perennials and they just keep sprouting up year after year without having to do anything to them. My favorite herb by far has to be basil and that's Dave's favorite too. When I chop fresh basil the aromas just fill up the room. Many times I don't even use a knife, I just tear it up with my fingers so I have the scent on my fingers for hours. If you walk into my kitchen you will almost always find a basil plant by the sink window, even in the dead of winter. I cook with basil all the time so maintaining my basil plant is a high priority. I have to water it daily and snip the leaves regularly for healthy re-grow. Every once in a while my basil plant dies because I forget to water it, like I did last week, arg! None of the plants at Wegmans looked good so I had to buy the expensive package of herbs that go to waste in a few days if they aren't used. I had my heart set on making Caprese Salad over the weekend so I had no choice but to buy the package. So today I'm sadly looking at the bunch of basil knowing it will have a slow death if I don't use it. Then an idea popped in my head, why not freeze my basil? Then I can easily use it when I'm making tomato sauce or any other italian recipe. I know on Pinterest there are like a gazillion tips, tricks, and ways to effectively and creatively freeze your herbs but honestly I don't really care to get that fancy with my herb freez'n. I just want to save my precious sweet basil from dying. So I chopped all of the basil I had left over, placed 1/4 cup in individual baggies and added 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I sealed the baggies and made sure there was no air and placed them in my freezer. Wa-la! Done! It may sound silly but I'm pretty psyched now that I saved my basil, and it was so easy! The hardest part for me will be remembering that I have basil in my freezer! Salute to saving my basil!
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| Chopped basil in oil frozen |
I also love to freeze my basil. One of my favorites is to take an empty ice cube tray, fill it with water and add a couple pieces of basil into each cube. It is wonderful in the summertime to just add a frozen basil ice cube to your favorite cocktail!
ReplyDeleteI also purchased an Herb Savor Pod, which stores your herbs and extends their freshness up to three times as normal!!!
I love the idea of herb infused ice cubes for cocktails. That seems easy enough for me to handle! I also have tons of mint growing in our gardens in Ellicottville...you bet I'll be making mint ice cubes for my mojitos this summer!!! I'm curious about this Herb Savor Pod, please tell us more Christine.
ReplyDeleteThe Herb Pod Savor Pad has a plastic clear cover..You insert the herbs, rinse them in the pod, pat them dry, replace clear cover, and there is a stopper you remove, and add water below the window. You replace a stopper in the back, change water on a regular basis and herbs remain in their very best, tasty , fresh condition, for a long time! It fits right in the side of the refrigerator door! If using for basil, remember do NOT put in the refrigerator!!
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