One of my favorite herbs to use in cooking is basil. In seconds I can pick, chop, and add it to any Italian recipe for an exponentially better taste. As much as I love the arrival of fall, that’s usually when my basil plants wither away. Time is ticking to use it fresh or preserve it.

Apparently there are lots of ways to preserve basil: freezing whole leaves, drying, salting, steeping in olive oil, added to butter, in vinegar, even in vodka. Here’s a YouTube video showing how easy it is to chop basil and simply freeze with water. However, my favorite is definitely making pesto. Store-bought pesto can be pricey. Making one batch a year tastes better, saves money, and gives you a very versatile ingredient for cooking all winter long.

Pesto sounds fancy, but it’s quite basic and easy. There are a number of variations out there, but here’s the recipe I use. I usually double or triple the recipe. What you’ll need for the single recipe:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (save for later if freezing)
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (Tip: Pine nuts are VERY expensive. I buy one small package and mix with walnuts.)
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced (more never hurts)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

The process was so simple that my 13-year-old neighbor decided to give me a hand and now is ready to make her own. All you do is combine your basil and nuts in a food processor. If using walnuts, give those a few pulses first. Then add garlic. Then add olive oil until smooth. Finish with a little salt and pepper and you’re done. If you’re serving it soon, add the cheese.

If you’re freezing it, skip the cheese. Fill mixture in ice cube trays and freeze for a couple of hours. Run a little warm water on the bottom of the tray for them to pop out easily and then store cubes in a baggie. Each cube is about 1 tablespoon. Most recipes only need 1-3 tablespoons because it’s so flavor packed. They will defrost pretty quickly on their own left at room temperature. When you’re ready to serve, add about 1 tablespoon of Parmesan to each cube, throw in some fresh pepper, and you’re good to go!

So how do you use pesto? There are so many ideas, that the Food Network came up with 50 things to make with pesto. Personally, I like mixing it in pasta dishes instead of alfredo or tomato sauce, adding to ricotta cheese for lasagna, or slathering on a roasted veggie sandwich. You’re with me now, right? How do you preserve basil?

~Margaret, Blue Frog Creations

Margaret blogs about a Green Triangle Philosophy: Go Green, Save Green, and Give Green. Learn more at http://bluefrogcreations.blogspot.com/