Sunday, August 8, 2010

My tomatoes are starting to ripen! This is the first time in my adult life I have successfully grown tomatoes, and while I'd like to blame apartment living, the reality is I've always been too lazy and unfocused to get the plants to where they need to be. I picked a handful today and also harvested the heck out of my basil and oregano.



I just bunched up the oregano to dry it, but decided to be more creative with the basil. Here's a bunch of it all washed and ready to go. I picked out the nice, intact leaves and froze them on a cookie sheet.



I've never frozen basil before, but I'm told this is the way to go. I'll likely also do the ice cube thing like I do with my cilantro, but not this batch. Instead, I decided to infuse some olive oil. I can't wait to come up with all sorts of fun stuff to do with a basil-infused oil. I just took what was left after freezing and gave it a quick rough chop, threw it in a mason jar, covered with oil and... time to wait. I'll be sure to report on how it worked.

After my herb preserving, I ran to the store to stock up on bread, mozzarella and goat cheese. With fresh tomatoes and basil in the house, I can keep myself happy for days with these simple items!

2 comments:

  1. fresh herbs just can't be beat. what is this cilantro ice trick you speak of?

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  2. chop up cilantro and stuff into ice cube trays...then add just enough water to fill the space/cover and freeze. I save the cubes in a ziploc and toss them into chili, soups, etc. Works really well!

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