End of Summer Basil Harvest

Earlier this summer when I was wandering around Trader Joe's (like a kid in a candy store, I absolutely love TJ's) I found a basil plant. And I took that basil plant home with me, I planted him in my garden and I named him Basil.
I've borrowed a few leaves from him over the summer to make pesto or put on pizza but the summer is drawing to a close now and Basil was going to seed. It was time to say goodbye to Basil, he had lived a good life, but it was drawing to a close.

With tears in my eyes I began to harvest basil. I slowly picked every single one of his fragrant leaves and I breathed in their delicious aroma.

Goodbye Basil, I'll miss you. But you will taste seriously amazing so maybe I won't miss you too much... Sorry.

Now what to do with two buckets of basil you might ask? Pesto, duh. Eight recipes of it. Mmmm!

  All picked through, washed and ready to be used. I had to throw out a considerable amount because of how old some of it was. Really it should have been picked when I was sunbathing on the beaches of hawaii...priorities.

Yes, that is four cups of Romano cheese. Hehe, so much cheese, but you know what? It's worth every little bit of it. 

The finished product. I shipped one batch off with my parents for a party they were going to. Yes I did share my pesto. Amazing, right? Shocking too. 

I froze the rest to be pulled out on rainy, depressing days this winter when I really need a bit of cheering up. So maybe, just maybe if you come visit me this winter I'll pull out some pesto and we'll sit around shivering, crying and eating pesto. 

~Alyssa <3