Homestead Basil

 

    I debated on whether or not to post about our pesto crop. Everyone's basil has probably gone to seed by now. It seems with the way my time goes right now, maybe I should let blogging go up to seed also. Anyhow I just decided to go ahead and make right all the photos I took and blog about 'em. I did take a pile of pictures of our projects this late summer, just with all the canning and plain living I ran out of time slots in my day! Of course, as I always say, next year I will be more organized. And, maybe I will.

    I actually went thru three food processors doing this project. Half way through the chopping my MIL's started vibrating so bad my teeth began to puree, so I cranked up the VitaMix, just like I thought, ended up with a basil smoothie. I pestered my neighbor and borrowed hers and almost broke her garage door when I took it back, my handy husband came to the rescue and LeighAnne won't be any wiser until she reads my blog! Anyhow it was a KitchenAid, oh my, everything melted with a gentle press of a button ( I put that kitchen tool on my wish list!). Then my sweet sister let me borrow hers for exactly 1 hour, ok, in her favor she loaned one to me later, indefinitely...until pesto season is over. Lets see, that makes four food processors!
My Proportions: 

•  3 cups basil (packed)
•    1/3 to 1/2 cup of olive oil
•    1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt
•    1 cup of walnuts
•    2 to 4 oz. Parmesan cheese
•    3 to 4 cloves of garlic

I coarsely chopped  the walnuts, cheese, and garlic to look something like this:

I really like to have texture, so I was careful not to grind it to finely.

   Then, on the chopping speed, I stuffed in the basil  1 cup at a time, and added oil between basil additions. All this done quickly as to not over blend.    Add salt and give it all another whirl or two.

   Approximately 1 gallon of basil made 4 pints of pesto. This freezes well and keeps its color as long as it is covered well in a layer of olive oil.

 Linking Up With White Wolf Summit Farm Girl!  Blog Hop #44