I wish I had a scratch and sniff screen:-)
The weather has been up and down.. with some chilly days..I brought in the Rosemary plant..that looks like a Christmas tree... the Lemon Geranium..the lavender topiary will be next.. with my olive tree..they all go through an adjustment phase when they come in and lose their prettiness for a while..
Hope my Olive tree doesn't..it looks so good outside..as does the lavender..we will see..
Made some pesto with the basil..so easy whizzing all your fave pesto ings. together then freezing in ind. portions and then bagging them..
Handy to have to top pizzas.. add to soups.. pastas..grilled chicken..snadwiches..And you know what went into your pesto:)
The other herbs..and the rest of the basil I did not want to lose..
At about the same time as I was planning on harvesting the herbs.... Pam at Sidewalk Shoes posted this.. and I set right out to try..I was excited to see if it would preserve the green...
Everytime I have frozen basil..it's turned black..so far so good with this method..everything is still green in the freezer:)
I'll let you know if something unforeseen happens when I cut them open..but..so far as I said so good..
I did a few bags of mixed herbs for my next big batch spaguetti sauce..smaller ones for smaller sauces..Mint..Sage..
It all looks so neat and tidy too♥
Snug..and cozy.The machine we have had for about 5 years is a Food Saver..purchased at Costco..They must still have them..albeit a newer model..and Amazon has some also..
Thought I would share in case some of you want to try before it is too late..
Thanks again for this idea Pam~
Footnote~
September 21rst..I made a big batch of spaguetti sauce and pulled one of the mixed especially for this reason herb packs.. out from the freezer..
Herbs were bright green..still.. and so easy to chop frozen in this compacted form!!
Great taste,color.
Will always do~
Great idea !!!!...i wish i could smell it...have a nice week...love Ria...x !!
ReplyDeleteYou too Ria!
DeleteI'm harvesting basil today. I think we have a few more weeks of leaving the rosemary out though. Great idea from Pam.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
I think so too..I was a bit quick on the rosemary..but it used to be on my kitchen counter beside the sink and I missed it:) However it's outgrown the kitchen counter..so I am going to have to reorganize the hibernation layout:)
DeleteAnd get something smaller to fill in there..
Have fun with the basil today..
I agree such a good idea.
It's fun to learn new things..
This is a wonderful idea... I happened to see that on Pam's blog too! I am going to get busy this week and follow your lead with the herbs Monique, thanks to you and Pam for the inspiration. Your little pesto 'pods' look so cute! Happy Monday!
ReplyDeleteAmazing....I have never thought of using the Food Saver! What a great idea. I see that the grasshoppers have found my basil so it is definitely time to dive in and quickly harvest.....I did see Pam's post but my little brain never made the transfer from mint to other herbs....geez...thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteLooks amazing....still looking in to the food saver. I only have one big basil plant that I have used all summer and it is ready to harvest for a batch of pesto...the rosemary never does well in the house...I may try leaving it outside. People here do and if it is in the right spot, close to the house it survives. The rest will
ReplyDeleteStay alive until November I hope. Your pesto looks beautiful as do your tidy little bags of herbs!
Wonderful idea! Scratch and sniff would be marvelous...if I close my eyes I can smell it!
Bisous xo
Les herbes se congèlent très bien, j'en étais très étonnée aussi.
ReplyDeleteL'aneth... <3
On annonce 2 Celcius cette nuit.. donc la lavande et l'olivier..sont dans la maison..qui semble un peu encombrée en ce moment:)
ReplyDeleteBonne chance dans ton nouvel apart!
Tu es courageuse et je trouve admirable que tu vas popoter en Angleterre~
Cooking many dishes with basil myself lately. Love the pesto, specially with pine nuts! Amazing how we make creative and delicious treats from our gardens!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos -- love that bright green basil colour!
ReplyDeleteMy hands smelled so good yesterday from snipping tops off of basil! I need to get mine all preserved. I might just have to get a Foodsaver again. We had one years ago but it was a refurbished one and never really worked. What a great thing if we can save the basil. Brought my rosemary in last year and the year before. Hope I don't put it off too long this year. There is something so nice about it fresh in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could smell it too. On his television shows, Emeril used to call it smell-a-vision :) Basil is tricky and mine always turns black too. Will have to give Pam's method a try.
ReplyDeleteSam
It's that time of year Monique Time to get everything safely gathered in. Pesto freezes beautifully. I always freeze mine. Basil does not do well in the cold normally. The leaves do turn black. I guess it's the oil in the pesto which helps to prevent that from happening. I don't know how it works but it does! I have apples to pick and pears as well and the blueberries are still coming. I am not complaining! Happy Harvesting to you! Do you get olives from your tree? xxoo
ReplyDeleteThe FOODSAVER seems to keep it all green Marie..A little wonderkid of preserving it seems..so far:)
DeleteMon ami, I can almost smell its fresh clean scent from here. I get fresh basil from farmers in my area, and I've made a whole lot of pesto this summer. Liquid Gold (or perhaps, Emerald?).
ReplyDeleteI'll look into Pam's way of preserving this wonderful herb. Can't get enough!
I love hierbs especially basil and mint and your photos like always look georgeous Monique have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had read this sooner. My basil plants croaked. I will remember for next year. I hope you will let us know if this works for you or if you have any tips to improve upon. I made some parsley pesto per Martha Stewart and covered it with olive oil and then froze it in a jar and it stayed green and tasted great.
ReplyDeleteI will make a pasta sauce soon..and tell you if it stayed sparkling..so far everything in the freezer is still bright green whereas before..it was black already.
ReplyDeleteFor basil plants outside..this is the yr I followed a Pinterest tip..and it grew bushier and bushier upon pruning..we were really happy with it this year:)
Pesto stays very green frozen..my friend adds spinach:) Greener even!
LOVE LOVE herbs!!! especially basil and mint - the photos are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteMary x
Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteI might have to buy a big bag of basil at the farmer's market this weekend and make pesto for the freezer. Thanks for the reminder Monique.
I left the bay leaf tree and the rosemary out all last winter and they both survived. I think I might just move them closer to the house so they are protected in case we have a colder winter.
~Ann
You are that much warmer than we are..:) Quite a bit lucky duck:)
DeleteThe frozen pesto sat perfectly on a lovely wooden board;)
Our weather has been up and down also, so I picked my entire crop of basil on Monday since it was supposed to frost. We didn't get the frost (yay), but I've been playing with basil this week. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteWish I had purchased a Food Saver when the kids were still home (if they were even made back then) and I was cooking constantly. I do freeze pesto, but have never tried with fresh herbs. (I add spinach to my pesto too. Think I saw that on Ina's show.) It's an expensive little machine, but all the herbs I've frozen after using one sprig have not held up in the freezer. I could put it on my Amazon Wish List! :)
ReplyDeleteWe only bought the FS ,,5 yrs ago,,when Jacques started making hi sausage and prosciutto..
DeleteIt has come in so handy for many things..
The Wish List sounds like a plan..
( I would hate to show you mine:) ~
I need to be organised like you, I throw so many herbs away, and the coriander... do not get me started, I just can't seem to keep a plant alive!
ReplyDeleteGirl About Chelts x
Oh dear Rebecca..don't start doing these things now:)
DeleteYou ahve better more important things to organize for Mr.Wonderful arriving soon:)♥
Coriander must be my daughter's favorite herb..one of my daughters..
Great ideas! I cannot live without herbs (fresh, frozen or dried).
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Rosa
Love those green disques/disks
ReplyDeleteThey would make great Frisbies!
Lovely ideas.
ReplyDeleteI like the green "frisbies" too!
Everything so organised!
Have a happy weekend.
Shel
Lol you are both right:)
ReplyDeleteWell, you of course did a much nicer job of photographing everything!
ReplyDelete