Magick Basil

The garden magick continues. Seems almost every plant out there (probably including the weeds) has some power attributed to it.

I love basil, and I plant a lot of it. So I guess my garden is full of some potent magic, particularily since basil appears to be one of the strongest harbringers of wealth and love.Hmm. Mine may need more fertilizer.

Oddly enough, basil is also associated with Erzulie, who, besides being the patron saint of New Orleans, is also the name of three Voodun goddess' representing love, art and sex. One of the three Erzulie, Dantor, is a fierce protector of women, offering protection and possibilites beyond imagination. She is also considered a protector of men who love, honor and respect women. I'm enchanted that my favorite herb is associated with my favorite city, and far be it from me to disrespect the voodun loas.

Legend says placing basil leaves in the four corners of a room guarantees protection for the occupants. Carrying basil in your pocket gives luck in gambling. Basil oil used in room diffusers promotes tranquility. And finally, basil leaves laid on your computer will keep it working.

So I have mint leaves tucked in my cabinets for the mice, and basil leaves strewn across my computer.

And I have no mice in my kitchen and my computer works just fine, thank you very much.

Mushrooms...and Not the Good Kind

Our Virginia weather has not been conducive to being out in the yard gardening. First we had cool super windy days (the kind that dried out the straw bales) and then nights with a possibility of frost. Now it's cool, cloudy and rainy. Which is great since it saves on the watering, but not so great for potting and setting out plants.

What is wonderful is watching some of the wintered-over plants green up. The top photo is the Provence Lavender. I wasn't sure it would come back this year since it had spent its third winter in the greenhouse, and all good things have to come to an end. But it has exploded with new growth and decided to take on another year.

Last weekend I potted up the patio tomatoes with a few basil plants - they've added almost 2" to their height already.

And the straw bales are growing mushrooms. Several different varieties, none of them edible or useful for any other activity. I'm no mushroom expert, but these were the most ethereal of the bunch.

The cauliflowers started from seed are adding an inch a day or so.

And the transplanted cauliflower is almost a foot tall, while the plants left in the greenhouse have 2" cauliflower heads.

Those 2" heads mean it's time to tie up the leaves around the heads. If you do this, just use regular jute twine. Tying the leaves around the baby heads protects them from insects, who will eat the whole head if you don't stop them, but apparently aren't smart enough to crawl in between the leaves. Just trust me, it works.

The differences in these plants tells me it's better to grow cauliflower in the greenhouse and have them produce earlier. But I'm hoping when the plants in the greenhouse are done, the transplants outside will come into season, and when they are done, the seed stock will be sporting heads. That's the plan anyway.

I have a whole bed of comfrey to plant -it's my new second-favorite herb (my first is any kind of basil- see below). I use comfrey to make salve, fertilizer water for the other plants, and as a mulch for my onions. Remember, once you plant this, it's hard to get rid of. I'm okay with that, since the more I have the happier I am.

The oregano in the greenhouse needs to be transplanted and if I don't get it done soon, I'll have to leave it where it is. I want beds of basil, marjoram, oregano and sage this year so I can make my own Italian seasoning. This may be one of those products that's just easier to buy, but I wanted to try and make my own. If nothing else, the yard will smell wonderful.

Baby basil, ready for transplanting. Is there any such thing as too much basil?

Boxwood basil, Lemon basil, Greek Columnar Basil, Purple Basil, Sweet basil, Genovese basil,Thai basil, Magical Basil (ha), Spicy Globe basil, Cinnamon basil, Purple Ruffled basil, Fino Verde basil, Licorice basil, Nufar basil, Mammoth basil, Osmin Purple basil, Red Rubin basil, Cuban basil, Dark Opal basil, Lime basil, Holy basil, Greek Bush basil, Dwarf basil, African Blue basil, Thai Lemon basil.....

Thank god it's one of the plants I'm not allergic to.

Basil Updates and A Couple New Ideas

One thing I may have forgotten to mention is that the basil ice cubes we made a few days ago take a long time to freeze.

Today they are finally done and here's the photos to prove it.

The cubes even smell like fresh basil, and they are all dark green and have that "frozen in time" look. Now I'm wanting cold weather, so I can get the soup pot out, and toss in a couple of these in for seasoning.

Meanwhile, three ice cube trays of basil cubes is just enough to fill a gallon size zip loc bag. Then they went right back into the freezer.

Also - damselindisdress posted a comment on the previous basil post -and asked about putting whole basil leaves in the freezer-by themselves -in a ziploc. I've never tried it, but I certainly will - as soon as my basil plants grown back a bit.

That led me to wondering what about using those snack size ziplocs, and putting whole leaves in them, and adding water -somewhat like herbal popsicles? I'll be trying that too.

Basil Basics

Try saying that 10 times, really fast....

The sweet basil that I cut and sold earlier this summer (maybe a month ago?) has grown back, and it's time to save some for our personal use this winter.

Always cut herbs in the morning -the flavor and fragrance are at their strongest levels.

I enjoy using baskets to gather herbs and produce in, with regular kitchen shears to trim off the stalks. The baskets make me feel all 18th-century-ish.

By cutting just the top 6" off each stalk I was able to gather a full basket, and leave the plant more than ready to replenish itself.

A month from now, this little pot will be rounded and full again.

Remember these ice cube trays I found at a rummage sale a month or so ago?

Time to put them to use.

First, strip off the leaves and toss the stems. If you are short on basil, the stems can be used, but I'm in no danger of running out of this herb anytime soon.

Today I'm trying two ways of preserving this harvest, both freezing the chopped leaves in water as well as dehydrating a batch. This is my second attempt at dehydrating - the first time involved strawberries and one of the round dehydrators. It was a total failure and the house smelled odd for days.

Last winter I bought this toaster oven specifically because it had a dehydrate feature. This is it's maiden voyage. Of course, the owners manual explains how to use the dehydrate feature in the simplest terms: use a mesh rack (not included with oven -of course), put food product on mesh rack, press "Dehydrate" button. That's it. No clue as to what temperature the oven is running at when it's drying, or how long to leave various foods in.

That makes this an experiment, versus a recipe.

The metal rack was found at a rummage sale, and DH trimmed it with a SawsAll to fit the toaster oven. I think it was originally a grill rack.

According to The Dehydrator Bible (over on the shelf to the right), the basil needs to dry at 110 degrees for 16-18 hours. Again, no clue as to the temperature the oven is using, and the timer will only set to 90 minutes.

I'll start with that -I can always reset it as needed. The largest and best leaves are laid out in a single layer, with room for the air to circulate. While they're drying, let's go back to the ice cube trays.

Using a very sharp knife, mince and chop the remainder of the leaves. (If you want to dry the entire harvest, only pick the leaves when they will be dried immediately. The fresher they are, the stronger and more flavorful the dried product will be).

After chopping the leaves, pack each compartment full, then fill with cold water.

That amount of chopped leaves was enough to fill three of the ice cube trays. Keep in mind, this method is good not only for single herbs, but for combinations as well. It's just as easy to harvest basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and sage (Italian Seasoning),chop them up and blend - then freeze. Each compartment should equal approx one tablespoon of spice - perfect for dropping into a simmering pot of soup in deep December.

When the trays are packed full of spice and water,freeze. After the cubes are completely frozen they can be popped out and stored in a ziploc bag until needed.

Meanwhile, back at the toaster oven it turns out that whatever temperature this oven is drying at, it's more than sufficient.

The basil leaves are dry and crunchy after 50 minutes. So much for 16-18 hours.

(The color in this photo is a little off - the actual leaves are dark green).

All that's left to do is put the dried leaves into a labeled air-tight container. If it's possible, the leaves should be left as whole as possible to retain their flavor.

One last reminder: whether frozen or dried, fresh herbs are much stronger than the stuff you buy at the grocer's, so use a little less at first.

The First Basil Harvest

Early this morning I was out cutting the first basil harvest of the year.

Thanks to all the rain, the plants had exploded from 8-9" to almost 18", in less than four days.

My dad sells fresh local veggies to a nearby restaurant, but for some reason he has no luck growing basil. I, on the other hand, can throw it in anything, anywhere, and it will grow almost without a second thought (Dad got the apples, peaches, strawberries, blackberries and raspberry gene - I got the basil gene).

Knowing I'd be seeing him today, I went out and cut each spire of basil, about 9-10" long, thereby trimming off roughly 2/3 of the plant, so he could take this batch and sell it to the restaurant.

This photo above is what's left. A week from now, this plant will be at least half again as tall, and very bushy.

Here's the cut basil - huge, bright green, crisp leaves, and the fragrance is just *heavenly*.

A pound of fresh basil roughly fills the proverbial Walmart or Kroger's plastic bag.

Considering how easy it is to grow (except for my dad), and the new interest of restaurants to buy locally, try growing some basil - you never know when you'll find yourself with a new cash crop.