Friday Night Date with Basil

At this time of year I am up to my ears in basil.  I mainly grow Genovese (sweet) basil to sell at our farmers' market.  I harvest it on Fridays, usually in the early evening.  I harvest it by grabbing a bunch of it in my hand and cutting the bunch off with a pair of scissors.  Then, I stuff it in a plastic bag.  I continue on in this manner until I've harvested all the plants in my herb bed.  I usually end up with 2-3 bags full.

Harvesting it is only half the work though.  After that, I bring it inside and package it to sell.  Here is what my kitchen table looked like last night.

Most of it goes in sandwich bags like this.

These will keep for several days in the refrigerator if you put a folded paper towel in the bag to absorb extra moisture and then mash most of the air out of the bag and seal it.

I also like to take some of the basil with longer stems and put it in cups of water like this.

Several of our local eating establishments give free plastic glasses when you buy a drink.  These fit nicely in a dish pan and are just the right size to hold a nice bunch of basil.

Here is what my basil harvest looked like after I was finished.

If I have an extra large harvest, then I put the extra in Walmart bags (or other brand) and sell it "wholesale" to people who want a large amount with which to make pesto or to dry.

It makes for a pleasant evening's work to drink a glass of wine and listen to music while packaging up the basil.  Plus, the kitchen smells heavenly.