Basil and Olive Oil Ice Cubes!

Each year, I grow  Genovese basil and at the end of the summer, I make basil butter , pesto and these cubes.  I put it all into the freezer to use throughout the non growing months.
I use the basil/olive oil cubes in pesto, soups, stews, pastas...just about everything!  They are so small that they thaw immediately, imparting a wonderful flavor.  They are a great way to jazz up pre made sauces or soups.

This recipe is easily halved but for 2 ice cube trays, you will need:

20 cups of freshly cleaned basil leaves, patted dry.
1 cup olive oil plus extra for "topping off."
2 ice cube trays
food processor
small cookie scoop

Harvest your basil and give it a rough shake. Make sure to get rid of any hitch hikers!
I dunk all the basil into a sink full of water and give it a good shake under water.  Then I start harvesting the leaves.  If you are only doing a little, you can pinch the stem at the end of the leaf...but that takes a long time when you harvest as much as I do.  
What I do is inspect the front of the stem I'm working on.  Then I flip it over and take scissors and clip the base of the leaves around the stems.  This works as a double duty....clipping goes fast and you can inspect the bottom of the leaf for anything that shouldn't be there.

After I am done, I have a bowl full of gorgeous basil leaves.
Notice the little fingers trying to get in the photo.....yeah, smack them so they go away....


PLEASE NOTE:
I work in two batches of 10 cups each because if I do it all at once, it overfills my food processor!  This works out to be 10 cups of basil and 1/2 cup olive oil for 1 tray 

Begin by adding large handfuls of the basil into your food processor along with a steady stream of olive oil.   Continue adding olive oil until you get a nice thick consistency. Keep adding basil alternately with the olive oil until done.  You'll need to scrape the bowl down.

Make sure you use plenty of olive oil or the basil will turn black. I like it when it is the consistency of a dip.

Scoop it into your ice cubes trays. 
   Drizzle each cube with a thin layer of olive oil to keep it from turning black. 



Then, pop them into your freezer for 3-4 hours. Once hard, pop the cubes out and store them in a freezer bag. 
 With my trays, they need help popping out.  I set them on the counter about 8 minutes and then use a plastic spatula and slip it behind each cube on one side.  That usually does the trick.  They can be stubborn though.  Using silicone trays works too.

This is what they look like.  The basil is still pretty and green.....no black stuff.  

32 yummy basil ice cubes ready for service.....Use 1 - 2 cubes in your dishes.  Use a minimum of 2 when making pesto.

I use these cubes instead of dried basil, they are so much better...totally worth the effort.  
If you are thinking you can't do this because you live in an apartment, I started out in an apartment with 1 basil plant.  

unexpected dinner guest

I adore gardenias....look at how gorgeous...and the blooms smell HEAVENLY.
We plant gardenias every where we go. These were slow to take off because the year we planted them was REALLY wet. Gardenias don't like to be wet but with so much rain, that is hard to avoid.

They are now thriving....and blooming all the time.



I've started to worry about them because the last couple of weeks have been really rainy.

Which is why I'm sure we had an unusual dinner guest in our back yard.

We wouldn't have noticed him except Suki was going bonkers attacking the window and making funny sounds.

Kaela (AKA Curly Girl) investigated and saw this guy through the window....I was thrilled so I ran outside to get a good picture of him.
He is a gorgeous black racer. They aren't poisonous...eat mainly rodents and lizards and frogs.

This guy was about 2 and a half feet long.

He wasn't concerned with me at all. He was focused on our window. This particular window is a major lizard magnet...don't know why.




Unfortunately, not long after taking this photo, he left the yard through a knot hole in the fence.
I feel pretty certain he will be back though as we have a water source and plenty of lizards and toads.

Oh Alice!

Now that our partners have gotten their goodies, I can share some aprony goodness that Kaela and I have done!

First, I have to brag on Kaela. She did a WONDERFUL job on the apron for her partner. I think it was a bit hard for her to part with. She painted all the pictures by hand and did a lovely job.



Then for my own partner I made this one.....the Red Queen



close up of the roses...



we added some clever tuck ins for both partners...like this painted cigar box I did made for my partner.

We made some goodies but the photos were blurry. I made some terrific Alice cupcake toppers though....might have to make some for our family!


This was a fun theme....hate to see it end!

crafting away....

The last couple of weeks I've been busy with the kids going back to school and me going back to work!

I didn't feel much like blogging. I always get sad this time of year. I really adore having the kids home with me. But, I'm a bit better now and thought I'd share some of the crafty stuff I've done lately.

I made this little octopus for our tree. I love the simplicity of it.
I got the idea from this one at Anthropologie. I tried to copy it but didn't have the patience to do those undulating tentacles so made curly ones instead. I love how it turned out.

he looks pretty cute on my YOE tree
Then, I made this little cutie using Future Girl's pattern. I made it for my YOE partner for the month of August....


I also made this fun little gnome. I'll be using him for a toy drop soon.


and I made these 2 cute girlie gnome dolls for Christmas presents.

I love how they look so cheerful!


sooooo, what have YOU been crafting?

Happy Gnome

The last couple of weeks weren't my best.

But it got better.

And then this little guy came in the mail....and made me feel even better.




Thank you sweet sister, I love you more than m&ms!

very merry unbirthday mail!

Monday was a happy mail day!

First, I got my bookmarks from Messy Missy's bookmark swap. I love to read and love nice bookmarks...who wants to use a scrap of paper when you can use a origami Geisha Girl? Or a Diva on her way to an unfortunate accident with a vampire......Totally cute!



Then, I found a box on my door step....the box with the Alice In Wonderland apron swap apron.
The apron made by none other than Melinda...the super duper talented Melinda of Melinda'sfabricfancies!

I was so excited, I didn't want to open it. Does that make sense? I knew it would be awesome!

Before I show you the apron, here are some tuck ins she made for fun:



and this too.....which I wore to work already!

here is a close up I stole off her blog...my camera is suckish


and here is the apron....just click on the photo to see all the detail.

I wish I had a better camera...this photo just doesn't do the apron justice.

here is another close up I stole off her blog.....these are the legs before they were finished...those stripes? She did those with 2 spools of thread....the entire apron is thread painted...and it is GORGEOUS!


Melinda, you ROCK! Thank you!!!!

Fun day and toy drop.

Saturday, went into NOLA to go to the aquarium.
We almost didn't go because of the weather but it cleared up for a few hours so we went and had a good time.
I was walking with our neighbors and took this photo......Matt is almost as tall as Dean now, with Kaela not far behind.....

The first thing we did once we got in was our August toy drop. Since we were going to the aquarium, I made an octopus.


The aquarium was packed! So, the kids ran interference while I quickly dropped the toy behind a large tank.


We checked on our way out 2 hours later and it was gone :-)

Then, we went on into the Amazon exhibit...

and into the kid's area...

for some sting ray petting....


This boat was interesting. It was made with recycled trash and foam insulation...plastic 2 liter bottles and other junk. It made a 2,300 mile drip down the Mississippi before resting at the aquarium.



Close up of the construction...


One thing I was excited about is that they have several baby Kemp Ridley rescues...they had them in several tanks throughout the aquarium.
Gosh how I love these guys....thank goodness these were rescued and saved...so many weren't...hundreds in fact.



this little one keep popping up to say hello!
To get an idea of size....these babies are about the size of a charger or serving platter...

While the big guy in the main aquarium is HUGE! He isn't a rescue to my knowledge, he is here all the time....this is the big walk through tank at the aquarium entrance.



In another tank is this grouper.
I seem to get this SAME shot each time we come...he is about 100 pounds....
and would taste good fried, blackened or grilled, with a side of hush puppies....


Here are the kids as we are leaving...look how they've grown!!!

We had a good time and followed it up with lunch at Superior...like always!!!!
This plaque is on the wall as you leave the aquarium.


Pretty much says it all....