Andrew is a big pesto fan, so besides winter squash, his only garden request was lots of basil. I planted it everywhere, in containers, pallet rows, and right in the ground. I lost track of how many seeds I actually planted, and now it's cropping up everywhere. It's not going to waste though! I've been making vegan pesto, dehydrating it, and freezing it.
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| Basil in the dehydrator. |
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| Once the basil has dried (after a long run in the dehydrator), I chop it up in the baby bullet so that I have dried basil through the year. |
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| Taking a suggestion from my parents friend on a recent camping trip, I froze basil in zip locks full of water. The leaves stay bright green and fresh looking this way. Freeze two cups in each bag, so when you're ready to use them, just defrost the bag, drain, and use the leaves in your recipe. |
I found an on-line recipe for a creamy basil sauce. I've talked before about the value of coconut milk in vegan cooking, and it worked great for this recipe, too. Served over whole wheat pasta and roasted squash, this sauce was delicious.!
Creamy Coconut Basil Sauce
Serves 6-8
- 2 packed cups of basil
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder
- 2 cans of coconut milk
- Blend basil and garlic together in a blender or food processor.
- Add olive oil, and blend for a minute or so until everything is fully combined.
- Add nutritional yeast and arrowroot powder, and blend again.
- Add the mixture to a sauce pan and pour in the coconut milk.
- Simmer over a low flame for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened. You could skip this last step to keep it raw, but it won't be very "creamy".
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| Squash from the garden, tossed in oil and roasted at 400ยบ for 20 minutes. |
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