Garlic Basil Butter

Hi there.

I don’t want this to be awkward.

But this is my first post in, oh, almost two weeks.

I’d love to say that I’ve been off somewhere exotic, tropical, and completely cut off from the internet to offer an excuse. But the truth is that I’ve been right here in good old North Carolina, I’ve just been working immense amounts of overtime. Which is great! It just means that the few hours I do have to myself, all I really feel like doing is collapsing into bed for a couple chapters of my book before I fall asleep.

I am really looking forward to this three day weekend not to relax, but to get caught up on cooking, editing photos, planting the next phase of my two little gardens, and on general maintenance of my life outside the office.

Some gardening, though, cannot be stopped. The basil continues its seemingly unending life, and while I know that I could just cut down all the plants to nip this in the bud, I’m now sorta curious to see how long they can last. But that decision means that I must find things to do with basil besides making pesto or layering it onto sandwiches. And voila! I stumbled across this recipe and decided immediately to try it out.

The concept is simple, the preparation quick, and the results delicious. Rather than putting the whole batch of butter back in the fridge, I froze it in tiny dollops that I can thaw as needed, because, you know, my freezer wasn’t quite full of pesto cubes. Must. Freeze. More. Basil products. I can grab a dollop here, a dollop there, and can use it on whatever benefits from savory butter.

So, basically everything, then.

I may need to whip up a few more batches to keep up with the basil factory churning in the garden. Maybe if I’m lucky, the basil will take a three-day weekend as well. Hmm.

Don’t be surprised if you get this from me for Christmas.

 

Garlic Basil Butter
Adapted from Allrecipes

3/4 c fresh basil leaves, packed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Chop basil leaves and garlic in a food processor or blender until finely chopped. Add butter, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Scoop the butter into small dollops (about a teaspoon) onto the waxed paper. Once all butter has been dolloped (teehee) place the cookie sheet in the freezer and freeze for several hours or until the butter has hardened.

Store dollops in an airtight container or a freezer-safe bag and thaw as needed.