Basil seeds → Pesto

This past summer, Frank had an assortment of potted herbs on our south-facing steps.

Near the end of the season, when Frank was in the hospital, I chopped off the seed heads and dried them in our dehydrator. Since we love basil, I also managed to buy a full stem at a farm market in Jefferson. Those seed heads also went into the dehydrator.

The rest of the stem became fresh pesto. Mmmmmmmmm.

Here’s everything in the dehydrator. The rosemary plant also got a trim and those stems were also dried.

The herbs sat on the fruit leather sheet so the seeds and herbs didn’t fall into the heating element.

And here’s the dried basil. A little crush of the seed pods opened them up to reveal tiny black seeds.

Next summer we’ll plant the seeds and see how well the new basil grows. I’ve got my fingers crossed for an abundance of pesto!