Cropping the Basil

Late this summer I planted some basil seeds that someone had given me from their garden and by the end of September I had a good yield. Here's a photo of these little plants that I just harvested before they flowered.  After washing them and brushing off any strange looking yard bits, I pulled the leaves off and put them on paper towels on a cooking sheet to dry them. To speed the process I put them in the oven after I had finished cooking dinner, and so they slowly dried out overnight.  I noticed the next evening -- when I went to cook dinner again in the oven -- that the leaves were not completely dry, so I put them back in the oven overnight for another drying session (that is, after the oven was turned off!).  By the third day they were nice and dry and I could crumble them into a sterilized dry jar. So now I have home grown basil to cook with.  I threw some of the leaves into a soup the other day and when we next make pizza you know I'm going to use these then! There's something very satisfying about growing your own stuff and eating it! Praise the Lord for warm ovens and green basil!

Neighborhood Gardens

I'm glad I'm not the only person who fusses about her garden in the Bloomingdale DC 'hood, thank God! There's many homeowners who take the time to plant and upkeep their front and back yards or the tree boxes out front on the sidewalk. One neighbor creates a little refuge from the city under a large umbrella, another has installed a traditional fountain tinkling away as you walk by to the bus stop, and another keeps the white Rose of Sharon bush trimmed in its tree box, providing flowers for us all summer long. There are hanging pots of geraniums on porches and urns and pots of flowers and cactus on many stoops. Most of us who do this know and see each other all the time -- and in fact it may be the only neighborhood relationship we have, nodding to and complimenting each other on the flower or plant -- but it's wondrous to know that there are others tending their gardens and who realize that their garden is part of the big garden we all live in..