I use the second pressing lighter olive oil but it costs more. Filippo Berio. Most stores carry it. You could use half canola oil.
If you don't want to use oil then use tomatoes. It cuts the basil taste also. I seldom use pesto straight but put it in with spaghetti sauce. It gives the sauce a nice flavour. I'm not a tomato fan even though I use a lot so this I prefer.
I'm curious as to why you use water instead of the traditional olive oil?
My Basil is ready but I'm not, I need a couple of days to do other things first. I don't use extra virgin olive oil because I find it is too strong tasting.
After harvesting the basil from some plants, mom was after me to make pesto. Since I make a mountain of any molehill, I was surprised a second time at being able to grind the leaves with some water and garlic for a dozen spoonfuls into an ice cube tray.
The sun came out long enough for me to sit in the garden for a while. It was quite pleasant despite the fact I was digging carrots and pulling weeds. At this time of the year any amount of time outside is nice. I made a mental inventory of how things were ripening to give myself an idea of what order I will be harvesting the rest of the garden. It is still going to be dig the last pail of carrots. I put them in most everything. But the way I like them best is fresh from the garden boiled and drowned in butter. Fat food for sure. My root cellar is an insulated vented room in the basement that keeps potatoes very well and my wine collection but doesn't keep carrots because it isn't damp enough. So I cook them and freeze them. Besides stored carrots are barely better than store bought. I have buried them in a barrel in a sand bank and it works but I prefer to just get them out of the freezer.
It is going to rain for the next week. I don't know what to think about that. I won't be sitting in the garden. I'll probably dry the Thyme and Rosemary. And there is still pesto to make. This week of rain will set the buds on the trees and the leaves they are replacing will die and turn yellow. I will not be surprised to hear the geese gathering in preparation for going south.
I think my pole beans are a write off. Same with the squash. That is okay since this is supposed to be for the fun of it. I do wish I'd planted more onions though. Not my fault, there was a big run on the sets at the store.
Next spring I have to change the plastic on the green house or do without it. All just part of life here and not worth getting excited about. Hard to believe how hot it was this summer. Very unusual even though it has been getting hotter and dryer every year. I guess since most if not all of you are south of me you are used to it. Next year I will get the pond pump hooked up sooner just in case we have another summer like this. But that is all next year right. In the mean time I have more carrots to process.
I propped up another set of chrysanthemums, so they can be more visible, today. It's wonderful how as one set plants dwindle, some others spring up, keeping interest in the garden.
Well with enough water salt will leach out. I does make a herbicide but the only thing I have used it on is horse radish which has such a large root it doesn't work. It will kill grass. The one safe thing about it is that it doesn't hurt people. The one year that I pushed snow from the driveway into the garden there was enough road salt to stunt the first few rows. I now push that snow somewhere else. Herbicide of any sort doesn't work unless you can keep your neighbours weed seeds from blowing in.
This morning I go pick onions. I will dry the tops for about a week and then braid them and hang them up for the winter. Then it is pull out the bigger carrots before they can split. I cook them till almost done then freeze them loose on cookie sheets and bag them. I have to start before other people because I'm slow and have so much.
Anyway the sun is shining and it is going to be a nice day if it isn't too hot. If there are more apples on the ground I guess I will be doing apples too. At least the last of the potatoes can wait. Over the years I have developed a system that works for me. A few years ago winter cane early and froze peoples potatoes in the ground and didn't thaw out again. Anything still in the ground stayed.
