If you planted basil this year, it is probably near its peak right about now. You want to harvest any stems that start flowering in order to get the plant to produce more leaves. The problem is when you need to harvest, but don't have any plans to cook with the basil that day. The best way to preserve your basil is to:

• Pluck leaves off of the stems
• Dunk leaves into boiling water for 5 seconds
• Plunge leaves into an ice bath to 'shock' them and halt the cooking process
• Blot the leaves dry on a paper towel
• Puree the leaves in a blender with enough evoo to make a paste
• Pour the paste into an ice cube tray
• Freeze overnight
• Transfer cubes to a Ziploc or vacuum sealed bag

Now the cubes are ready to toss into pastas, soups and stews all winter long. Even if you did not plant any basil, this is a great thing to do with farmer's market basil right now. Remember it is hard to find good basil in January. Even if you do, it is ridiculously expensive for a tiny amount.