Basil Bed is In, and a Very Happy Birthday

The big news is that we have planted the first basil bed! What do I mean by the “first” basil bed? Well, if you spend the summer hogging fresh garden basil, as we do, you want to ensure a steady supply of young, tender basil from June through September, maybe October. The one and only way to do that is to succession plant your basil as seed.

That means dedicating four plots of garden space to your basil, planting the first seeds in one plot in May, planting the second seeds in the next plot in June, the third round of seeds in the third plot in July, and the fourth and final round of seeds in the last plot in August.

Basil grows quickly in summer heat, which is great, but that also means that it matures and goes to seed quickly, losing it flavor and basically ending its life cycle. If you bought a pot of commercially grown basil in May or June and that’s it, by July, you’ll be out of luck as far as fresh, flavorful basil goes. We can’t have that.

I’m going to make basil ice cream this summer. We have a nice electric ice cream making machine, and we made some delicious fresh strawberry and green tea ice creams with it last summer. It also makes great lemon sorbet and vegan ice cream (banana is the best).

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a great day, thanks to my amazing husband. He made me feel completely loved. A bouquet of flowers arrived at my workplace, he made us a wonderful dinner, with Zabar’s cheesecake for dessert, and he gave me the gift of UNLIMITED DATA on my cell phone, yay!

I spend all day listening to teachers like Venerable Yuttadhammo, and the 12 megabyte data limit was really cramping my style. Now, there’s no limit. Color me happy. Yesterday I also had a pedicure (spring pink), and a free birthday drink from Starbucks (a skinny macchiato). This weekend, we’re going tree shopping for the Zen garden. I’m the luckiest girl alive.

There’s no sun today, but it’s mild and spring like. Lilacs are in full bloom. All the perennials are coming back to life. I’m drinking some great tea right now. It’s all good.

Live in peace.