Basil is an easy herb to grow in your garden or in a container on your deck. Basil is pretty enough to be grown along side of your other flowering perennials. You can see the full tutorial here: http://diydesignfanatic.blogspot.com/2012/08...
While dried basil is awesome....I find pesto to be a better use, it is pretty easy to find ample dried basil in the spice ailse. finding good pesto in much harder...at least in my area where herb gardens a rare.
when I did have my garden I would make pesto (basil, olive oil, fresh garlic) in my food processor and then freeze it in 1/2 cup or so batches. Fresh homemade pesto in the dead of winter is divine.
We also love fresh pesto and with only 5 plants I've made 6 batches already and the plants are still going strong. I'd love to learn of a quick way to remove the leaves. I guess I have so much it just seems to take forever to pinch them off with fingers! I dry a new batch each year for cooking.
when I did have my garden I would make pesto (basil, olive oil, fresh garlic) in my food processor and then freeze it in 1/2 cup or so batches. Fresh homemade pesto in the dead of winter is divine.