Fresh basil doesn't last. And it doesn't grow all year long so a great way to enjoy the fresh taste of basil throughout the entire year and not only summer is to make pesto and freeze.
BASE PESTO RECIPE: Basil, Garlic & Olive Oil
(Pine nuts, almonds or cashews optional)
The easiest way to do this is to violently and quickly pick the leaves of the previously washed basil stems and put them in the food processor with the amount of garlic that you like, or no garlic at all if you don't like, then add enough olive oil to make a paste.
Once you fill up your blender/food processor to the top and blend, you'll see it wasn't all that much at all. So what I do is to violently pick some more basil leaves and add to this...
Then I keep blending until my giant bowl of freshly harvested basil is gone.
Then I freeze in a freezer ziploc and Tada! Pesto ready to use all year long!
The uses for this is basically anything I cook or prepare that I think might need basil and these baggies have proven to last up to a year in the freezer. If you don't grow basil yourself you can ask your farmer, more than one would be happy to give you a discount on Basil by the bulk, especially after a farmer's market day since they know it won't keep, they will want to get rid of it. Be the hero and take it all!