Basil is so easy! It is a very hearty plant once it is established. I cut my basil often to keep my plant in "hyper growth mode". I then either dry the leaves in a 200 degree oven on a sheet tray in a single layer and keep it in a spice bottle or better yet, make pesto, which you can easily freeze for months! You can also blend it in a cuisinart with olive oil and freeze that in a tube to be squeezed into soups or pastas. Cut less than 70 percent of the plant at a time or it may die. Wherever you snip it you will notice several new stems will grow from that one cut making your plant very bushy over time.