Basil
Basil is a culinary herb, actually in the mint family. Basil is a hearty vibrant green plant, it is very fragrant and widely used in many cultures.
It is best to tear your basil, but also popular to chiffonade your basil with a sharp knife. I sharp knife is key, as to not bruise your basil. A delightful combination is a tomato, basil, and balsamic glaze.
Store your basil in a glass of water on the counter. If you store basil in the refrigerator it will turn black, basil doesn’t like the cold.
Vitamin K, A,C, manganese, copper, calcium, folate, iron, omega-3, magnesium
Basil and oil cubes ready to be frozen. These are a welcome thaw in the winter for spaghetti sauces.
Herb butter is a great way to preserve herbs over the winter months.
Here is a quick step-by-step on how to chiffonade your basil:
Roll one basil leaf up lengthwise:
When you get to the end of one leaf, add another one and continue to roll like so:
Continue the process with 3 or 4 leaves until you have a good sized roll.
Take your roll and slice crosswise and you’ll be left with these lovely little ribbons of basil! The exposed surface area of the cut leaves provides the most “bang for your buck” in terms of flavor.
One question we’ve been asked is “are the basil flowers edible?” The short answer is yes, you can work with basil flowers!
If you are a gardener and have basil in your garden, you can cut back the basil tops to keep them from flowering for as long as possible. This allows the plant to transfer energy to the delicate leaves rather than trying to produce the flowers. If your basil flowers, however, there are some ways you can enjoy them! You can try them in a salad, though truth be told that is not so much our thing. A tea is always a welcome treat (definitely Jess’ thing), especially a basil flower iced tea in the summertime. As basil is part of the mint family, and it can be a lot like mint under the hood, especially mixed into cool drinks.
This doesn’t have to be a fancy recipe, simply toss some stems with basil flowers into your pitcher of tea or lemonade, and enjoy! It brings a welcome and refreshing summer kick to your standard beverage. We hope you enjoy these ideas, and as always, please let us know if you have anything to add!
This is one of two variations on this seasonal dish (hence Jess labeled this one “Ratatouille 2015”). It’s a recipe we love due to it’s generous use of many late summer veggies, flexibility of ingredients, and, of course, tastiness. Enjoy as a side dish, as a main dish on top of some pasta, or use your imagination!
This was a quick dinner, made up while we were on vacation in Maine. It turned out pretty yummy, and the layer of roasted cherry tomatoes on top was quite fun. Allow time to salt your eggplant and squash slices to remove excess moisture, and you have a winner! Please note in this recipe I used some summer marinara sauce from a previous recipe. The ingredients are flexible here, so feel free to skim the recipe then make it your own as you see fit!
This is the quintessential August recipe, allowing for many seasonal veggies to be swapped in and out of the dish. Allow yourself time to simmer the sauce and salt and press the eggplant slices, it really makes a big difference. Aside from the eggplant, tomatoes and Parmesan cheese foundation, much of the dish is flexible, so leave it to your imagination!
