Whoever heard of *baking* with basil? When Joann (our wonderful volunteer who assists with Tuesday harvests) told me about these Lemon Basil Shortbread cookies, I was immediately intrigued. They sound like a perfect use for abundant mid-summer basil...after you've made all the pesto your freezer hold for winter, that is!
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. minced fresh Basil leaves
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a food processor, mix the butter, 1/2 cup Sugar, lemon zest, flour, cornstarch, and basil leaves until smooth. Press the dough into two 8-inch cake pans with removable sides. Press the tines of a fork around the edge of the dough, then pierce the dough with the fork in parallel lines about an inch apart.
Bake the shortbread until firm to the touch and slightly browned, about 45 minutes. While still hot, sprinkle each shortbread round with 1 Tbsp. sugar. Remove the sides from the pans and cut each round, while still warm, into 12 wedges. Set the pans on racks to cool completely, then remove shortbread wedges and serve.
Makes 24 cookies.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Cucumber Mint Lemonade
Here's the recipe for the Cucumber Mint Lemonade I have been making for markets lately. It sells out quickly and people are always asking how I made it. It's couldn't be more simple (maybe because I don't make the lemonade part from scratch; we don't grow lemons, after all) and you can make it yourself in minutes at home.
Ingredients:
1/2 Gallon Lemonade (your favorite brand - I've used Santa Cruz, Simply Lemonade, and Whole Foods 365 Brand - they're all good bases).
1 Medium Cucumber
1 oz. Mint Leaves (add more if you want a really minty drink)
The Juice and pulp from 1/2 Lemon
Directions:
Puree the Cucumber, with skin on, and mint in food processor until there are no big chunks of cucumber left. Stir in the juice and pulp from the lemon, and then add this mixture to your lemonade. Shake up and serve over ice.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Stuffed Squash Blossoms
I absolutely love these! If you can get your hands on some squash blossoms, don't pass them up. They make a delicious and impressive appetizer to serve at a dinner party.
Ingredients:
- 18 zucchini blossoms, stamen removed
- 3 ounces goat (feta) cheese
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/8 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup cold flat beer
- Oil (or lard) for frying
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan cheese and sliced chives for garnish
Gently swish the squash blossoms in cold water to clean. Carefully twirl to remove most of the water, then drain thoroughly on paper towels. Set aside.
Beat goat cheese, cream cheese, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper until blended. Gently fill each blossom with about 2 teaspoons of the cheese filling. Refrigerate while making batter.
In a heavy skillet, heat 2 inches of oil to 375 F over medium heat.
While oil is heating, whisk together cornstarch, flour, salt, pepper, celery salt, baking soda, baking powder, egg, and beer until combined.
Carefully dip a stuffed blossom into the batter, covering the entire flower, and ease into the hot oil. Brown on one side, then turn to brown the other. Cook only a few at a time so they are not crowded. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining stuffed squash blossoms.
Sprinkle stuffed squash blossoms with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese and chopped chives.Credit
Fried Green Tomatoes
A Southern Classic
Ingredients:
3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or cornmeal
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour, milk, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.
2 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each side or until brown. As you cook the rest of the tomatoes, add olive oil as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Squash Blossom Soup
I N G R E D I E N T S
1/4 stick butter
1 onions, sliced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound blossoms, Zucchini or other squash (about 4 cups)
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup grated anejo cheese
1 lime cut in wedges
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
I N S T R U C T I O N S
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Saute the onions, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook about five minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 to 12 minutes add the blossoms and cook 5 minutes longer.
Transfer soup to food processor and puree until smooth. Strain soup back into saucepan. Pour in the half and half and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot, garnished with the cheese and lime wedges.
Credit: Gourmet Sleuth
1/4 stick butter
1 onions, sliced
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound blossoms, Zucchini or other squash (about 4 cups)
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup grated anejo cheese
1 lime cut in wedges
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
I N S T R U C T I O N S
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Saute the onions, seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook about five minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 10 to 12 minutes add the blossoms and cook 5 minutes longer.
Transfer soup to food processor and puree until smooth. Strain soup back into saucepan. Pour in the half and half and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot, garnished with the cheese and lime wedges.
Credit: Gourmet Sleuth
Spoiled Rotten: How to Make Your Fruits and Vegetables Last
Here is a helpful article by Shelly Levitt on when to eat and how to best store your produce to harness their maximum life spans:
Spoiled Rotten
Americans throw out 25 percent of the produce they buy because it’s gone bad. How to stop the waste? Know when to shop, learn which fruits and veggies don’t get along and which ones to keep out of the fridge.
*********
Perhaps you do it once a week. Perhaps only when you trace those sulfurous odors to your refrigerator’s crisper drawers. But eventually, you toss out spoiled vegetables and fruits. Lots of them. Researchers at the University of Arizona recently spent a year tracking families’ food-use habits. Working with the United States Department of Agriculture, they interviewed the families about their eating habits, collected their grocery receipts, watched them prepare meals, and then sifted through every last discarded lettuce leaf, slice of bread, burger and bean.
The results, reported in 2002, were pretty shocking. The families tossed out an average of 470 pounds of food per year—about 14 percent of all food brought into the home—at an annual cost of $600. Every day, they discarded more than half a pound of fruits and veggies. In total, Americans chuck a quarter of all the produce they buy, mostly because it’s gone bad, says Timothy Jones, PhD, contemporary archaeologist at the University of Arizona. Nationally, we dump $43 billion worth of food every year.
Wasting produce is, well, a waste—bad for our wallets and bad for the environment. Plus, who wants to make a salad when confronted with a bin of rotting sludge? All this led us to ask: How can we keep produce fresh longer?
The ABCs of Fresh
“The main way to lengthen shelf life is by using cold temperatures to slow food’s respiration, or ‘breathing’ process,” explains Marita Cantwell, PhD, a postharvest specialist at the University of California, Davis. In general, the warmer the temperature, the faster the rate of respiration, which is why refrigeration is critical for most produce. But while you want to slow it down, you don’t want to stop the breathing altogether. “The worst thing to do is seal produce in an airtight bag,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University. “You’ll suffocate it and speed up decay.” Some fruits emit ethylene, an odorless, colorless gas that speeds ripening and can lead to the premature decay of nearby ethylene-sensitive vegetables. Put spinach or kale in the same bin as peaches or apples, and the greens will turn yellow and limp in just a couple of days. So the fi rst trick is to separate produce that emits ethylene from produce that’s sensitive to it. (See “Gas Wars,” below).
There are also some innovations to help extend the life of your fruits and veggies. Some products actually absorb ethylene and can be dropped into a crisper, such as the E.G.G. (for ethylene gas guardian), which is shaped like, you guessed it, an egg, and ExtraLife, a hockey-puck-like disk. A variety of produce bags are also on the market, such as those by Evert- Fresh and BioFresh, which both absorb ethylene and create an atmosphere that inhibits respiration.
At least as important as how you store produce is when you buy it. Do all your other shopping fi rst so that your berries and broccoli don’t get warm—and respire rapidly— while you’re picking up nonperishable items. Get the produce home and into the fridge as soon as possible. If you’ll be making several stops between the market and kitchen, put a cooler in the car. Shop farmers’ markets soon after they open: Just-harvested greens wilt rapidly once they’ve been in the sun for a few hours.
Even under optimal conditions, fragile raspberries will never last as long as thick-skinned oranges. Eat more perishable items fi rst (see “Fastest to Slowest Spoilers,” right). And if you still find yourself with a bushel of ripe produce—and a business trip around the bend—improvise. Make a fruit pie, a potful of soup or a great big vat of tomato sauce, and throw it in the freezer. You’ll relish your foresight when you get home.
Gas Wars
If you notice that your produce always seems to rot just a few days after you buy it, you might be storing incompatible fruits and veggies together. Those that give off high levels of ethylene gas—a ripening agent—will speed the decay of ethylene-sensitive foods. Keep the two separate.
Use trapped ethylene to your advantage: To speed ripen a peach, put it in a closed paper bag with a ripe banana. One bad apple really can spoil the whole bunch. Mold proliferates rapidly and contaminates everything nearby, so toss any spoiled produce immediately.
For longer life, keep your produce whole—don’t even rip the stem out of an apple until you eat it. “As soon as you start pulling fruits and vegetables apart,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University, “you’ve broken cells, and microorganisms start to grow.” Cold-sensitive fruits and veggies lose fl avor and moisture at low temperatures. Store them on the counter, not in the fridge. Once they’re fully ripe, you can refrigerate them to help them last, but for best fl avor, return them to room temp.
Never refrigerate potatoes, onions, winter squash or garlic. Keep them in a cool, dark, dry cabinet, and they can last up to a month or more. But separate them so their flavors and smells don’t migrate.
REFRIGERATE THESE GAS RELEASERS
Apples, Apricots, Cantaloupe, Figs, Honeydew
DON’T REFRIGERATE THESE GAS RELEASERS
Avocados, Bananas (unripe), Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Tomatoes
KEEP THESE AWAY FROM ALL GAS RELEASERS
Bananas (ripe), Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Caulifl ower, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Lettuce and other leafy greens, Parsley, Peas, Peppers, Squash, Sweet potatoes, Watermelon
Fastest to Slowest Spoilers: What to Eat First
With proper storage and a little planning, you can enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables with just a single weekly trip to the supermarket. The key is eating the more perishable produce early on. Use this guide—created with the help of Marita Cantwell, PhD, postharvest specialist at the University of California, Davis—based on a Sunday shopping trip. The timing suggestions are for ready-to-eat produce, so allow extra days for ripening if you’re buying, say, green bananas or not-quite-ripe pears. And remember, looks count. Appearance—vivid green spinach; smooth, unbruised peaches; plump oranges—is the best clue to whether fruits and veggies are fresh to begin with.
EAT FIRST: SUNDAY TO TUESDAY
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Basil
Broccoli
Cherries
Corn
Dill
Green beans
Mushrooms
Mustard greens
Strawberries
Watercress
EAT NEXT: WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY
Arugula
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Grapes
Lettuce
Lime
Mesclun
Pineapple
Zucchini
EAT LAST: WEEKEND
Apricots
Bell peppers
Blueberries
Brussels sprouts
Cauliflower
Grapefruit
Leeks
Lemons
Mint
Oranges
Oregano
Parsley
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Spinach
Tomatoes
Watermelon
AND BEYOND
Apples
Beets
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes
Winter squash
Spoiled Rotten
Americans throw out 25 percent of the produce they buy because it’s gone bad. How to stop the waste? Know when to shop, learn which fruits and veggies don’t get along and which ones to keep out of the fridge.
*********
Perhaps you do it once a week. Perhaps only when you trace those sulfurous odors to your refrigerator’s crisper drawers. But eventually, you toss out spoiled vegetables and fruits. Lots of them. Researchers at the University of Arizona recently spent a year tracking families’ food-use habits. Working with the United States Department of Agriculture, they interviewed the families about their eating habits, collected their grocery receipts, watched them prepare meals, and then sifted through every last discarded lettuce leaf, slice of bread, burger and bean.
The results, reported in 2002, were pretty shocking. The families tossed out an average of 470 pounds of food per year—about 14 percent of all food brought into the home—at an annual cost of $600. Every day, they discarded more than half a pound of fruits and veggies. In total, Americans chuck a quarter of all the produce they buy, mostly because it’s gone bad, says Timothy Jones, PhD, contemporary archaeologist at the University of Arizona. Nationally, we dump $43 billion worth of food every year.
Wasting produce is, well, a waste—bad for our wallets and bad for the environment. Plus, who wants to make a salad when confronted with a bin of rotting sludge? All this led us to ask: How can we keep produce fresh longer?
The ABCs of Fresh
“The main way to lengthen shelf life is by using cold temperatures to slow food’s respiration, or ‘breathing’ process,” explains Marita Cantwell, PhD, a postharvest specialist at the University of California, Davis. In general, the warmer the temperature, the faster the rate of respiration, which is why refrigeration is critical for most produce. But while you want to slow it down, you don’t want to stop the breathing altogether. “The worst thing to do is seal produce in an airtight bag,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University. “You’ll suffocate it and speed up decay.” Some fruits emit ethylene, an odorless, colorless gas that speeds ripening and can lead to the premature decay of nearby ethylene-sensitive vegetables. Put spinach or kale in the same bin as peaches or apples, and the greens will turn yellow and limp in just a couple of days. So the fi rst trick is to separate produce that emits ethylene from produce that’s sensitive to it. (See “Gas Wars,” below).
There are also some innovations to help extend the life of your fruits and veggies. Some products actually absorb ethylene and can be dropped into a crisper, such as the E.G.G. (for ethylene gas guardian), which is shaped like, you guessed it, an egg, and ExtraLife, a hockey-puck-like disk. A variety of produce bags are also on the market, such as those by Evert- Fresh and BioFresh, which both absorb ethylene and create an atmosphere that inhibits respiration.
At least as important as how you store produce is when you buy it. Do all your other shopping fi rst so that your berries and broccoli don’t get warm—and respire rapidly— while you’re picking up nonperishable items. Get the produce home and into the fridge as soon as possible. If you’ll be making several stops between the market and kitchen, put a cooler in the car. Shop farmers’ markets soon after they open: Just-harvested greens wilt rapidly once they’ve been in the sun for a few hours.
Even under optimal conditions, fragile raspberries will never last as long as thick-skinned oranges. Eat more perishable items fi rst (see “Fastest to Slowest Spoilers,” right). And if you still find yourself with a bushel of ripe produce—and a business trip around the bend—improvise. Make a fruit pie, a potful of soup or a great big vat of tomato sauce, and throw it in the freezer. You’ll relish your foresight when you get home.
Gas Wars
If you notice that your produce always seems to rot just a few days after you buy it, you might be storing incompatible fruits and veggies together. Those that give off high levels of ethylene gas—a ripening agent—will speed the decay of ethylene-sensitive foods. Keep the two separate.
Use trapped ethylene to your advantage: To speed ripen a peach, put it in a closed paper bag with a ripe banana. One bad apple really can spoil the whole bunch. Mold proliferates rapidly and contaminates everything nearby, so toss any spoiled produce immediately.
For longer life, keep your produce whole—don’t even rip the stem out of an apple until you eat it. “As soon as you start pulling fruits and vegetables apart,” says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University, “you’ve broken cells, and microorganisms start to grow.” Cold-sensitive fruits and veggies lose fl avor and moisture at low temperatures. Store them on the counter, not in the fridge. Once they’re fully ripe, you can refrigerate them to help them last, but for best fl avor, return them to room temp.
Never refrigerate potatoes, onions, winter squash or garlic. Keep them in a cool, dark, dry cabinet, and they can last up to a month or more. But separate them so their flavors and smells don’t migrate.
REFRIGERATE THESE GAS RELEASERS
Apples, Apricots, Cantaloupe, Figs, Honeydew
DON’T REFRIGERATE THESE GAS RELEASERS
Avocados, Bananas (unripe), Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Tomatoes
KEEP THESE AWAY FROM ALL GAS RELEASERS
Bananas (ripe), Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Caulifl ower, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Lettuce and other leafy greens, Parsley, Peas, Peppers, Squash, Sweet potatoes, Watermelon
Fastest to Slowest Spoilers: What to Eat First
With proper storage and a little planning, you can enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables with just a single weekly trip to the supermarket. The key is eating the more perishable produce early on. Use this guide—created with the help of Marita Cantwell, PhD, postharvest specialist at the University of California, Davis—based on a Sunday shopping trip. The timing suggestions are for ready-to-eat produce, so allow extra days for ripening if you’re buying, say, green bananas or not-quite-ripe pears. And remember, looks count. Appearance—vivid green spinach; smooth, unbruised peaches; plump oranges—is the best clue to whether fruits and veggies are fresh to begin with.
EAT FIRST: SUNDAY TO TUESDAY
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Basil
Broccoli
Cherries
Corn
Dill
Green beans
Mushrooms
Mustard greens
Strawberries
Watercress
EAT NEXT: WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY
Arugula
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Grapes
Lettuce
Lime
Mesclun
Pineapple
Zucchini
EAT LAST: WEEKEND
Apricots
Bell peppers
Blueberries
Brussels sprouts
Cauliflower
Grapefruit
Leeks
Lemons
Mint
Oranges
Oregano
Parsley
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Spinach
Tomatoes
Watermelon
AND BEYOND
Apples
Beets
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes
Winter squash
Tulsi (Holy) Basil
We are growing a lot of Tulsi Basil on the farm this season, so I've been harvesting it and drying it out to make tea. Tulsi (also referred to as Holy, or Sacred) Basil, is a variety of basil that is said to have many cleansing and medicinal properties. You do not cook with this type of Basil, it is most often eaten raw or brewed into tea. Here's one list of it's proposed benefits:
15 Benefits of the Holy Basil (Tulsi)
The tulsi or holy basil is an important symbol in the Hindu religious tradition and is worshipped in the morning and evening by Hindus at large. The holy basil is also a herbal remedy for a lot of common ailments. Here're top fifteen medicinal uses of tulsi.
1. Healing Power: The tulsi plant has many medicinal properties. The leaves are a nerve tonic and also sharpen memory. They promote the removal of the catarrhal matter and phlegm from the bronchial tube. The leaves strengthen the stomach and induce copious perspiration. The seed of the plant are mucilaginous.
2. Fever & Common Cold: The leaves of basil are specific for many fevers. During the rainy season, when malaria and dengue fever are widely prevalent, tender leaves, boiled with tea, act as preventive against theses diseases. In case of acute fevers, a decoction of the leaves boiled with powdered cardamom in half a liter of water and mixed with sugar and milk brings down the temperature. The juice of tulsi leaves can be used to bring down fever. Extract of tulsi leaves in fresh water should be given every 2 to 3 hours. In between one can keep giving sips of cold water. In children, it is every effective in bringing down the temperature.
3. Coughs: Tulsi is an important constituent of many Ayurvedic cough syrups and expectorants. It helps to mobilize mucus in bronchitis and asthma. Chewing tulsi leaves relieves cold and flu.
4. Sore Throat: Water boiled with basil leaves can be taken as drink in case of sore throat. This water can also be used as a gargle.
5. Respiratory Disorder: The herb is useful in the treatment of respiratory system disorder. A decoction of the leaves, with honey and ginger is an effective remedy for bronchitis, asthma, influenza, cough and cold. A decoction of the leaves, cloves and common salt also gives immediate relief in case of influenza. They should be boiled in half a liter of water till only half the water is left and add then taken.
6. Kidney Stone: Basil has strengthening effect on the kidney. In case of renal stone the juice of basil leaves and honey, if taken regularly for 6 months it will expel them via the urinary tract.
7. Heart Disorder: Basil has a beneficial effect in cardiac disease and the weakness resulting from them. It reduces the level of blood cholesterol.
8. Children's Ailments: Common pediatric problems like cough cold, fever, diarrhea and vomiting respond favorably to the juice of basil leaves. If pustules of chicken pox delay their appearance, basil leaves taken with saffron will hasten them.
9. Stress: Basil leaves are regarded as an 'adaptogen' or anti-stress agent. Recent studies have shown that the leaves afford significant protection against stress. Even healthy persons can chew 12 leaves of basil, twice a day, to prevent stress. It purifies blood and helps prevent several common elements.
10. Mouth Infections: The leaves are quit effective for the ulcer and infections in the mouth. A few leaves chewed will cure these conditions.
11. Insect Bites: The herb is a prophylactic or preventive and curative for insect stings or bites. A teaspoonful of the juice of the leaves is taken and is repeated after a few hours. Fresh juice must also be applied to the affected parts. A paste of fresh roots is also effective in case of bites of insects and leeches.
12. Skin Disorders: Applied locally, basil juice is beneficial in the treatment of ringworm and other skin diseases. It has also been tried successfully by some naturopaths in the treatment of leucoderma.
13. Teeth Disorder: The herb is useful in teeth disorders. Its leaves, dried in the sun and powdered, can be used for brushing teeth. It can also be mixed with mustered oil to make a paste and used as toothpaste. This is very good for maintaining dental health, counteracting bad breath and for massaging the gums. It is also useful in pyorrhea and other teeth disorders.
14. Headaches: Basil makes a good medicine for headache. A decoction of the leaves can be given for this disorder. Pounded leaves mixed with sandalwood paste can also be applied on the forehead for getting relief from heat, headache, and for providing coolness in general.
15. Eye Disorders: Basil juice is an effective remedy for sore eyes and night-blindness, which is generally caused by deficiency of vitamin A. Two drops of black basil juice are put into the eyes daily at bedtime.
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