Organic sweet basil anyone?

[Sysgoddess]

I've got some organic sweet basil and quite a bit of rosemary if anyone might like a bit. I always tend to overplant the basil simply because I love the stuff but we have enough to share with one or two folks if nobody gets greedy. As to the rosemary.... there's plenty of that to share with several people if you'd like to take some to dry or use fresh.

Drop me a note if you're interested.

Also, does anyone have any killer basil recipes they'd like to share?

[Wilson]

I make tons of pesto!
I think of you everytime I use my gate to the backyard :). You gave me tons of ginger a few years ago and it's loved where we put it!

[Sysgoddess]

I remember and wondered how it did for you. :)

So you want some basil?

[natvtxn]

Welcome over here, SG!

[Sysgoddess]

Check your inbox, natvtxn!

[FamilyGal]

I would love it if I just knew what to use it on. I do the same with Cilantro (growing too much) because I love it as well. Last year we had a rockin' garden full of tomatoes and peppers. We used it all for salsa. This year we just didn't have the time. Dh was just saying today that he is going to start preparing the garden for the fall.

Sys, are you eating more organic because of your health? Or did you already grow everything organic? I ask because I have been told that going organic would help my symptoms as well.

[FamilyGal]

What do you use the pesto with? Bread? Pasta? What is your recipe for pesto Wilson?

[Sysgoddess]

I use the basil in pesto, bruschetta, home made pizzas, add it to canned pasta sauces, etc.

I already gardened organically before I became ill simply because I don't feel it necessary to inundate everything with toxic chemicals. The bloody voracious bugs eating all of our greens, carrots, radishes and now the italian beans might make me reconsider.... it's just that with all the darn rain we've had even insecticidal soap spray just doesn't stay on long enough to do any good so we've got no salad greens, radishes or carrots now. :(

I do tend to buy more organic foods than I did before, simply because it's more accessible than before with a wider variety without necessitating a monthly trip down into deep Houston to Whole Foods. And I'm dying just waiting for Wild Oats to open up over near me!

[FamilyGal]

When I used natural pesticides on our garden, the ingredient that would make it "stick" more was Murphy's Oil Soap. If you would like my recipe, I can look it up and post it.

[Wilson]

And I'm dying just waiting for Wild Oats to open up over near me!

You're not the only one!! It can't happen soon enough. Can you see any progress? I haven't been down that way in a while.

[FamilyGal]

What is Wild Oats?

[Wilson]

Organic grocery. This one is supposed to be more like one of their smaller divisions, Sun Harvest:
http://www.wildoats.com/u/home/
http://www.wildoats.com/app/sunharvest/stores.php

I think it's a start. I'd love to see a Trader Joe's open here, but I'll certainly settle for this. For now.

[Sysgoddess]

What is Wild Oats?

What Wilson said! It's an organic grocery chain now owned by Whole Foods. I would have preferred Whole Foods since I'm more familiar with them but I'll take what I can get and it sure beats having to drive down to the Galleria area once a month or so to stock up on Ecover dishwashing detergent and the like.

[FamilyGal]

Ecover dishwashing detergent and the like.


I've been ordering my cleaners through Shaklee and have considered ordering their laundry and dish detergent as well. But, we go through 2-3 loads of dishes per day and 2 loads of laundry per day. It would get expensive for us to buy the other brands.

[schnauzermom]

I'd love for someone to share their pesto recipe. I planted basil and it is growing like crazy! I went to put a bunch in the blender the other day with some olive oil and didn't realize that the plastic lid was inside the blender and I ended up with bits of plastic in my basil so I had to throw it all out. I still have lots left though, I was thinking just basil, garlic and olive oil?

Any suggestions would be great!

[Wilson]

I use basil (lots), oil (maybe 1/3C?), parmesan (about 1/4C), pine nuts (small handful), & garlic (3-4 cloves, but I like garlic). Sorry, but I seriously guess the amounts. I just fill up the processor!

Oh, but my fabulous tip of the day is that I make insane amount of pesto all at once, then I freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, I dump them all into freezer-gallon-ziplock-baggies and put them back in the freezer. This way, I have pesto all year long and I can just take out cube-fulls as I need them.

[eaglesprings]

I've got an "okra and tomatoes" recipe I love that calls for basil, but I normally don't have any, so have just substituted Italian seasonings, perhaps a little rosemary (dried). Well, the little produce stand over on Sawdust (by James Coney Island) had some fresh basil the other day, so I picked up a pack. (I don't think it was organic). Oh, my goodness! I've always liked this okra and tomatoes recipe with my substitutions, but that fresh basil made all of the difference in the world!

Next year, I'm determined to plant an herb garden!

[Sysgoddess]

When I used natural pesticides on our garden, the ingredient that would make it "stick" more was Murphy's Oil Soap. If you would like my recipe, I can look it up and post it.

That would be great. I've got some organic stuff that I'm using now along with some capsaicin spray for the tomatoes & eggplants but the little (*^$ have eaten every one of our greens and now our italian beans all the way to the ground despite the insecticidal oil. :(

[Sysgoddess]

You're not the only one!! It can't happen soon enough. Can you see any progress? I haven't been down that way in a while.

Yes but it's been slow going because of all the darn rain. I wonder how far behind schedule they are as a result?

[Sysgoddess]

I use basil (lots), oil (maybe 1/3C?), parmesan (about 1/4C), pine nuts (small handful), & garlic (3-4 cloves, but I like garlic). Sorry, but I seriously guess the amounts. I just fill up the processor!

Oh, but my fabulous tip of the day is that I make insane amount of pesto all at once, then I freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, I dump them all into freezer-gallon-ziplock-baggies and put them back in the freezer. This way, I have pesto all year long and I can just take out cube-fulls as I need them.

Sounds like my recipe although I use extra virgin olive oil, sometimes I use a little asiago, romano or formaggio (sp?) cheese depending upon what we have and what kind of mood I'm in. Most of my cooking is like yours, I tend to take a freehand - some might say garbage can - approach to it.

We're definite garlic lovers, there's no such thing as too much garlic around our house and we buy the peeled garlic cloves in a huge 2lb container at Sam's to last us for a bit. :cool:

[Sysgoddess]

What do you use the pesto with? Bread? Pasta? What is your recipe for pesto Wilson?

Use it with dry crusty bread to make bruschetta, use it instead of marinara sauce on pasta or pizza (I don't do the pizza thing, seems weird to me somehow).

[cgwoolf]

I never knew you put cheese in Pesto. No wonder mine never tasted right. What is brushchetta? Does your basil get little flowers on it everyday? I go out almost every morning and cut them off. My herb garden is surviving but not doing as well as usual due to all the rain. I have herbs in whiskey barrel on patio and it really got water logged. It's real green now though and coming back nicely. But I think only the basil and maybe the oregano has survived.

Geo, be careful about that already peeled garlic at Sam's - assume you get the big jar with the garlic in oil? That stuff goes rancid - even in fridge. Not sure how long you are supposed to keep it but it did not last as long as I thought.

[Sysgoddess]

eaglesprings, just a warning... basil seems to be addictive and I swear it doesn't take nearly as many of the plants as we think it does. LOL

[Sysgoddess]

I never knew you put cheese in Pesto. No wonder mine never tasted right. What is brushchetta? Does your basil get little flowers on it everyday? I go out almost every morning and cut them off. My herb garden is surviving but not doing as well as usual due to all the rain. I have herbs in whiskey barrel on patio and it really got water logged. It's real green now though and coming back nicely. But I think only the basil and maybe the oregano has survived.

Geo, be careful about that already peeled garlic at Sam's - assume you get the big jar with the garlic in oil? That stuff goes rancid - even in fridge. Not sure how long you are supposed to keep it but it did not last as long as I thought.

Bruschetta is basically a little antipasto, appetizer or canape depending on whatever term you prefer or the context, usually consisting of small slices of crusty toasted bread with a bit of marinara or pesto sauce topped with olives, cheeses or whatever suits your fancy. If you look on the menu at places like Carrabba's you'll find it and it's wonderful to eat and experiment with.

Our basil usually doesn't flower that frequently since I top our plants to make them bushier and to harvest it. It's planted in a small metal planter on our patio near the door and we hand water it. Basil, oregano, rosemary and the like are natives of the mediterranean and generally like a lean well-drained soil. Our basil droops a bit about the time the dirt cracks from lack of water.

P.S. Our garlic isn't packed in oil, it's refrigerated and keeps for months in the refrigerator. There seems to be very little we don't put it into although I do draw the line at breakfast foods and ice cream.

[Wilson]

Yesterday I made some Mozzarella Caprese, but used the pesto instead of just basil... it was to die for. I could smear pesto on just about anything... it's the same way I feel about Nutella. It's a spreadable version of Heaven. Now I'm thinking about those little Belgian creme puffs in the frozen section. A piece of Heaven just frozen up and edible. Is it lunchtime yet?

[FamilyGal]

I was thinking just basil, garlic and olive oil?

I think that is all my daughter used when she made it. She made dinner for us the other night and just mixed pesto in with some cheese filled tortellini. It was such a simple dinner and very good. She used fresh basil and it was YUMMY.

Oh yea, she used pine nuts too.

[FamilyGal]

Oh, but my fabulous tip of the day is that I make insane amount of pesto all at once, then I freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, I dump them all into freezer-gallon-ziplock-baggies and put them back in the freezer. This way, I have pesto all year long and I can just take out cube-fulls as I need them.

That's a great idea. I will tell my daughter that because they eat a lot of it. As for the garlic, you can never have too much garlic in my opinion.l


Okay, I am headed to lunch at Rico's! You guys have me HUNGRY now. ;)

[schnauzermom]

OOHHH thanks for all the ideas! I thought you could freeze it. I'm going to give it a try. I'm heading out to HEB for pine nuts and shrimp. I love pesto with pasta and shrimp.