It's still not Spring here in Philadelphia. In fact, it's currently about 50 and rainy, but I've been pretending that Spring is here by planning my imaginary herb garden. Yes, my herb garden is sadly imaginary since I'm moving this year, but as a result, it's actually much greener, fragrant and exciting than any live herb garden I've ever grown for real (my thumb is not the greenest one out there). I mean, I love rosemary and mint as much as the next person, but I'm ready for a little more excitement! Here's what I'm thinking:
Chocolate Mint - I tasted this for the first time recently at a Farmer's Market, and it was delicious. The chocolate taste is slight, but definitely there, and I'll definitely be using it for imaginary iced tea, or even in cupcakes and baked goods.
Lemon Thyme - How easy it will be to make a roast chicken or even lemon-thyme frosting with these two ingredients already combined into one! Just kidding -- you apparently can't really count on it for a full lemon flavor, but it still works great for roasting anything, and for great fish and meat dishes as well.
Cuban Basil - The belle of my garden. After seeing/smelling how delightful these leaves are, I couldn't resist buying some for my mom for mother's day. Not so much into it? Check out this long list of interesting basil varieties here.
Lavender - Maybe this would be in my grandmother's garden too, but I just love the scent so much that it's going in my imaginary one as well.
Looking for more exciting herbs like juniper or fenugreek? Check out this list and these hints and tips. And if anyone has suggestions for additions to my imaginary garden, please share! It's imaginary, so no there are no limits!
Whenever I use the word "recalled" in these posts, I always think that it sounds like people are remembering the food and not that it has been recalled for health reasons. "Basil? Yeah, I remember basil, what about it?" Or maybe someone is thinking about Basil Rathbone.
Sorry, I'm a bit loopy today.
5500 pounds of basil grown in Mexico has been recalled for salmonella fears. Top Line Specialty Produce imported the basil and distributed it to stores and restaurants in Texas, Illinois, and Southern California. The brand is Green Paradise, and the recall affects one pound boxes (sold in sets of 12) with the lot # 1219.
I stumbled across a fantastic food tip recently while surfing the food blogosphere. Marc over at Mental Masala (the very same Marc who was responsible for the solar cooker I posted about a couple of weeks ago) offers a terrific way to keep fresh basil perky and lush for weeks (if you happen not to use it up before that). When you bring it home from the grocery store/farmers market/backyard, clip the ends off and stand the basil stems in a glass/yogurt container/old jelly jar that has a few inches of water at the bottom. Then take a plastic bag and cut some holes into it. If you have a plastic bag that was precut, all the better. Then put the bag over the glass full of basil and place it someplace that gets light but is not in direct sunlight.
I've been astounded how well this works. I've never been able to keep basil fresh more than a few days and the basil you see in the picture above has been going strong for over 10 days. I used it last night and there was no absence of flavor. The secret is the plastic bag, because I've certainly tried to keep basil sitting in a container of water for a few days, but within a few hours it is limp and sad. Thanks for the tip, Marc!
Despite the fact that is summer, and the temperatures are going to climb back into the 90's by the middle of the week (at least here in Philadelphia), I have soup on the brain. Since I'm also obsessed with the summer crop of Jersey tomatoes that are rolling into the stores and farmers' markets around here, I thought I would share my very favorite Roasted Tomato Basil soup recipe.
Sadly, I have absolutely no claim on this one, it belongs to the Barefoot Contessa. I tend to have difficulties with many of her recipes (I can't handle the idea of putting a large pat of butter on the inside of a hamburger patty), but this one is foolproof and bowl-lickingly good.
Until 3:30 pm yesterday, I had had a colander of yellow string beans sitting on my counter since Tuesday evening. Every time I walked into the kitchen, I'd look at them and send them a little unspoken promise that soon I'd turn them into something wonderful. Yesterday afternoon, I decided that they'd been patient long enough. I fired up a pot of water and gave them a quick blanch. I ran them under cool water to stop the cooking and returned them to their colander home, but this time only long enough to run to my local Trader Joe's in order to pick up a few things for the salad I was imagining.
At TJ's, I grabbed a container of perlini (the tiny ones) mozzarella balls, some fresh basil and a couple of ears of corn. I brought it all home, pulled out a few ingredients I already had, did a little chopping and threw everything together. When it was all done, it tasted like I had captured summer.
Last night, a friend introduced me to a fun appetizer idea that makes a terrific edible centerpiece. When I pushed for the inspiration, she admitted that it was a concept borrowed from another friend, who always serves it at parties. It is simply white and green tortellini (the secret is to only cook it for half the time the package directs, or it will be too soft to stay on the skewer), a grape tomato and a small ball of fresh mozzarella wrapped in a basil leaf.
As you can see from the picture, she arranged them in a vase, so that they look almost like a flower arrangement. It made the table gorgeous and they were absolutely delicious to boot.
Trader Joe's sells some pretty good premade hummus blends in their refrigerated section. I am a particular fan of both the spicy hummus and the tomato and basil hummus, but since so many popular dips are of the spicy variety, I decided to recreate the tomato and basil here as part of our Super Bowl dip-a-day feature.
Since I am a firm believer that dips should be simple - especially if they're for a large party - I went with canned tomatoes. I used Muir Glen and if you use that brand as well, you have a couple of options. The recipe below calls for the plain whole peeled tomatoes (easy to find in other brands, as well), but if you prefer, you can opt to buy their Tomatoes with Basil and eliminate the need to buy fresh basil to add to the dip, streamlining the recipe a bit. The choice is yours, but it's easy and tastes quite addictive either way.
I was watching Ham on the Street a few nights ago (great show - I had never watched it before but it's quite entertaining), and the episode focused on pizza. He visited pizza shops, had a taste test to see if people on the street liked his toppings of carmelized onions and gorgonzola more than pepperoni, and made some pizza on pita bread that I have to try.
But the recipe on the show that I need to try right now is the Pepperoni Pizza Soup. What a great concept, pizza, but in a bowl! At first I thought it would be just some odd approximation of pizza, but this recipe actually sounds doable:
Despite the fact that the trend of combining chocolate and unusual herbs/spices shows no real signs of slowing, I am not a fan of most of such combinations. You won't see me buying curry truffles or garlic fudge any time soon. With the exception of mint, and possibly a few others that have been around long enough to be considered "normal," I prefer to keep the flavors in separate foods. Not everyone shares this point of view, though. Brilynn from Jumbo Empandas, for example, is a bit more willing to experiment with unusual combinations, as evidenced by her Basil Brownies. She used a tried-and-truerecipe as her base and incorporated some dried basil into half of the batter. The verdict? "Very basilly." You might have to try them for yourself if you really want to get the full effect.
Of course, this is nothing compared to bacon brownies, which actually have bits of bacon crumbled into them, which call for someone with just a touch more daring than basil brownies do.
Halloumi is a cheese that was originally developed in Cyprus using a combination of goat and sheep milks, though it is sometimes made with cow's milk commercially. It has a texture that is not entirely unlike mozzarella and is popular with fresh fruits, especially watermelon. The remarkable thing about the cheese is that it has a much higher melting point than most cheeses and is often fried or grilled before serving. Barrett, of Too Many Chefs, put this trait to good use and made some Fried Halloumi with Basil. Traditionally, the cheese is garnished with mint, but the basil gives it a slightly more savory feel and is probably a better choice when introducing the cheese to tasters that are unfamiliar with it, since it adds a bit of familiarity to the product.
Here's a bit of food trivia: The word "pomodoro" translates to "golden apple," reflecting that the first tomatoes were yellow, not red. It has been some time since anyone expected Pasta Pomodoro to be made with golden, not red tomatoes, and as Nosheteria proves with her beautiful rendition of the dish, red tomatoes make more of an impact when serving, anyway.
Her pasta pomodoro delivers perfectly cooked spaghetti topped with fresh basil, freshly shaved parmesan cheese and a "double whammy in the tomato department," with both raw, chopped tomatoes and slow roasted cherry tomatoes. The dish is colorful, uncomplicated and uses such a fantastic combination of flavors that it is guaranteed to be a showstopper, despite its simplicity.
On the way to the beach, restaurant critic Nancy Leson makes a pit stop at Ranch House BBQ, notes that Bambino's East Coast Pizzeria will be another addition to the Seattle-as-pizzatown sweepstakes, and praises the fancy cocktails at Stix Billiards & Brewhouse.
However, if you're looking for authentic pesto, the kind made from basil grown under the Genoa sun, then you're facing increased prices or even shortages of the stuff. The area of northern Italy was destroyed by unseasonable hailstorms, leaving 35 producers affected and about $6.5 million of damages in its wake. I guess you'd expect that from hailstones "the size of tennis balls."
Since tomatoes seem to ripen all at the same time, those who grow their own in summer often struggle with ways to use them up quickly. Sauces and salads are very nice, as are fresh tomatoes when eaten out of hand, but a simple open-faced tomato sandwich, as Dawna from Always in the Kitchen made, might be an even better application. Her sandwich starts with a piece of toasted, crusty bread (sourdough might work very well here) and is topped with slices of red onion, tomato, mozzarella cheese and a few sprigs of fresh basil. She also added a generous amount of salt and pepper. Simple though it seems, a sandwich like this one is guaranteed to be one fantastic lunch.
Bartenders don't usually use a whole range of vegetables in their mixing unless they are particularly fond of bloody marys and celery garnishes. More and more often, however, fresh herbs are cropping up in cocktails. The Seattle Times had an interesting look inside a bartender's herb garden this weekend. Herbs can generally be grown indoors and require only a small amount of care relative to maintaining a whole garden. The taste of a fresh herb is unmatched and, if you're going to be using them frequently, they are nice to have at hand without a trip to the store. Their suggested list of herbs and cocktails, which is practical for pros and weekend mixologists alike, includes:
Spearmint, for classic mojitos and anything that needs a refreshing touch.
Sage, works well with tequila and "will raise your margarita to the next level."
They also recommend cilantro and tarragon, but for me, mint or basil is a better choice for an addition to summer lemonade than cilantro, which the Times suggests. Basil, thyme, rosemary and sage can all be used in cooking, too, though I don't necessarily endorse adding spearmint to, say, a grilled chicken dish. And a word to the novice gardeners: basil grows quickly and aggressively. Fortunately, you can make a killer pesto with the leftovers.
Soups and stocks are some of the easiest and tastiest ways to get into the world of cooking, but there are still tips that can make the experience even easier.
Whenever I use the word "recalled" in these posts, I always think that it sounds like people are remembering the food and not that it has been recalled for health reasons. "Basil? Yeah, I remember basil, what about it?" Or maybe someone is thinking about Basil Rathbone.
Last night, a friend introduced me to a fun appetizer idea that makes a terrific edible centerpiece. When I pushed for the inspiration, she admitted that it was a concept borrowed from another friend, who always serves it at parties. It is simply white and green tortellini (the secret is to only cook it for half the time the package directs, or it will be too soft to stay on the skewer), a grape tomato and a small ball of fresh mozzarella wrapped in a basil leaf. 
I was watching Ham on the Street a few nights ago (great show - I had never watched it before but it's quite entertaining), and the episode focused on pizza. He visited pizza shops, had a taste test to see if people on the street liked his toppings of carmelized onions and gorgonzola more than pepperoni, and made some pizza on pita bread that I have to try.
Don't worry, you can still get fresh basil here in the US and 
Bartenders don't usually use a whole range of vegetables in their mixing unless they are particularly fond of bloody marys and celery garnishes. More and more often, however, fresh herbs are cropping up in cocktails. The 
Cheese Course: Brebis Pardou
A transcendent summer tomato salad
Sliced bread turns 80 today
