Ready to Use Herb Transplants

There here is nothing better than fresh herbs for your cooking. They have the kick of flavor the way you remember herbs should taste. Often you find herb starts at the local green house are very modest in size and you resign yourself to several months of growing time before can use them.

We have found that people really like our larger herbs that you can take home and use immediately.

10 Ways to Use Fresh Basil

There is nothing better than fresh basil. Even non-Mediterranean Minnesotans are highly attracted to this very healthy food. We sell basil during the main growing season for the same price as lettuce. What a great deal. Like many things that are good for us we love the taste of basil. Here are 10 ways to use basil:

1. Pesto, one of the most popular. See our post on how to make your own fresh pesto.
2. Layer a few leaves on your hamburger as you grill or serve. Also looks great.
3. Pizza sauce. chop finely and add 1/2 cup to your favorite sauce. Also is good with a white sauce.
4. Pasta sauce. Add 1 cup finely chopped to your favorite sauce.

What is the Optimum Amount of Sunlight for Vegetables in Pots

The amount of day light available to your potted vegetables will determine the growth rate. What is the ideal amount?

Plants That Do Well Together in Pots

There are a number of combinations of garden plants that do well together in pots. Here are 10 combinations:

1. Sunflower, squash and peas. Similar to the three sisters that were planted by the native Americas when the Europeans first settled in America.
2. Two peppers do well in pots. They also do well planted together in the garden.
3. Combinations of herbs, such as Basil, Rosemary and Thyme.
4. Edible flowers such as pansies work well with shorter herbs.

The Best Value in Basil Plants

Early in the season we typically grow basil by scattering a pinch of basil seed in the middle of a three inch pot and when they are two or three inches tall we transfer them to a five inch pot and bring them to market. For a couple of weeks we have these multiple plant pots and then we switch over to mostly single plants five inch pots that are 4-5inches tall. So what is the best value in basil plants?

Minnesota Cooks: Petersen's at the Minnesota State Fair Sunday, August 24, 2013

The Petersen's will be a featured farm for the Minnesota Cooks event at the Minnesota State Fair on Sunday, August 24, 2013. If you are at the State Fair today we'd love to have you join us at 12:00 at Carousel Park.

Our farm, Greenleaf Gardens, is paired with Rainbow Cafe in Pine Island, Minnesota for the event. Rainbow Cafe uses lots of fresh ingredients from local farms, one of which is ours. There was a brief article in the Post Bulletin this week in the State Fair Section on Friday.

Jennifer Richards and Jeremy Olson own the Rainbow Cafe will be serving samples with our Heirloom Tomatoes, Sweet Onions, Arugula and Basil. Jennifer baked the rolls she will be using. There will be samples from various restaurants across the Minnesota from 10:00 - 4:30. Our presentation is from 12:00 to 1:00. There will also be an information table for the various farms.

The Minnesota Cooks organization chooses 12 farm and restaurant pairs from across the Minnesota. They are published in a beautiful calendar each year. You can get a calendar if you visit the event or we will have some at our Rochester Farmers Market booth as long as they last.

See you at the Minnesota State Fair.

Basil One of The Worlds Healthiest Foods

Often associated with Italian or Greek cooking, basil is actually one of the most healthy of herbs. From DNA protection to anti-bacterial properties basil is amazingly versatile and health promoting.

In many plants there are active nutrients called flavonoids that protect us at the cellular level. In studies on human with blood cells; these flavonoids in basil protect cell strutures and even chromosomes from radiation and oxidation.

Basil can also protect against bacterial growth, through its volatile oils. Lab studies show that basil can restrict the growth of numerous bacteria. Essential oil of basil, can inhibit several species of pathogenic bacteria that are resistance to some of the more commonly used antibiotics.

Basil oils can also block the COX enzyme just like many over the counter anti-inflammatory medications. This anti-inflammatory food can provide relief for people suffering from inflammatory health problems like arthritis.

Basil and its oils can inhibit free radical damage and is a good source of magnesium which promotes cardiovascular health by prompting muscles and blood vessels to relax.

Basil is also a good source of iron, calcium, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin K.


Reference: Worlds Healthiest Foods, whfoods.org.

Summer Greens Are Amazing

For the freshest, just out of the garden flavor, visit our farmers market stand for some amazing greens. We are at the market right now getting set-up (I wrote and scheduled this post at 4:00 this morning.) I think the cooler weather over the last few weeks has contributed to the exceptional flavor. We have:

1. Baby spinach is back after taking a break for a few weeks.
2. Spring mix with gorgeous baby kale, 4 varieties of lettuce, baby beet greens and a touch of sweet ruby
3. Red Russian Kale micro greens, very small
4. Baby Kale
5. Arugula, Arugula, Arugula zesty and fresh
6. Sweet Ruby
7. Cress
8. Dandelion Greens

Don't miss the fresh basil and cilantro. 

We picked 20 pounds of beautiful basil yesterday evening. Stand half way between the onions and the basil for the Italian experience.

Baby Patty Pan, Zucchini and Kale White Sauce

I made a delightful white sauce with very small Patty Pan and Zucchini squash, Baby Kale and Sweet Onions last weekend. We will have all of these at our market stand this week. I used Ricotta cheese as the base for the sauce. You can get hand made pasta at the Farmer's Market, or use any pasta you wish. I used bow tie pasta as I had that on hand.

It was very good, give it a whirl.

Ingredients:

1 box of patty pan squash (Petersen's)
1 box of baby zucchini squash, tips and stems remove and sliced into bite sized pieces (Petersen's)
Large bag of baby kale (Petersen's)
Large Sweet Onion, diced (Petersen's)
8 oz of Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
1 cups of low fat milk
white pepper to taste
salt to taste
pinch of cayenne or chipotle pepper
1 clove of garlic, minced (Petersen's)
1 tsp of arrow root starch or corn starch dissolved in a small amount of cold water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound pasta of your choice (bow tie, spiral, penne)

Directions:

Prepare pasta of choice and drain while finishing sauce (most pastas take 8-10 minutes to cook)

Saute onion with olive oil and garlic. When on)ion is starting to soften add patty pan and zucchini. Cook about 2 minutes (don't over cook squash). Stir in Ricotta cheese and milk, salt, pepper and cayenne. Warm up to where it just starts to bubble, add arrow root starch to thicken. Bring back to a simmer and add kale. Wilt kale and gentle stir into the sauce. Serve over pasta.

Kick It Up:

Serve Over Potatoes (Petersen's)
Serve Over Saffron Rice
Serve Over Seafood like scallops or shrimp
Add a little more cayenne.
Add some fresh Rosemary (Petersen's)
Add some fresh Basil instead of Kale, price is the same at our stall (Petersen's)
Add some fresh Thyme (Petersen's)
Add more garlic or several shallots. (Petersen's)

Basil Pesto Recipe

When I wrote the post you can make pesto from about anything talked about the ingredients in Pesto but not the exact proportions. So here is a full recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
2 cloves garlic (1 clove if you don't like strong garlic or if they are very large)
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts (you can toast or use raw)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

Process basil, garlic and nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add oil slowly and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in cheese if using immediately. If freezing leave the cheese out.

Toasted Walnut Kale Pesto

Kale and toasted walnut pesto follows the theme that you can make pesto from about anything. We have some excellent baby Kale that makes a great pesto. Toasting the walnuts adds a nice additional flavor.

Recipe for Delicious French Filet Bean Sauce

I developed a very tastey sauce for french filet beans. I used basil, rosemary, garlic and sweet onions.

Prepare the beans for sauteing by removing the stem and tip. You can chop the beans into smaller pieces or leave them half size.

Dice 1 cup of basil, a table spoon of fresh rosemary, two cloves of garlic and a small sweet onion. Cook in olive oil or coconut oil. Mix all ingredients and saute with green beans.

Serve warm or if you don't finish it is also good cold or warmed up.

How to Make Pesto from Just About Anything

Basil is the Pesto King, How to Make Pesto from Just About Anything

The basic Pesto recipe is to add Basil to garlic, pine nuts (or walnuts) and olive oil. You typically also add Parmesan cheese, but I often omit this if I am going to store the pesto long term. As the cheese would be the first thing to spoil and the other ingredients will keep for a year in the freezer.

We have also made pestos from the following (most of which we have at the farmers market weekly):

1. Basil
2. Sun Dried Tomatoes
3. Arugula - a very bright green pesto that is great for bruschetta
4. Cilantro
5. Cilantro and Pepita's
6. Dandelion Greens - that is a sharp flavor
7. Curly Cress - medium sharp
8. Holy Basil, Cinnamon Basil - subtle differences in flavor
9. Sun Dried Tomatoes and Chipotle - spicy
10. Oregano & Thyme - leaves only, very strong, but great for Italian dishes

How to Plant Jenna's Herbs

How to plant herbs is not a one size fits all so let me break it down into families of similar plant types.

Basil and Mint

Believe it or not these are close cousins. They can be started from root cuttings and are very easy to grow from our large from our large transplants. Typically plant at the level that they were in the pots, though they will tolerate being planted a little deeper. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Thyme - English, Lemon, Silver, Winter

Easy to grow and should be planted at the same level as grown. Will tolerate a little deeper and will root from any stem that touches the ground. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Cilantro

Transplant to the garden at the same height and clip regularly. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Parsley - Curly, Triple Curled, Italian Flat Leaf

Can be left in the pots they were grown in or transplanted to the garden. Do not plant deeper than they were in the pot. They will not root from the stem. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Rosemary

The woody stem will root if buried a little deeper than grown. Let the plants get about 12 inches tall and then pinch the growing tip. The side shoots will then start to grow and you can harvest them readily. Grows great in pots or in the garden. Is not perennial in Minnesota.

Dill

Plant in the garden for maximum harvest. The plants will get quite tall and become root bound quickly in pots. If you do leave them in pots, water daily. Plant several times for continuous harvest.

Fennel

Separate plants when small and plant in the garden at the level it was grown at in the pots. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. 

Hyssop

Plant at the level the plant was grown at. A nice herb and beautiful flower later in the season. The bees love this Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.. 

Curry

Plant at the level the plant was grown at. Great aroma and flavor. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

Cumin

Plant at the level the plant was grown at. Nice spice and great flavor. Fertilize with fish emulsion or other organic fertilizer. If you are potting to a larger pot use our organic potting mix or mix in some worm castings to your favorite mix.

How to Grow Basil - Our Featured Herb of the Week

How to Grow Basil, our featured herb of the week.

Let's talk Basil. Now that the Minnesota weather has warmed a bit the basil will start to thrive in the garden. It is not at all late to plant basil, I won't plant our crop in the field for a week or so yet. Usually after fathers day when the soil is toasty warm and the weather starts to stabilize. Those super long June days around the summer solstice are just what the doctor ordered for Basil. Basil is in the mint family, but unlike mint, it hates cold. If the temperatures even hint at 40°F, cover your basil or you may have cold damage.

We are also still planting basil in flats for late spring and early summer needs. We sell it all summer at our market stand.

When planting in the garden or field, you can plant the transplant a little below the surface where the plant was growing. Add a handful of organic fertilizer to the hole and mix in well with the soil or compost. Fish emulsion works well as a starter fertilizer, but be careful you don't get any on the leaves you were planning to harvest.

If you are getting transplants from us, they are very well hardened off and have typically been out in the sun, wind and rain for several weeks. If you buy a plant from the local garden center or green house protect it from wind and direct sun for a couple of days.

We try to have our plants at the size where you can start harvesting right away when you get home. Let the plants size up a bit before harvesting too much. This establishes the frame or scaffold of the plant. When you pinch off the tip of the growing plant the stems will branch and branch and branch until they are very full and productive. If you see a blossom starting pinch it off. If the plant blooms it thinks it has fulfilled its mission and it will stop producing.

There is nothing better than the fragrant smell of basil. During full season we will bring 2-3 bushel of basil to market a week and sell it for the price of spinach. What a deal!

I'll post some recipes to give you some ideas.

Basil Recipe - Lemon Basil Aioli

Lemon basil is one of those must have herbs after the mainstay herbs are in. The citrus highlights and flavor are very unique. This recipe for Lemon Basil Aioli is great on chicken or fish. Basil will be our herb of the week at the Farmers Market.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup finely chopped Lemon Basil
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise (make your own)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Mix ingredients together and let the flavors combine. Refrigerate if not used right away.

Kick It Up

1. Add a clove of black garlic
2. Make your own mayonnaise
3. Use lime juice instead of lemon

Basil Recipe - Thai Basil with Sesame Noodles

Thai Basil has that wonderful cinnamon like flavor, and beautiful dark green and purple leaves. Sounds good already. It grows rapidly and likes to be harvested to stimulate new growth. This recipe for Thai Basil and Sesame Noodles is good for the vegetarian basil lovers.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon peanut oil (or coconut oil)
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 head of garlic, minced
3 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
1 pound angel hair pasta or Chinese egg noodles
12 scallions (green onions), thin sliced
1/2 cup chopped and roasted peanuts
1/2 cup thin sliced Thai Basil leaves

Directions

1. Heat peanut oil over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; saute 1 minute. Set aside in a bowl. Add next 6 ingredients. Whisk to blend.
2. Cook noodle with water and salt until just tender, stirring. Drain and rinse until cool. Mix with sauce. Add green onions and mix to coat noodles. Let stand ant room temperature until flavors are mixed. Maybe 1 hour. Stir in peanuts and Thai Basil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Kick it up

1. Add some finely gratted carrots
2. Add 2 heads of garlic
3. Add some Thai peppers