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?

Squash Blossom Pesto With Roasted Pine Nuts (Wow)

We are big fans of pesto and squash blossoms. Combining the two into a Squash Blossom Pesto is a home run. We have an excellent supply of blossoms at our Farmers Market Stand right now. This bright yellow Pesto is great with a small or thin pasta like linguine, angel hair or gnocchi. Try it on bread as a bruschetta or on your favorite pizza instead of a tomato based sauce.

Squash Blossom Pesto:

3 tablespoons pine nuts
A pinch of tumeric
2 cups loosely packed squash blossoms (10-12 blooms, a small bag at our stand)
1/3 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano cheese
1/2 cup extra virin olive oil
pinch of salt.

Directions:

1. Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until lightly brown. Don't burn.
2.  Remove any stems, stamens or hard leaves under the blossom. Drop into food processor and pulse 2-3 times to break up the blossoms. Add the nuts, the cheese, and tumeric. Pulse until everything is chopped. Turn the machine on, drizzle olive oil in slowly. Scrape down the sides as needed. In your cheese is salty go easy on the cheese.
3. Transfer the pesto to an airtight container and drizzle a very thin layer of olive oil over the top. You can store in the refrigerator for 3-days. Makes 1/2 cup.
4. If you want to freeze some leave out the cheese.

10 Ways to Use Fresh Squash Blossoms

How do you use Squash Blossoms? let me count the ways. There are many creative ways to use this unique and healthy food. We have a great supply at the market.

"[above] is what a summer squash plant looks like that we harvest squash blossoms from."

 Photo: Reed Petersen

1. Stuffed with flavored cheese
2. Batter fried
3. Baked with your favorite sprinkle seasoning
4. Salsa
5. Pesto
6. Soup
7. Quesadillas
8. Pizza
9. Raw on Salads
10. Stuffed with shrimp

Bonus Ideas:

1. Fritters.
2. Hush Puppies
3. On sandwiches
4. Stuffed with Jalapenos
5. Stuffed with your favorite homade sausage

A Simple Arugula Pesto

With the taste of Arugula Pesto still fresh on my tongue I thought I would write down the recipe. We has some really nice baby leaf arugula at the market today. It had a nice full flavor without being too spicy as arugula can be in the summer months. We succession plant every few weeks to keep our greens top quality.

The unique thing about ARUGULA pesto is it stays bright green even during cooking.

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh ARUGULA 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 ARUGULA, 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.

We used the pesto as a bruschetta on some fresh bread. We toasted our bread and that mellows the ARUGULA a little for a spicier pesto toast the bread and then put the pesto on it right before serving.

ARUGULA pesto works well on pasta and can be used to stuff squash blossoms.

How to Cook Squash Blossoms

We have  1500 row feet of summer squash. In addition to the zucchini and patty pan, we get a large quantity of blossoms. We get asked how to prepare blossoms a lot, so here are some ideas we think your will enjoy.

1. Batter fried - amazing flavor, but adds lots of calories for a low calorie food.
2. Stuffed with a flavored cream cheese
3. Stuffed with a flavored cheese, we like pepper jack
4. Sprinkled with your favorite seasoning or herbs
5. Dipped in egg and butter cracker crumbs
6. Raw
7. Sauteed with your favorite sauce.
8. Stuff with a pesto or aoli

For serving a large quantity efficiently we like to preheat the oven to 350 F and spray a cookie sheet or two with a nonstick coating. Then stuff the blossoms with your favorite concoction and sprinkle them with your best yummy herbs (we like rosemary and thyme). They can be done ahead of time and then popped into the oven on the cookie sheets so they are all done at the same time. Good for a family meal or for serving at a formal party.

We sell a quart bag of blossoms for $3. It can cost $7 at some of the better restaurants for an appetizer of 3-5 blossoms. So you can experiment to your hearts content and it doesn't need to cost very much.

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.

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

Cilantro Recipes - Mexican Pesto

In honor of our first week of baby cut cilantro leaves fresh from the garden and abundant cilantro transplants for those who want to grow their own.

Cilantro is our herb of the week and we are featuring some of our favorite recipes.

Mexican Pesto

Normally pesto is made from Basil, but cilantro makes an excellent green pesto in south of the border style.

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup pepitas, hulled pumpkin seeds (you can also use walnuts or pine nuts)
- 1/2 bag of baby cilantro (Petersen's)
- 2 to 4 cloves of garlic or a tablespoon of garlic powder, one shallot can also be used (Petersen's)
- 1 cipotle pepper, seeded (reconstitute pepper by steeping in hot water for 15 minutes, drain)
   You can also use a fresh jalapeno or serrano when they are in season. (Petersen's)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons oliv oil
- Optional: 1/4 cup grated goat cheese, or Parmesan cheese (various market vendors)

Put nuts or seed in a food processor or blender; process until coarsely chopped (pulse). Add cilantro, garlic, chipotle, salt and oil. Process until smooth, at cheese (optional).  Add to meat, orzo pasta, rice or enjoy with your favorite bread as a bruschette.