Last night the weather dropped tremendously or maybe I am just use to the Mediterranean climate. As you may not know we arrived back in Georgia in July after living in Italy for three years. We were in the midst of trying to find somewhere to stay therefore I could not start my garden like I wanted to. While living in Italy, we stayed in apartments with balconies therefore I could not have a full garden like I really wanted but I was able to plant items such as basil, cherry tomatoes, spinach, parsley, rosemary, and cilantro. I even planted grapes but did not get a chance to get any grapes the first year but the leaves were beautiful!
I love fresh herbs! The flavors are so robust and it makes me feel good knowing this is something that I have grown. Although I am young, I am very “old school.” I say this because I watched my mother and grandmother for years have a garden and make everything from scratch and this is something that has stuck with me. Yes it takes more time but there are so many benefits that outweigh the time spent. So when I arrive back in Georgia, I had to find fresh herbs. Many places did not have them but I searched high and low until I at least found basil, rosemary, and thyme. Can you believe that when we were staying in hotels and in out of friends and families home I carried them with me? When we had to drive I would load the herbs in the car just like the kids and off we go.
So back to the moral of this story, the weather dropped and I wanted to bring my herbs inside this weekend because I definitely did not want them to go into shock. The basil is beautiful and two of my favorite things to make with basil are pesto and bruschetta. Although these are two of my favorites, the possibilites for this herb can be endless. For example, you can make basil oil or vinegar, tear some leaves over your salad or pasta, and definitely put some in your homemade tomato sauce. There are so many types of basil like Thai basil, purple basil, and lemon basil. I would love to experiment with other varieties of basil but right now the one that I have always grown is the sweet basil which is the type used in Italian cuisines. In Italy my basil was 10x bigger than my basil is here and although they would say not to let it flower, I would let mine flower a little because there were seeds in them in which I would save for the next year. What excites me even more is one time I had to make a service call and the Italian guy had to get to the balcony in order to get to the water heater. He walked out on the balcony, stop to smell and touch the basil and said, “good basilico.” (Italians pronounce basil as basilico.) The plant was really beautiful and I felt really good just hearing that statement. The basil had gotten so big and so much that most of the time I would give some away and by doing this also help the plant to produce more.
So once again, back to the moral of this story, today I took the basil inside and I will be making pesto. Now when I make pesto, I normally make a double batch because I will use some and I like to freeze the rest. Unfortunately, I do not think that it is enough for a double batch so this time I will only make a single batch.
If you have not figured it out already, I love Martha Stewart and most of the times I think of myself as a mini Martha Stewart, a young Martha Stewart or maybe an apprentice of Martha Stewart. So maybe we can say a Martha Stewart in the works. I love to cook, garden, entertain, sew, and create. Believe me I can go on and on. I love to feed people and I just love the art of food and the many creations that one can make.
So here is a picture of the basil that I had to bring inside because of the weather:
Here is my recipe for pesto:
- 2 cups of fresh basil
- ½ cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- ¼ cup of pine nuts toasted and cooled
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ cup of olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste.
Place item in food processor. Pulse until combined. Toss with fresh pasta and enjoy!
Another recipe that I just love is bruschetta. It is fast and easy and makes the perfect appetizer. You could make different variations but here is a basic and fast recipe for bruschetta:
-1/2 lb. of tomatoes diced
-1/2 cup of olive oil
-2-3 cloves of minced garlic
-hot pepper (optional)
-fresh basil to taste
-fresh or dried oregano to taste
-salt and pepper to taste
-Italian bread or French baguette
Place all of the ingredients in a bowl except for bread. Mix well. Slice the bread about ½” thick and rub with garlic. Toast both sides and remove. Put equal proportions on bread and serve immediately.
Believe me this makes a wonderful and quick appetizer when you have guests.
Now I will say this, I am an experimenter when it comes to food. For example, if I am making pesto and I cannot find pine nuts then I do not use them and my pesto is still good. If the mixture is too oily then I will add more fresh basil and cheese. If it seems a little dry then I will add more oil.
I would watch my mother and grandmother cook all of the time and once I moved, I would call and ask them for some of my favorite childhood recipes. They would always say a handful of this or a pinch of that and I would get upset because I would ask them would you say ¼ a cup, ½ a cup or what. Just give me an estimate and they never could. Now I realize what they meant. When I get in the kitchen and get going I may use oregano one time and maybe not the next. I may add a little more cheese or garlic to the pesto than normal or maybe not. It just depends so when my girls ask me about a recipe, I will probably tell them the same thing that my mother and grandmother told me. This way they can experiment and learn the art of food. It is definitely a wonderful thing!
