Western Garden Centers

for what grows here

Becky

Basil Pesto

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If you still have tons of basil in your garden and can’t stand to see it go to waste at the end of the season, basil pesto is the perfect solution!  You can make it exactly how you like it for MUCH less than you will pay at the grocery store.  It’s delicious in all sorts of recipes…and you can even freeze it (stay tuned for simple instructions)!  There are so many reasons to make pesto, so don’t let that beautiful basil go to waste!

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Pesto is very versatile…you can make it a strong flavor or make it more mild (which is especially helpful if you’re cooking for kids – or anyone else – who doesn’t like strong flavors!), and you can even add in other greens and different kinds of nuts.  This recipe changes up traditional pesto just a little bit, but it still has a wonderful, rich flavor that will make you happy you made a big batch!  You can always make a smaller batch, but if you have a lot of basil from your garden, this recipe is perfect for using it up!

Enjoy your pesto tossed with pasta, on baked potatoes or spread on bread!  And stay tuned for some upcoming recipes that use this delicious pesto!

Pine nuts are traditionally used in pesto, and walnuts are often used as a substitution.  We used pecans in our recipe and loved the results!

For a stronger flavor, add in one additional cup of basil leaves and omit the spinach.

Chive Butter

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Chive Butter 8If you are ready to take your meal to the next level, try adding fresh Chive Butter to your dishes!  Delicious on hot rolls, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, steamed or roasted veggies, and steaks.

Garden-fresh chives are an easy way to make your meal taste more gourmet with almost no effort!  Plus, chive butter can be made ahead of time, saving you the headache of one more thing to do during dinner prep crunch time.  Since I’m always looking for recipes to make my life easier, this one is now at the top of my list!

Chives are not only a great way to add flavor to your meal, they are said to be good for the circulatory system.  They are rich in vitamins A & C, calcium, iron, and contain trace amounts of sulfur.  Plus, they’re beautiful when they bloom…and chives are a perennial plant!  I love that I don’t even have to do anything and they keep coming back every year.  Win!

Chives

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Spinach Salad with Marinated Tomato & Basil

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Tomatoes in a salad are nothing new.  More like an old standby, really.  But if you are new to marinating tomatoes before you add them to your salad, this recipe just might knock your socks off!

Spinach SaladPerhaps unless you’re shopping at a farmer’s market, homegrown garden-fresh tomatoes really have no equal.  Even a good, expensive tomato from the grocery store can never compare in flavor and texture to a vine-ripened, juicy tomato from the garden.  John Denver even sang about homegrown tomatoes!  If you’ve never heard the song, give it a listen.  It’s cute…and true.  Winter without homegrown tomatoes is most definitely a “culinary bummer!”

The balsamic dressing for this salad is simple and goes together quickly, but it adds a wonderful dimension to the tomatoes.  With just a few simple ingredients, your side salad will become the highlight of your meal!

Spinach Salad 2Give this simple salad a try and you might just start marinating all your tomatoes!

For more great recipes using tomatoes and basil, check out:

Caprese Appetizers

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These beautiful caprese appetizers are the perfect addition to any meal.  They are light, full of flavor, and fun to make!  You will love them because they are easy and delicious…and when the tomatoes and basil come out of your garden, they’re inexpensive too!  (And who doesn’t love that?!)caprese appetizer 5

One of the very best summer tastes is a garden-fresh homegrown tomato.  And one of my favorite garden-fresh tomatoes is the Sunsugar cherry tomato.  They’re sweet and delicious…and perfect for an appetizer like this!  Especially if your plants are producing more than you can eat and you need more ideas to use them up!  (Because when my sunsugar plant starts producing, I can hardly keep up with it!)

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Stack it with some basil, balsamic, bread & cheese, and you’ve got an appetizer that just might ruin your dinner!

For the most amazingly easy way to slice cherry tomatoes in seconds, see our tutorial!

caprese appetizer 2 This is a fun appetizer to customize any way you want it.  Change up the order of ingredients, or the way you assemble it!  Or even make each of them different.  No matter how you put them together, they taste incredible and you won’t be able to stop at just one!  It’s the perfect combination of flavors…which means you might not save room for dinner.  But when the appetizers are this good, who cares?!

Fat-Free Sweet Potato Fries

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If you are looking for a delicious, healthy side dish or snack, fat-free sweet potato fries are a perfect choice!  They are simple to put together, loaded with good nutrition, and they’re always a crowd pleaser!  They’re fantastic with our homemade garlic-cilantro aioli.  We love this simple aioli because it goes together in 30 seconds in your blender!  We love recipes that are quick, simple, healthy and that taste great…and both of these recipes fit the bill!  Give these sweet potatoes a try and let us know what you think!

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*If you don’t mind some oil on your fries, try tossing your uncooked sweet potato wedges with 2-3 tablespoons of avocado oil before seasoning them.

*Root vegetables can take a lot of salt.  Don’t be afraid to give them a good sprinkling.  {Don’t go overboard, but don’t skimp unless that’s how you like them}

*If you’re worried about your sweet potato wedges sticking to your foil, try crinkling the foil before you place it on the baking sheet.  This way the potatoes will be touching less of the foil’s surface, which means you will have less sticking when they come out of the oven.

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Garlic-Cilantro Aioli

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Aioli.  You’ve heard of it.  Maybe even seen it.  But what in the world is it?  Well, you’ve come to the right place for answers!  Aioli is a garlic-flavored mayonnaise typically served with fish, seafood and vegetables.  It’s a French word with Latin roots:  ai–>garlic (allium) and oli–>oil (oleum).  Garlic Oil.  Yup.  We’re making garlic oil today!  With a little cilantro thrown in for good measure.

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You’ll be so happy you tried today’s recipe.  This aioli is so easy to make…it all goes in the blender, and you’re done in 30 seconds!  There’s nothing I love more than an easy, quick, delicious recipe!

So far we have enjoyed our garlic-cilantro aioli  with Roasted Artichoke, Fat-Free Sweet Potato Fries (we will share that recipe with you next week!) and we even used it as a sandwich spread.  You just can’t go wrong with this aioli!  Comment below and let us know how you like to eat your aioli!

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Roasted Artichoke

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Roasted ArtichokeIf you want to impress your dinner guests, serve them this fabulous roasted artichoke!  It may take a long time in the oven, but with only a couple of minutes of prep, it can be roasting while you prepare your meal, weed the garden or take a nap!  And the flavor it develops from roasting is well worth the wait.  As you may have noticed by now, roasting is one of our favorite ways to prepare veggies!  If you like it steamed or boiled, try it roasted and you may never go back!  We served this with a delicious garlic-cilantro-lime aioli that was made in the blender in about 30 seconds!  Click here for this yummy recipe, you will love it!

 

To eat your artichoke, pull the leaves off, dip the part of the leaf that was attached to the artichoke in your sauce, put it in your mouth, close your teeth on the leaf, and pull outward.  The soft, delicious part of the leaf will come off the more fibrous, woody part.  Discard the leaf when you have eaten the soft part.  Enjoy!

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Baked Zucchini Fries

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Baked Zucchini Fries 2Baked zucchini fries are not only fast and easy to make, but it’s a great way to use all that zucchini in your garden when your plants are giving you more than you can use (and give away!).  This makes a great summer side, and it’s a great alternative for zucchini when you’re tired of zucchini bread, brownies & cake!

These baked zucchini fries can be prepped in less than 5 minutes, then just toss them in the oven while you worry about the rest of your meal.  They are crispy and delicious and they go great with just about any main dish!  Whether you’re grilling burgers or broiling chicken, these will be a great addition to your meal.

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Deadhead Flowers

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You want your garden to always look it’s best, so don’t forget to deadhead your flowers when the blooms are spent!  It’s easy, quick, and gives your plants a fresh look.  It will also encourage more blooms on your flowers, so you get more bang for your planting buck.

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Why Deadhead?

Plants want to ensure the survival of their species, so they produce seeds to grow the next generation.  Flowers produce blooms, which will typically develop seeds.  Once the plant has gone to seed, it will stop producing blooms because it has already done its job…it doesn’t need any more flowers.  To get your flowers to keep producing beautiful blooms, remove the dead ones so they can’t produce seeds, and it will continue flowering in an effort to get those seeds! {THIS BEING SAID HOWEVER, most flower plants that are sold in stores are hybrids.  They are bred by growers to develop different traits like color and hardiness.  These flowers generally DO NOT produce seeds that should be replanted.  Do not save seeds from hybrids, they will not produce a plant that is the same as the parent plant.  Check with your local garden center if you aren’t sure about your particular plants.}

How Often?

How often you deadhead really depends on the size of your garden and how much you are in it.  A small garden can go a couple of weeks in between deadheading, while some gardeners deadhead every day.  You will quickly figure out how often you need and want to deadhead as you spend time in your garden.

How do I Deadhead a Flower?

It’s easy to deadhead flowers!  You can pinch off the expired bloom between your thumb and forefinger, or go down to the first leaf below the flower and pinch it off there to hide the cut stem.  If you don’t want to use your fingers, or the stem is too tough, use garden shears or even scissors for a nice, clean cut.

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My 7 year old wanted to paint my nails sparkly green. Not sure if it’s coincidence or fate that I have a green thumb in these pictures!

As you deadhead flowers in your garden, you will notice more blooms and get more mileage out of your beautiful flowers.  It only takes a few minutes to clear the dead flower heads away, but it will give you (and everyone else who sees your garden) more enjoyment as you spend time in your lovely space.

Happy Gardening!

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