basil

5 Dos and Don’ts for Planting Herbs

May 17, 2016 by Sydney Anderson

Hi friends! I’m so glad you stopped by!

Don’t you just love the smell and taste of fresh herbs?! Want to have fresh, healthy herbs at home without the expense of an extra grocery store run? (And have you seen how much they charge for a tiny container of wilted herbs?!)

I’ve cooked with both store-bought and homegrown herbs, and I can tell you two things. One, homegrown always tastes better, and two, you can’t just plant a bunch of herbs in a pot and hope they thrive.

As our family grows, so does our food budget. I’m starting to find ways I can cut our grocery bill here and there so that by the time my kids are teenagers we won’t be stuck spending $1000 a month just on food!

One of the first things to know is not all herbs are created equal! Some need more water, some like less sun, some have long roots and need space to grow. I’m going to share five lessons I’ve learned when it comes to growing your own herbs!

Click NEXT to see the 5 Dos and Don’ts for Growing Great Herbs!

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Garlic-Basil Butter

October 14, 2014 by Becky

Flavored butters are a simple way to add a touch of sophistication to your meal, especially this garlic-basil butter. Impress your guests or add it to a weeknight meal. It’s fancy enough for company, but easy enough for every day! It takes only minutes to prepare, but it makes even a simple meal seem a little more fancy with delicious flavor!

If you want to take it up a notch, you can have an assortment of herbed butters by adding our chive butter to your spread. (Spread. Ha! Sadly, that pun was intended.)

We love simple recipes, and this one fits the bill. Garden-fresh herbs and veggies don’t always need a lot of dressing up. This butter really lets the flavor of the garlic and basil shine through without overpowering your dish. Summertime perfection!

Ingredients

https://westerngardens.com/garlic-basil-butter/

Give this garlic-basil butter a try the next time you have fresh herbs, you will not be disappointed in the lovely flavor, and you will love how easy it is to whip up!

Butter freezes very well. Place the butter on a piece of waxed or parchment paper. Roll it into a cylindrical shape, then twist the ends of the paper to seal. You can place it in a freezer bag for an extra layer of protection, if desired. When you need some basil butter, unwrap the log and slice off a disc to use for toast or veggies, or in your recipe. This is a great option if you are trying to use as much basil as you can at the end of your harvest, and it’s just as easy to make a big batch as it is a single batch.

Enjoy!

How to Freeze Basil Pesto

October 9, 2014 by Becky

Pesto is a great way to use up a lot of basil if your garden is bursting at the seams, or if you need to harvest it before a drop in temperature. The basil pesto recipe we posted last week is a great one to try, especially if you’re looking for a less expensive pesto that still has wonderful flavor (we used pecans instead of pine nuts!).

But what if you make a big batch of pesto and you can’t finish it before it starts to go bad? Freeze it! Freezing pesto is simple, but we have a few tips to keep it fresh and green. Pesto oxidizes (darkens when exposed to air), so keep reading to find out how to keep it looking bright and green!

Start out with clean ice cube trays and a cookie scoop. My scoop is 1 tablespoon, and since two would have overfilled the tray, I placed one scoop in each pocket. You will need just a little space at the top, so don’t fill it completely full.

Once you have all of your pesto scooped into the trays, gently tap them on the counter to remove any air bubbles and to settle the pesto into an even layer. Lightly drizzle a thin layer of olive oil over the top of each pesto cube. This will help seal out any air that could turn your pesto brown.
When you are finished drizzling the oil, cover the tray with a layer of plastic wrap and press it gently onto the pesto to remove the air. Once the air has been pressed out, just place it in the freezer!

I missed a spot on the plastic wrap…it probably pulled when I picked up the tray. Check yours before you set it in the freezer just to make sure it didn’t shift like mine! Because of the oil, it retained it’s green color as it froze, but I like to be double sure that my food will be perfect when I want to use it!

Once your pesto is frozen (I left mine overnight), remove the plastic wrap and run the bottom of the trays under cold water for a second or two to loosen the pesto, if necessary (be careful not to get water on the pesto).

Label a gallon size freezer bag, being sure to include the size of your pesto cubes.

Now just remove the cubes from the trays and toss them all in the bag!

They should be a lovely green color. Now you are ready to pull out exactly how much you need when you’re ready to eat it! Garden-fresh flavor any time. Doesn’t get much better!
Be sure to squeeze out as much air as possible before you put your bag of pesto in the freezer, and you’re done! Easy!

Basil Pesto

October 1, 2014 by Becky

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!

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!

Ingredients

https://westerngardens.com/basil-pesto/

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.

Spinach Salad with Marinated Tomato & Basil

September 16, 2014 by Becky

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!

Perhaps 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!

Ingredients

https://westerngardens.com/spinach-salad-marinated-tomato-basil/

Give 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

September 10, 2014 by Becky

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!)

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

Ingredients

https://westerngardens.com/caprese-appetizers/

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

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?!

Bruschetta

May 6, 2014 by Becky

One of our favorite ways to use tomatoes is in this simple, fresh & delicious bruschetta recipe. It goes together fast and is beautiful enough to serve to guests. This is a great way to use tomatoes when you have more than you can share with your neighbors (one of the best problems to have!).

Toasting the bread in a hot griddle with butter adds even more flavor, and makes them brown beautifully. This can be done with baguette (used here) for an appetizer size, or french bread for a main dish.

DIY Solar Lantern

Ingredients

empty small-mouth mason jar or other small decorative jar
inexpensive solar yard light
canning jar ring (optional)
hot glue

Instructions

Remove the lid/ring from your small jar.
Remove the solar light unit from the inexpensive solar light. Recycle the rest of the solar light or reserve for another project.
Place the solar light unit (with solar cells facing up) on/into the top of the jar opening. Secure with hot glue.
If desired, place a canning ring on top of the jar (around the solar light) and secure with hot glue.
Place solar lights in your yard, they look great sitting on the porch or hanging from a shepherd's hook!

https://westerngardens.com/bruschetta/

One of the best parts about this bruschetta is its versatility. If you like more salt, add more salt. If you want more basil, add more! You can adapt it to whatever your taste may be, and the wonderful flavors of the tomatoes and basil will always shine through.