1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
¼ small red onion, very thinly sliced
2 ripe peaches, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cinnamon basil leaves
In a small bowl of ice water soak onion for 10 minutes; drain, blot dry and return to bowl. Add peaches, honey, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand 15 minutes. Toss with cinnamon basil.
Linda
CAKE
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons (packed) minced cinnamon basil or sweet basil leaves
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil, preferably canola oil
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 ½ cups unpeeled, coarsely chopped cooking apples, such as Granny Smiths
GLAZE
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10-inch removable-bottom tube pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk in basil leaves until thoroughly dispersed in the flour; set aside. In a large bowl, beat together oil and sugar on low speed. On medium speed, add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and increase speed to high; beat for 30 seconds. On low speed, add flour mixture and beat just until blended. Mixture is very dense.
3. Fold in apples with a spatula; spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
4. Just before cake is done, make glaze: Over medium heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk in both sugars, cream, and vanilla. Boil glaze for 1 minute.
5. When the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour the hot glaze over. Let cake cool completely on a rack before removing from pan. To remove from pan, run a knife around the edge to release it, then run a thin knife between cake and pan bottom; invert to release and invert again to place on platter, so glaze side is up.
Yield: 12 to 16 servings
This recipe is from “Desserts from an Herb Garden” by Sharon Kebschull Barrett.
Linda
Cinnamon basil is a cultivar of Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil). It contains cinnamate, the same chemical that gives cinnamon its flavor, and has the strongest scent of cinnamon.
Cinnamon basil has reddish stems, lavender spiked flowers and small- to medium-sized serrated green leaves. The leaves have a cinnamon-like taste and odor. It can grow up to 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide. Growing it in the garden may deter other pests that don’t like the smell of it.
If you’ve never grown or cooked with cinnamon basil, the following recipes might change your mind. Intensely fragrant, it can be used for baking, sauces, teas and as a “finisher” for many dishes.
Go ahead and give it a try. The Cinnamon Basil Chicken recipe is so divinely aromatic while cooking you might feel as though you’ve been transported to some foreign land – maybe the streets of Morocco or the Spice Markets of Istanbul. You might encounter flavors you’ve never experienced before. Toss it in your sliced summer peaches and red onion salad with honey lemon vinaigrette for a real burst of seasonal flavor. And, don’t forget to satisfy your sweet tooth with the wonderfully moist Apple-Basil Cake. Whether sweet or savory, this delightful herb gets high marks for satisfying the senses!
Linda
Never take your daughter with you to buy vegetable transplants. Molly seemed like a safe bet; this 24-year-old hasn’t cooed over anything but boyfriends and clothes since she turned 11. But show her the 4-inch veggies all waggling their cute little leaves and begging to come home with you, and don’t you know it, Molly’s like a preschooler with a batch of free puppies. She wanted them all.
That’s how we ended up with The “Mild” Habanero and The Eggplant.
For the summer garden, we planted squash, cantaloupe, and watermelon seeds and transplants of tomatoes—plus the habanero and eggplant. Now two months later, the cantaloupe seeds never sprouted, beetles decimated the squash and watermelon, and the tomatoes have decided that it’s too hot to do much of anything.
Of course, the habanero and eggplant have thrived.
The tag on the habanero read “mild”—as compared to what? A ghost chili? And you’ve never seen a more prolific pepper; at least 25 chilies in shades of green, yellow, and orange hang from its branches. Perhaps one could blend up a concoction of chilies and vinegar strong enough to repel squirrels or wayward cats, but otherwise the peppers are too hot to use in anything.
The eggplant is now the size of a small shrub. At least six of the most beautiful aubergine purple globes dot its sturdy branches. Eggplants are much loved by cooks; the English and French call them aubergines. Crayola even named a pink-purple-grey color crayon eggplant in 1998.
In my kitchen, I have grilled, fried, stewed, stuffed, and rolled eggplant—all with the same conclusion. I don’t like eggplant. I tried, but no.
So, here we have it. The stars of my August garden are inedible or underappreciated. Perhaps I could put a little vegetable stand out by the mailbox with an honor system jar for quarters. Habaneros and Eggplant—Name Your Price…
Elizabeth
This morning I woke up wanting to be like Gabby, the American gymnastics darling of the Summer Olympics.
I wanted to look like her, smile like her, have her discipline, WIN like Gabby!
My next thought was of my garden and what I needed to do out there in the early morning before it gets hot. Before any more depressing thoughts of never winning an Olympic gold medal entered my head,I jumped out of bed and into my vegetable garden to coax my veggies into looking like Olympiads.
At this time of year, tomatoes are hanging on waiting for fall, cucumbers have stopped producing and the leaves look weathered, bell peppers and red peppers are stable but also wait for a drop in temperature.
The super performers for Texas gardens in August are okra, eggplant, and jalapeños.
Maybe I am more like Gabby’s Olympic coach, Liang Chow. Okra will be my Olympic hopeful.
I will squirt the aphids off my okra with water, pick okra pods on time before they get too big and stringy tasting, and turn them into culinary delights that will cause even the pickiest of eaters to say, I LOVE OKRA!
Now I am imagining stands filled with fans, chanting we want okra, we love okra, and okra can win!
If you want to be a winner with okra remember these tips:
Planting Time: Don’t plant too early, the soil temperature needs to warm up and minimum average temperature should be above 65°. Plant seed in April for summer harvest and July15-August 25 for fall harvest.
Needs: Full Sun, adequate spacing, moderate water needs. Texas A&M recommends one inch of water weekly in the absence of rainfall for good production.
Harvest: pick the pods every day; they should be less 3-3 ½ inches in length.
Varieties: We have had great success with Clemson Spineless at the Demonstration Garden. Try Burgundy for the burgundy colored okra pods. Other suggested varieties are Emerald, Louisiana Green Velvet, Annie Oakley (smaller stature-I like this one), Red Velvet and Beck’s Big.
Cooking: Click here for a good Dallas Morning News okra recipe.
The burgundy varieties turn green when cooked and taste just like the green okra pods. Okra blossoms are edible.
Ann
¾ cup unsalted butter
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh lime zest
1. In a medium bowl and using an electric mixer at medium speed, cream the butter and confectioner’s sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract and salt.
2. In a small bowl, toss together the flour, basil, and lime zest. With the mixer at low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix until the dough just comes together and forms a ball. Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thickness, and using a 2-inch round fluted cutter, cut cookies. Place on prepared baking sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Cool on wire racks before serving.
Yield: 24 cookies
Recipe from Victoria Bliss Magazine, March/April 2009
Linda
1 cup tightly packed basil leaves
3 TBS. sugar
In a large container mash the basil and sugar with the back of a wooden spoon until basil is broken.
Add: 3 cups fresh orange juice
3 TBS. fresh lime juice
5 cups water
Stir until sugar is dissolved. Serve over ice. Makes approx. 8 cups.
Paula
½ medium size watermelon, cubed
3 medium peaches, cubed
2 medium size heirloom tomatoes (green variety) cubed
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1-2 stalk’s worth of basil leaves
1-2 stalk’s worth of mint leaves
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
¼ cup good quality olive oil
1. Toss together the watermelon, peaches, tomato, and onion in a large bowl. Chiffonade the basil and mint and add to the fruit mixture.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients and toss with the watermelon mixture. Chill or serve at room temperature.
Makes 6 to 8 servings. Can easily be doubled or tripled.
Linda
½ (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
3 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
Garnish: fresh basil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 13×10-inch rectangle, trimming as necessary.
Cut rectangle into 4 parts horizontally and 3 parts vertically, creating 12 (3 ½ x 3 ¼-inch) rectangles.
Using a sharp knife, score 4 lines to create a ¼-inch border all the way around each rectangle. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.
Spread about 1½ teaspoons pesto inside the border of each rectangle. Place tomato slices in a single layer on pesto. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until light golden color; remove from oven, and cool slightly.
Drizzle each rectangle with olive oil. Place cheese shavings on tarts, and garnish with fresh basil. Serve immediately.
Yield: 1 dozen tarts
Classic Pesto
3 large cloves garlic
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
½ cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Place the basil leaves in a food processor and pulse until half-way chopped. Add the pine nuts and garlic. Continue pulsing. Add the cheese, salt and pepper. Through the pouring spout, with the processor on , drizzle the olive oil into the basil mixture. Blend just until incorporated but not completely smooth. A little texture is best.
Yield: About 3 cups
Linda
½ medium red onion, finely diced
¼ cup white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ears sweet corn, shucked
8 ounces orzo pasta
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced into ¼-inch pieces
1 ½ cups torn leaves of sweet basil or lemon basil
Stir the red onion, vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper together in a large mixing bowl. Let it sit while you continue with the recipe, allowing the acidic ingredients to mellow the raw bite of the onion.
Hold the ears of corn upright on a large cutting board and cut off the kernels, being careful not to cut so deep you shave the cob. They should give you about 5 cups of kernels.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the orzo and when it is just tender, after about 8 minutes, add the corn kernels to the pot. Cook until the water boils again, then drain in a colander, and rinse with cold water.
Stir the olive oil in to the bowl with the dressed onion. Toss in the pasta and corn, red bell pepper, and basil until evenly combined. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.
Yield: 10 servings
Recipe from The Herbal Kitchen by Jerry Traunfeld
Linda
DALLAS GARDEN BUZZ 