An Easy Weekend Dish Using Basil

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Gardening and Harvesting Sweet Basil

CREATING Caprese Salad for a simple weekend meal 

Campari Tomatoes and Sweet Basil

                                                                                                                                                       

The 100's of spider lily bulbs I planted, may not have bloomed this fall, but we have an abundance of basil for green salads, pesto and another favorite, Caprese salad. Until the first frost we will be enjoying fresh basil for many recipes.  The Caprese salad is so easy and fast to prepare. I take Campari tomatoes and quarter them, cut a good quality mozzarella cheese into 1" slices, chiffonade the basil and drizzle with Balsamic vinegar and EVOO. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

All material © 2007-2017 by Jeanette Hyden for Grassroots Horticulture

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Summer Cottage Lunches

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Garden Harvest

CREATING Easy lunches

Tomato Abundance

It was the best of times. The coffee percolating, the aroma very strong, too strong. The breeze from the open windows and screen door diluting the scent and mixing with the pine and leaf mold to welcome the morning conversation. "Did you sleep well?" "Like a log!" Carefully placing the heavy white restaurant mug filled  a little over half with coffee and two big glugs of cream, down on the oak pub table painted many years ago by Grandma. The table has at least twenty coats of marine varnish covering every inch of wood. No water marks will be left on this surface and if necessary it could be overturned and used for a boat, the leaf extensions serving as paddles, conceptually at least. The dinner bell is on a wooden post outside. It was brought from the old farm. That was part of the summer cottage experience. The tomatoes would be packed carefully in brown paper bags, an abundance of harvest. Lunch would be easy.

Antipasto or Caprese or

Spring rolls or

BLT                                                                                                         

Growing in my garden this year I have Beefsteak, San Marzano, "Sun Sugar", cherries, and "Big Pink" tomatoes. I am very pleased with the Red racer cocktail tomato plants sent to trial in my 8a zone garden by Harris Seed Company.. They are standing up to the heat and I expect to have a large fall harvest.

ECLIPSE HORS d’OEUVRES idea for Monday's solar eclipse: Place a thin slice of pepperjack cheese (cut in a circular shape - "the corona") on a cracker, place a slice of yellow Sun cherry tomato on top of the cheese, on top of the tomato add a moon - slice of black olive. `~ ~ ~ Jeanette

                                                                                    

All material © 2007-2017 by Jeanette Hyden 

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