These are a few of my favorite things. No, I’m not breaking into a punk rock rendition of the classic Julie Andrews song from The Sound Of Music with slide guitar accompaniment.
These are a few of my favorite flavor enhancing things: garlic, oregano and basil, oh my!
I pulled up the garlic and the fragrant bulbs are laid out to dry in the shed. All except for the one that will be in tonight’s cucumber salad.
I pulled up the garlic and the fragrant bulbs are laid out to dry in the shed. All except for the one that will be in tonight’s cucumber salad.
Last year’s garlic crop had braids hanging in the cellar until January. By planting 50 percent more this year, we should have garlic until next spring.
The first batch of basil is thriving. We’ve used it our green bean casseroles. It’s been in our salads and sauces. And the pesto has been fantastic- definitely one of my favorite things.
We planted four varieties of basil this year. The Genovese basil is especially prolific and will be the star of the pesto show. Genovese basil is the usual variety you find in stores. The large, bright, green leaves are ideal for pesto, among other culinary endeavors.
Thai basil has smaller leaves and a more pungent aroma. This is the tallest variety in our basil patch. With a plethora of pungicity, thai basil livens up a chicken and veggie stir fry.
The purple basil is just now getting ready to harvest. Same for the lime basil. Can’t wait to see how they spice things up. I'm looking forward to sampling some purple pesto.
We also have a second batch of basil with plants around an inch high right now. They were planted closely together, so a little thinning and transplanting is in order. A perfect transplant spot is the patch the garlic came from. Can’t have too much basil.
The oregano is a perennial that keeps us in flavor year after year. A trip to the herb garden, a stalk of oregano is cut, and the leaves end up on the cutting board. Flavor is ready to jump into the pan.
Yes, these are a few of my favorite things. Seldom does a summer day go by without garlic, basil or oregano. Well, maybe I will belt out a little Sound of Music tune. Where’s that old guitar? -G.H.
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