Bloomin' Marvelous...Basil, Basil, Basil

Hi, it's Heather from the Beating Hearth here with you today for our series "Bloomin' Marvelous", and nothing screams gardening to me more than herbs.  They add a freshness and brightness to any recipe, and are a vital part of my cooking, especially in the summer.

They are the first green things...besides the weeds, growing in my garden, ushering in the warmth of spring and summer.  The king of herbs for me is basil.  I love how it tastes, I love how it smells and I love how pretty it is with its big oblong leaves.

Let me touch on the secret to successfully growing your own basil...now, I have this knowledge because I spent an entire summer a few years ago coddling and nurturing a basil plant, only to have it not flourish.  Are you ready for it...the grand secret to basil producing like mad...abuse it.  Be cruel to it.  Pick on your basil like you don't like it, even though you secretly have a mad crush and think basil's like, the coolest and cutest boy in school....and his name is pronounced Ba-sil ("ba" like hat or cat), not bay, but you can't possibly let him know you like him, so you pretend that you don't.  Side note, if I had a son, I might just have to name him Basil....I like it that much.

So, prune your basil and it will reward you.  Once you get several leaves (about 8), you can prune back to the first set of leaves and it will just grow back like crazy for you.  Don't worry about just plucking the leaves off, go straight for the stem.  Tear it off!  Make sure it's watered thoroughly and the soil's well-draining!  In the summer, make sure it has full sun, water it every day and pick off any flowers that grow because that will ruin your flavor.  Do all this and you should have a glorious basil plant and tasty goodness all summer long.

Now, what to do with your basils?  I like calling them basils (plural), because it makes me smile.  Okay, what to do with your basils?  Well, I was going to make homemade strawberry ice cream infused with basil goodness, but I decided to go on a sugar strike this week.  So, never mind.  Let's do this instead...one of the best mid to late summer salads, because you get to use your freshly picked, perfectly ripe heirloom tomatoes and bunches of glorious, deep green basil...adjust ingredients to fit the amount you need.

Caprese Salad

Bunches of basil
Glorious, perfectly ripe tomatoes
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (use the fresh stuff, it's so creamy and soft)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Balsamic Vinegar reduction (optional, but my drizzle of choice)
Olive Oil (optional)
Italian Vinaigrette (If you're my mom)

Slice your tomatoes nice and thick.  Slice your mozzarella.  Pluck basils off the stem.  Arrange in layers (see above).
Salt and pepper generously.  Tomatoes crave seasoning.  Nothing tastes better than a tomato warm off the vine with a hearty sprinkling of salt.

If you choose, make a balsamic reduction...Heat 1 cup balsamic vinegar over medium heat until boiling.  Reduce heat to a simmer, stir occasionally, and let reduce by half until thicker and more syrupy.  Let cool.

If you choose, drizzle the reduction, simple olive oil or Italian vinaigrette over the top and serve.

Not only is this salad delicious, but it's stunning to look at.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Heather

p.s. We've got our link party coming up on July 29th where we are asking for you to link up all your gardening posts.  It can be about your flowers, vegetables, fruit, recipes using your fresh produce or something that has been inspired by gardens or nature.

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