Archive for basil

Herb Pots

Posted in Food with tags , , , on June 9, 2012 by David McInerny

There is nothing quite so satisfying as cooking with fresh ingredients, and using ones that you have cultivated yourself is especially fun. You’ve often heard that growing an herb garden is easy, and it really is. This year, with much going on in our house with repairs, I decided to make life easy, so I’m growing herbs in pots in a corner on the deck. Nothing easier than that.

Looking at the added picture, the pot on the left has rosemary, which can be used in everything from potatoes to poultry. The center pot is just one Roma tomato plant, which will produce at least two ripe tomatoes a day in July and August. The pot on the right has parsley and basil. I use parsley in almost everything I cook. It is healthy and colorful. Basil is versatile to the extreme – a staple in Italian dishes, and a nice broad leaf on which to to place veggies, meat medallions, and scallops.

The plants in the picture with color are exactly that, flowers to add color to the herbal corner. There’s nothing wrong with a little beauty with tasty functionality. It’s not at all too late to go to your local landscaping shop and buy some herbs to drop into plants. It will intensify your cooking experience.

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The Anytime Fast & Classy Appetizer

Posted in Food with tags , , , on June 4, 2012 by David McInerny

You’re driving home and the cell phone rings. It’s your spouse saying she’ll be home fifteen minutes after you – with two colleagues. She asks if you could be a doll and put a bottle of Chardonnay in the freezer to quickly cool, and pull out something to snack on?

Well, if you aspire to “doll” status, chips and pretzels won’t cut it. But there’s no reason to spend more than ten minutes on the project either. Find a snappy looking serving tray – this will take most guys five of the allotted ten minutes. Lay tea crackers out on the tray. Put a single leaf of basil on each cracker (it’s the broad leaved plant in the pot on the deck that smells like licorice). Place a thin slice of roma tomato onto each basil leaf. And a thin slice of mozzarella on top of the tomato. Cracked pepper over the whole thing. Done.

When the ladies ask you what you call the appetizer, simply respond, “A miracle.” One final thought – if you really want to be a hero, pull out three wine glasses and wipe the water spots off them. Hey, don’t forget the wine in the freezer! 

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