There is nothing that I love more in the summer months than fresh basil.
Legend and lore have surrounded basil for centuries.
In Romania, if a boy accepts a sprig of basil from a girl, it means they are engaged to be married. In Italy, young maidens would wear a sprig of basil in their hair to profess their availability. In modern Greece, basil is used in certain religious rituals as a symbol of fertility.
Of course basil has a dark side as well. In Greek mythology basil was considered to be a cure against the bite of the basilisk. ( a part dragon, part lizard creature) Basil was long thought to be the cure for any venomous bite.
I think that basil is the most refreshing, stimulating and delicious of all the herbs. I use it every time that I am given the chance. I love it torn up in salads, simmered in a good red sauce, eaten as a refreshment between other stronger flavors (like pickled ginger when you eat sushi) and I especially love it thrown in my bathtub. I find it just as soothing as lavender.
This time around I used my fresh basil in a quick pasta salad.
The salad is a very simple one. Extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar are drizzled over cooked pasta. Then fresh torn basil and sliced campari tomatoes are added to the pasta. The salad is finished up with sliced English cucumbers, fresh chopped oregano, Bocconcini and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.
Simplicity at it’s best. I love making these simple salads. They let the beauty of the fresh herbs shine through.
Of course I wasn’t satisfied with just having a fresh basil salad. I had to make a batch of sweet basil soap too.
You can find out more about my basil soap over at Funky Chunks and you can enter to win a Funky Chunks gift basket (containing a Chunk of sweet basil soap) over at Elle’s New England Kitchen!
What are your favorite herbs of Summer?
This is actually in response to your last post where you mentioned Wegmann’s. When I was very small we lived in West Webster, NY and my momma used to shop at Wegmann’s every week. The one we went to had a conveyor belt that took your groceries outside so you could pull your car around and they would load your groceries for you. Every once in a while the cashiers would let me get on the conveyor belt with my momma’s groceries and I’d get to “ride” with them. We have lived in the South since I was sixish, every time one of the blogs I read mentions Wegmann’s that memory comes flooding back – thank you.
I’m in easy summer cooking too. It’s not impressive enough to blog about and I’ve been way to busy even when we cook something great to post about it. This feels like sophomore slump in college.
But your salad looks gorgeous! Are Bocconcini tiny mozzarella balls? They don’t have any such thing in my outpost.
I’m also a huge fan of basil, and I particularly like it because it is easy to grow in a pot at home, either indoors or outdoors. There’s nothing better than harvesting a bunch of leaves and 10 seconds later popping them into a salad.
My next favorite summer herb? Chives. We had a little pot of chives in our apartment a few years ago that we affectionately named “Beaker” (Dr. Bunson Honeydew’s assistant for anyone too young to remember the Muppets).
Dan
Casual Kitchen
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I’m with Dan, I love chives. But my favorite is the basil for sure. Your pasta salad reminds me of my Caprese pasta, which I make like craaazy come summer with the fresh tomatoes. Yum.
I put fresh chives on everything from scrambled eggs to apple pie.
I’m really looking forward to the fresh Jersey tomatoes this year to go with the basil growing on my patio. Amazing how the simplest of foods taste the best.
What a lovely post – made me so hungry! You had me at basil, but basil plus tomatoes, pasta, and mozzerlla cheese? Yummm.
And thanks for the basil history lesson..who knew!
Dana aka Gluten Free In Cleveland´s last blog ..Roasted Vegetable & Chickpea Salad
Basil…reminds me of pesto!
Jess´s last blog ..Taco Bell Grilled Chicken Gordita
I love Cilantro! We always have a gorgeous crop of it.
The salad looks great. Think I must make that with the last remaining basil leaves. Thanks for visiting Michelle. Your soap looks nice too.
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I really love giving and receiving gift baskets whenever there are special occasions. I order them directly from our local supplier,;’
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