Basil is one of the oldest herbal plants to date. Not only is it tasty in recipes, this bushy annual herbal plant is grown for its medicinally useful leaves and seeds. It’s rich in many notable health benefiting phyto-nutrients, essential oils, nutrients, minerals, and vitamins, just to name a few.

For all you over zealous learners: basil belongs to the family of Lamiaceae, of the genus: Ocimum. Its scientific name is “Ocimum basilicum.” Basil is originally native to Iran, India and other tropical regions of Asia. It grows best in warm, tropical climates (or in WGOF greenhouses)

Different varieties of basil herb exist. “Mediterranean” cultivar is typically called sweet basil, has light green leaves as opposite to “Asian basil” that has large, hairy stems and stalks with pink flowers, purple or red leaves and has stronger ‘clove’ like flavor. We grow Italian Genovese Basil here on the farm, which is a Mediterranean variety.

Fresh basil herb should be stored in the refrigerator set at appropriate humidity. Dried basil should be kept in a tightly sealed glass container in a cool, dark and dry place where it will keep fresh for up to six months.

You should wash fresh Basil in cold running water or rinse for few minutes to remove any dust. In order to keep the fragrance and flavor intact, it is generally added at the last moment in the cooking recipes, since prolonged cooking results in loss of its essential oils. Use Basil leaves to flavor any vegetable, poultry, or meat dish. Basil is also often used in tomato and egg dishes, stews, soups, and salads.

Orange-Basil Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Stir-Fried Greens
Ingredients
3/4 pound filleted Mahi-Mahi, skin on
Olive oil
Sea salt
Steamed green beans, for serving

FOR THE DRESSING:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 orange, zest and juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons shredded basil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Make the dressing by combining and mixing the ingredients. Set aside.
Oil and lightly salt the fish. Place it on a cast-iron grill pan, skin side up, then slide under a hot broiler until the skin is blistered.
Flip the fish, then spoon over some of the dressing. Cook for a minute or two. Lift onto plates (or shallow bowls) and pour over the rest of the dressing. Serve, with the green beans, either hot or at room temperature.
Cook’s tip: Take care not to overcook the fish it must stay moist to be at its best.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/27/emerald-gimlet_n_1061248.html

Enjoy!

Arturo just came up to inform me we are currently out of Romano Beans and Corn (sniff sniff).

We are replacing Romano Beans with Green Beans (same weight), and replacing corn with forno beets (small: 1 bu, medium: 2 bu, large: 2 bu).

Sorry for any confusion…keep your fingers crossed for corn next week! Enjoy!

Only 4 days left of August! Are you ready for school? Are you ready for Fall? We have a way to keep you on track of eating seasonal, organic produce…our Winter CSA!  Summer CSA will roll right into Winter CSA with no break and starts the week of October 1^st. As soon as we finalize the Winter CSA signups, I will let you know. Enjoy!

Small Share:

• Salad Mix: ½ lb
• Baby Spinach: ¼ lb
• Carrots: 1 bu
• Romano Beans: ½ lb
• Tomato: 1 ea
• Corn: 2 ea
• Blueberries: 1 pt
• Slicing Cukes: 1 ea

Medium Share:

• Salad Mix ¾ lb
• Baby Spinach: ½ lb
• Carrots: 2 bu
• Romano Beans: ¾ lb
• Tomatoes: 2 ea
• Corn: 4 ea
• Blueberries: 2 pt
• Slicing Cukes: 1 ea
• Basil: 1 bu

 Large Share:

• Salad Mix: 1 lb
• Baby Spinach: ¾ lb
• Carrots: 3 bu
• Romano Beans: 1 lb
• Tomatoes: 3 ea
• Corn: 6 ea
• Blueberries: 2 pt
• Slicing Cukes: 2 ea
• Basil: 2 bu
• Red Butterhead Lettuce: 1 hd
• Copra Onions: 2 ea

Recipe of the Week

Stuffed Tomato Basil Chicken
Ingredients

4 (6 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 (12 ounce) bottle garlic and herb marinade
16 fresh basil leaves
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
4 slices provolone cheese
12 slices bacon
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Place chicken breasts on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, slice chicken breasts horizontally, without slicing them completely in half. Open the chicken breasts like a book. Place chicken and marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).

Place opened chicken breasts on a broiler pan. Place 4 basil leaves on the bottom half of each chicken breast. Top each with 2 or 3 tomato slices and 1 slice of cheese, and fold over top half of chicken (if necessary, fasten with toothpicks). Wrap 3 slices bacon around each chicken breast.

Cook in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn chicken, and cook 15 minutes more. Remove from oven, and sprinkle chicken with Parmesan. Return to oven, and cook until cheese is melted, about 2 to 3 minutes.
 Courtesy of allrecipes.com

Did you know corn is America’s number one field crop? Corn leads all other crops in value and volume of production. Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota account for over 50 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. Other major corn growing states are Indiana, Ohio, South Dakota, Missouri, and Kansas.  All of the mentioned states are called the “Corn Belt”.

• The corncob (ear) is actually part of the corn plant’s flower
• An ear of corn averages 800 kernels in 16 rows
• Corn is produced on every continent of the world with the exception of Antarctica
• One bushel of corn will sweeten more than 400 cans of Coca-Cola
• Each tassel on a corn plant releases as many as 5 million grains of pollen

You can use corn in a lot of ways and recipes, I have included two basic ways to prepare it. From there you can cut the corn off the cob and add into salads, casseroles, omelets, and so much more.

Boil
Just before cooking, husk the corn, pull off the silky threads, and cut out any blemishes with a pointed knife. Drop the corn into a large pot filled with boiling salted water. Cover the pot and let the water return to a boil again, then turn off the heat and keep the pot covered. After about 5 minutes, remove enough ears for a first serving. You can keep the remaining corn warm in the water for another 10 minutes without its becoming tough. Serve with lots of butter and salt.

Grill
Cut off excess silk hanging from the end and remove loose husk, but don’t fully husk.

Completely submerse all of the corn you will be cooking under water. This will provide extra moisture for cooking. Let the ears of corn soak for at least 15 minutes prior to cooking. While your corn is soaking, go ahead and prepare the grill.

Remove the corn from the water and pour out any excess. Place the corn on the grill and close grill lid. If you are using a charcoal grill, you can get away with turning the corn every 10-15 minutes. If you are using a gas grill, keep the heat on med-high and turn the ears every 5 minutes. If you don’t turn them enough, the corn will char.

After a couple of turns, place the corn husk on an indirect heat (moved to the side of the grill) or on the top shelf of your grill, and close the cover. Allow the corn to slowly continue cooking for approximately 15 minutes.

As soon as the husk picks up a dark silhouette and begins to pull away from the tip of the ear, the corn is ready to come off the grill. Don’t overcook the corn or it will become mushy.

Remove the corn from the grill. Be careful and wear oven mitts as the corn will be very hot!

Grasping one end with a oven mitt or dish towel, peel the husks and silk from the top down (like a banana) – they should all come off in one piece. Ashes will get on the corn, but this is ok. If the corn is too hot to handle, do this part in the sink under warm running water.  Once you’ve removed most of the silk, rinse the corn under warm running water to remove any excess ash and silk.  Serve with butter and enjoy!

Did you survive the heat? We enjoyed it here on the farm, especially on Saturday, when Jeff (yes, our Jeff) married the lovely Lisa!  Enjoy!

Small Share:

• Salad Mix: ½ lb
• Green Crisp Lettuce: 1 hd
• Carrots: 1 bu
• Yellow Wax Beans: ½ lb
• Tomato: 1 ea
• Slicing Cukes: 1 ea
• Pickling Cukes: ½ lb
• Corn: 4 ea

Medium Share:

• Salad Mix ¾ lb
• Green Crisp Lettuce: 1 hd
• Carrots: 2 bu
• Yellow Wax Beans: ¾ lb
• Tomato: 2 ea
• Slicing Cukes: 2 ea
• Pickling Cukes: 1 lb
• Corn: 6 ea
• Broccoli: 1 hd

 Large Share:

• Salad Mix: 1 lb
• Green Crisp Lettuce: 2 hd
• Carrots: 3 bu
• Yellow Wax Beans: 1 lb
• Tomato: 3 ea
• Slicing Cukes: 3 ea
• Pickling Cukes: 1 ½ lb
• Corn: 8 ea
• Broccoli: 1 hd
• Winterbor Kale: 2 bu
• Italian Parsley: 1 bu

Recipe of the Week
Garlicky Summer Squash and Fresh Corn
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup vegetable broth
1 ear corn, kernels cut from cob
2 cups sliced yellow squash
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the onion and garlic until slightly tender. Mix in the vegetable broth and corn kernels, and cook until heated through. Mix in the squash and zucchini. Cover, and continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until squash and zucchini are tender.
Mix the parsley and butter into the skillet with the squash. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until butter is melted, and serve hot.
Courtesy of allrecipes.com