Harmony Valley Farm: July 22, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Thai Basil!

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

July 22, 2021 - This Week's Box Contents, Featuring Thai Basil!

Cooking With This Week's Box

Porcelain Garlic:
Homemade Garlic Butter Rolls
Creamy Garlic Herb Chicken

Sweet White Onions:
Onion Sandwich
Cucumber Sweet Onion Salsa

Zucchini and/or Sunburst Scallopini Squash:
Savory Zucchini Pies: 5 Easy Recipes
Cinnamon Sugar Zucchini Coffee Cake

Broccoli:
Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup (made summer style with zucchini & carrots)
Sicilian Broccoli & Cauliflower Pasta

White Cauliflower:
Pesto Roasted Cauliflower
Cauliflower Risotto

Green Top Carrots:
Carrot Salad with Thai Basil, Lime and Toasted Sesame Oil
Easy Carrot Fritters

New Red Potatoes:
Crispy Garlic Butter Parmesan Smashed Potatoes
Sheet Pan Garlic Herb Butter Chicken & Potatoes

Thai Basil:
Thai Basil Lemonade (See Below)
Thai Basil Pesto with Peanuts (See Below)

Yellow OR Green Beans:
Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms
Yellow Beans with Garlic, Dill and Parsley

Eggplant:
20 Eggplant Recipes for the Weekend
Eggplant Caviar on Grilled Bread

Green Top Red Beets:
Peach and Beet Salad
Roasted Salmon, Beets & Potatoes with Horseradish Cream

Hello Everyone!

The contents of the box are shifting to some of our peak summer selections including beans and eggplant this week. The tomatoes are just starting to ripen alongside the tomatillos that are starting to fill out their husks. A hop, skip and a jump down the field we have some nice bell peppers set on. Within the next couple of weeks you’ll start seeing these items in your box along with sweet corn! That’s just a little glimpse of what’s to come, but this week we’re excited to be featuring a unique summer herb, Thai Basil!

Carrot Salad with Thai Basil, Lime and Roasted Sesame Oil
photo from plantydelights.com

In our end of season survey last year some members requested that we grow different varieties of basil in addition to the traditional Italian basil. So, in response to that request we added Thai basil to our planting plan this year. I’ve included two simple recipes using Thai basil. The first, Thai Basil Lemonade (See Below), is a fun way to enjoy the subtle, yet complex flavor of Thai basil. The second recipe for Thai Basil Pesto with Peanuts (See below) is a bit more of a bold recipe, but it’s so delicious! The recipe is scaled for the quantity of Thai basil in your box this week and will yield about ½ cup of pesto. This is plenty to toss with noodles for 3-4 servings, or you can serve it as a condiment with grilled fish, chicken or steak. It would also be delicious tossed with roasted cauliflower or carrots. If you need a larger quantity of pesto, you could double the recipe and use cilantro, Italian basil, mint or any combination of these along with the Thai basil to complete the quantity. All of these herbs are complementary and are often used together in recipes coming from southeast Asian cuisine. If you aren’t interested in either of these recipes, take a look at this week’s vegetable feature article where I’ve included more recipe links!

Pasta alla Norma, photo from lacucinaitaliana.com

Eggplant is making it’s entrance this week and I wish you could see this field! The plants are big, beautiful and healthy with vibrant blossoms in a variety of shades of purple. The fruit is gorgeous and glossy in appearance right now making it a stunning crop to walk through. The key to eggplant is making sure you cook, bake or roast it until it’s not just tender, but silky and smooth. To get you started, take a look at this article for “20 Eggplant Recipes for the Weekend." You could also make this super simple recipe for Eggplant Caviaron Grilled Bread, a recipe concept credited to Alice Waters and Chez Panisse Restaurant.

photo from azestybite.com

This past week I whipped up a batch of pesto with the bag of Italian basil from last week’s box. It had been sitting on my counter for a few days and was starting to get pretty wilted. You would never have known what it looked like after I turned it into the most delicious pesto along with a lot of fresh garlic! I’ve used the pesto in a variety of ways including as a spread on chicken sandwiches and as a snack on crackers topped with a piece of gouda and a sliver of salami. Earlier this week we needed a quick dinner so I decided to toss cauliflower florets with some oil and a few spoonfuls of pesto and popped it in the oven to roast it. After Richard and I finished off the entire head of cauliflower for dinner we found ourselves wishing there were more! Why haven’t I done this before!? Trust me, it’s simple and delicious and thankfully someone else thought about doing it too so I’ve included their recipe for Pesto Roasted Cauliflower to guide you!

Savory Zucchini Pie with Stracchino
photo from lacucinaitaliana.com

Our second crop of zucchini is kicking into production this week. Hang on as we ride the second wave of zucchini! If you think you’ve made everything you can possibly make with zucchini, think again! This week I’ve included a link to an article featuring “Savory Zucchini Pies: 5 Easy Recipes." If you’re feeling more like something on the sweet side of the fence, check out this recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Zucchini Coffee Cake.

Ok, I’m going to wrap it up for this week. I hope you enjoy working with the Thai basil this week. We hope to include it in another box, possibly even next week if there’s some remaining after this week’s harvest. If you find more than one or two recipes you’d like to try with the basil, tuck them away and make them with the next round. Have a great week and I’ll see you back here next week!---Chef Andrea

Vegetable Feature: Thai Basil

By: Chef Andrea Yoder

Description: Thai basil is a unique herb that is actually a member of the mint family. It’s characterized by thin, slender, pointy green leaves that grow on dark purple stems. The plants also have purple flowers which are edible and usable when they are young and tender. Thai basil has a flavor that is kind of a combination of basil along with a subtle anise or licorice flavor.

Preparation & Use: To use Thai basil, pluck the leaves and tender flowers off the stem. The stems are not very fragrant, so you can discard the stems. Thai basil is often used in the cuisine of southeast Asian countries including recipes and dishes from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. You’ll often see it used along with a variety of other herbs including cilantro, sweet basil, and mint. Whole or roughly torn leaves are often used in fresh vegetable salads, but are also used in spring rolls or added at the end of cooking to stir-fries and curries. You may also add it to dishes such as a traditional Vietnamese Pho as well as soup, noodle or rice dishes. You can also use it to make fragrant beverages such as lemonade, hot or cold tea or cocktails.

Thai Basil Chicken Stir Fry
photo from recipetineats.com

In addition to the herbs listed previously, Thai basil also pairs well with garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chiles, limes, coconut, curry, eggplant, winter and summer squash, peppers, cucumbers, peanuts and cashews to name just a few ingredients.

This week’s box contains a 1 ½ ounce portion which will yield about 1 cup of loosely packed leaves.

Storage: Thai basil is a more perishable vegetable once it is harvested. For best results, use it within a few days after receiving it. For optimal storage, put the cut end of the stems in a glass of fresh water and store it at room temperature until you are ready to use it.

If this herb is new to you, here are 15 Thai Basil Recipe ideas to get you started!

Thai Basil Pesto with Peanuts

Yield: ½ cup

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp dry roasted peanuts

1 cup Thai basil leaves, lightly packed

1 ½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tsp rice vinegar

¼ tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)

1 tsp maple syrup

½ to 1 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp lime juice

Salt, to taste

Place the garlic and peanuts in the bowl of a food processor and process briefly to coarsely chop the garlic and peanuts. Add the Thai basil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes, maple syrup, ½ tsp soy sauce and lime juice.
Process until it is mostly smooth, or to your preferred consistency. Taste and adjust to your preferences by adding salt, additional soy sauce and/or rice vinegar as needed.
Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready for use.

Serving Suggestions:

Toss with cooked rice noodles, soba noodles, ramen or egg noodles.
Serve as a condiment with grilled steak, fish or chicken.
Toss with vegetables such as cauliflower, carrots and/or mushrooms and roast until tender.
Add a spoonful to stir-fried vegetables and serve with rice.

Recipe adapted slightly from Jordan Kenna’s recipe featured at tasty.co

Thai Basil Lemonade

Yield: 6 servings

6 large lemons

¾-1 cup sugar

½-⅔ cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves

6-8 cups of water

Ice

1. First cut two of the lemons into quarters and remove the seeds. Place the quartered lemons in a large bowl along with the sugar and basil. If you like really sweet lemonade, use one cup of sugar. If you prefer a more tart lemonade, start with ¾ cup of sugar. Use a muddler or a wooden spoon to smash the sugar, basil and lemons together until the mixture becomes fragrant and the sugar starts to dissolve in the juices extracted from the lemons, about 2 to 3 minutes. Once muddled, put the basil mixture in a large jar or pitcher.

Before Muddling

After Muddling

2. Juice the remaining 4 lemons. You will need 1 cup of lemon juice. If your lemons do not yield one cup, juice more lemons until you have a cup of juice.

3. Add the cup of lemon juice to the jar or pitcher along with 6 cups of water. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of two hours or overnight.

4. Strain the lemonade into a pitcher and taste it. If it is too concentrated, add 1-2 cups more water. Serve chilled over ice.

Recipe adapted from rachaelraymag.com