Sunday, July 31, 2011

Purple Basil




We didn't plant any Purple Basil at One Love Farm this year. But, as you can see, it seeded itself from last year's plants and greatly expanded the area where it is growing. The plants are growing in a stone walkway (I guess the plants in the beds last year dropped their seeds here) so you have to be a little careful when walking, but if your foot brushes up against the basil, you get that nice aroma when passing by.

I posted some pictures showing the growing cycle of the basil. You can see how big the basil has grown since the spring. You can use purple basil the same way as regular basil. Mash it with olive oil, salt and garlic for pesto or use a few leaves on pizza. You can also eat it chopped in salad, although I find the leaves a bit more leathery than green basil leaves. We even chopped some up and made a purple basil gelato with lemon last week!

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