Here's a great way to use that Thai Basil. 

Thai Basil Stew
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Make sauce.  Grind together:
- 1 handful of Thai Basil leaves
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 jalapeno (with seeds if you like it hot)
- 2 T. fish sauce
- 1 t. lime (optional)

Note: use additional mild flavored oil as needed

For stew:
- 1 lb. ground meat (bison or organic ground beef is good)
Chopped vegetables, such as
- eggplant
- zucchini
- yellow squash
- potatoes
- green or yellow wax beans

- 2 tomatoes, chopped (about 1 cup)

Brown the ground meat in a large deep skillet over medium to medium high heat.  When most of the pink is gone, stir in the sauce.  Continue stirring and cooking for about a minute.  Stir in vegetables, except tomatoes and continue stirring and cooking for about 2 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes.  Lower heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over brown rice.

A friend of mine clued me in this summer to a fantastic tomato press for making sauce.  It can be ordered from NapaStyle at http://www.napastyle.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=2046.  If you sign up for their email newsletter, they send you a $10 off your order so that makes the press $49.  Of course I learned this after I ordered....But, I used this with one of our week's tomoto  haul and it worked very well--no more need to boil/peel --you just run through the press and get it separates out your peel and seed on one side and the sauce on the other.  Much easier for making sauces to use immediately or to can/freeze.  Just wanted to pass it along! 

Thanks, Dave, for all the yummy stuff you grow for us!

Audrey

So, I have made some really delicious marinara sauce with the tomatoes, small onions, basil and/or parsley and that delicious fresh garlic!!! we have enough in the freezer to last a while!

enough pesto as well. i need to make basil/lemongrass mojitos!

more suggestions for all the tomatoes:

margherita pizza. lotsa pasta has great pre-made pizza crusts (dough balls too if you prefer)...i used a good EVOO, a pinch of salt and cracked pepper. i also bought fresh mozzarella from lotsa pasta as well. i thinly sliced the mozzarella along with thinly sliced fresh basil and garlic with a touch of grated parm reg. baked and devoured. YUM YUM! Great with a glass of white sangria.

tonight, i gutted 4 big toms (saved juice and pulp). preheat oven @ 400. thinly sliced garlic and diced one of the small onions and chiffonade of arugula then mixed all together with orzo and added mozzarella and parm regg...stuffed tomatoes with mix then baked for 30 min until crispy on top. it is a great light summer dish.

This sauce is ubiquitous in Argentina, land of the perpetual grill.  The sauce is fantastic on sausage, beef and chicken, but I also love it on grilled vegetables.  It keeps well for about a week or so.  The seasonings are approximate -- adjust up or down, according to your personal palate.

Chimichurri

1 1/2 cups Italian parsley, packed
1/2 cup cilantro, packed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Puree all ingredients in processor. Transfer to bowl. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

Makes about 2 cups.

I brined and roasted a Field 51 chicken, and it tasted amazing.  Brining really brings out the flavor, and it's so easy, just takes a little time:

4 quarts water
1 cup coarse salt
1/2 cup honey
1 bunch fresh thyme
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon coarsely cracked black pepper
1 lemon, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil

Line extra-large stockpot with heavy large plastic bag. Rinse poultry; place in plastic bag. Stir water, coarse salt and honey in large pot until salt and honey dissolve. Add fresh thyme, peeled garlic cloves and black pepper. Pour brine over poultry. Gather plastic bag tightly around the chicken so that bird is covered with brine; seal plastic bag. Refrigerate pot with chicken in brine for 12 hours. Drain poultry and discard brine; pat dry inside and out.  Squeeze juice from lemon halves into main cavity. Add lemon rinds and more fresh thyme (or whatever fresh herbs you have; I used rosemary) to main cavity, then rub all over with olive oil. Roast at 350 until done.

I found the recipe here: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/simple-cauliflower-recipe.html

I used the garlic scapes instead of the chives and minced garlic and I added some sliced zucchini. Also subbed Asiago cheese for the Parmesan. I didn't have lemons to zest, so I just splashed some lemon juice over it before I scooped it into a bowl. Delicious!

    2 - 3 heads of small cauliflower (or 1/2 head large)
    2 tablespoons of olive oil
    a couple pinches of sea salt
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 small bunch of chives, chopped
    zest of one lemon
    freshly grated Parmesan
    a bit of flaky sea salt

To prep the cauliflower, remove any leaves at the base and trim the stem. Now cut it into tiny trees - and by tiny, I mean most florets aren't much larger than a table grape. Make sure the pieces are relatively equal in size, so they cook in the same amount of time. Rinse under running water, and set aside.

Heat the olive oil and fine grain salt in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cauliflower and stir until the florets are coated. Wait until it gets a bit brown on the bottom, then toss the cauliflower with a spatula. Brown a bit more and continue to saute until the pieces are deeply golden - all told about six minutes. In the last 30 seconds stir in the garlic.

Remove from heat and stir in the chives, lemon zest, and dust with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a pinch of flaky sea salt (if you have it on hand). Serve immediately.

Serves 2-3 as a side.

~Sherry

I just made this and it is really delicious - unusual, crisp and just a little exotic. The recipe calls for chives, which I didn't have on hand, so I used five scapes chopped up and sauteed with the butter.  Fantastic.  Try it!  So different, but even my husband loved it, and he isn't big on turnip-type vegetables.

Carrots and Rutabagas with Lemon and Honey
1 1/4 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into matchstick strips (I had three good-sized turnips)
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into matchstick strips (I used six carrots)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (I probably had nearly 2 tsp)
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives

Cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Add carrots and cook til veggies are tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.  In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter, then add lemon juice, honey and peel. Bring to a boil, add veggies and cook until glazed, stirring occasionally (about six minutes).  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in fresh chives and serve. 

I used last week's basil supply to make a yummy batch of pesto.  I followed Mario Batali's recipe (he of the orange clogs on Food Network) from his book, Simple Italian Food.  It is a good one, and I thought I'd share.

3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 cups basil leaves
1 clove garlic (but I added more)
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
3 tablespoons grated Pecorino cheese
1-1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil

In a food processor, place pine nuts, basil, garlic, and sea salt and process to a paste.  Add the cheeses and drizzle in the olive oil.  Store in a jar, topped with oil.  Makes 2-1/2 cups.  Note:  I also froze some of this last year, and it held up well. 

I am thinking with its tendrils...it is kohlrabi? at this point, it doesn't matter because it has already been devoured.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to combine it with apples and make a tart or something savoury....savoury it is.

Here is a great recipe that I tweeked...it is from Nigella Lawson's "Express" pg. 39....it's originally just a potato gratin, but I made it a potato/turnip rutabaga thing gratin. Try it. You'll love it!

3 average size yukon gold potatoes, sliced thin
3 average size kohlrabi/rutabaga/turnip bulb, sliced thin
1.5 cups of milk
3 tablespoons white wine
salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of EVOO
2-4 cloves of garlic minced
1 shallot minced
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, or oyster or cremini whatever you have or like
Raw parmesan cheese from Zimmerman's farm (you can get it from Rainbow Blossom) or Gruyere

Heat oven to 425* and butter a shallow baking dish or gratin

Bring sliced potatoes & turnip thing, milk, wine, s &P to a boil in a saucepan, stirring occassionally, and leave at a simmer while you get on with the mushroom mix

Melt butter and oil in a skillet over medium high eat. Add garlic and shallots and brown lightly then add mushrooms and stir until softened, about 3 minutes. I like to deglaze with a touch of white wine.

Pour mushroom mix into pan of potatoes, stir and pour straight into gratin/dish. I sprinkled the top with a bit of cheese.

Bake for 45 min until bubbly and crisp on top. Let cool about 10 minutes. Then devour!!

wow that sounds good, we're having family over this weekend. Gonna try it!