basil

Blackberry Basil Smoothies

August 13, 2014 by Erica

It’s been a while since we talked about smoothies on this here blog. To be honest, we never got out of the oatmeal habit this summer. Our AC has been blasting, we’ve been obsessed with almond butter and bananas, and I’ve been wayyy too lazy to wash out the food processor… and yes, I make our smoothies in the food processor! It’s more powerful than our blender, so it wins every time.

So, no smoothies for breakfast (or the blog) recently. But we have had smoothies after long runs on the weekend – second breakfast, I guess you could call it. That was the case with this recipe, which I whipped up after bringing home the equivalent of about $80 in fresh basil from my friends’ garden. Right after making two batches of pesto, and right before making pesto bean dip :) All the basil!

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Avocado Herb Deviled Eggs

May 9, 2014 by Erica

OK, so I totally missed the deviled egg boat this year. Apparently deviled eggs are an Easter thing? I never knew this, though it makes sense, of course. One of my favorite things post-Easter is seeing all my co-workers with young kids bring dyed eggs to work for lunch. Taking one for the team. Because let’s face it, no one really wants to eat the eggs after they’re dyed. They have flecks of blue on them and stuff. Not appetizing.

But we’re talking about deviled eggs. To tell the truth, I haven’t thought about deviled eggs in years. Then Easter happened, and the blogosphere blew up with the darn things! And I was like, wait, why didn’t IIIII do that? Major deviled egg envy. So now I’m doing it.

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Fresh Corn Polenta with Tomatoes and Basil

September 4, 2013 by Erica

Fresh Corn Polenta with Tomatoes and Basil // Coffee & Quinoa

This polenta is my answer to the question, “What do I do with all this corn?”

We’ve been getting a ton of corn in our farm box recently. And by a ton, I mean three or four ears a week. I know, I know, that’s not that much. My dad, who hails from the Midwest, could (and regularly does) eat that in one sitting… but for two city kids who mostly just put corn in our salads (can we still be city kids now that we live in Utah?), that is a whole lotta corn. But something fortuitous happened last week: in the few minutes that I was driving home from picking up our farm box, NPR was playing a piece about heirloom corn and making delicious polenta with it. Ding ding ding! We have a winner. What an awesome coincidence.

Fresh Corn Polenta with Tomatoes and Basil // Coffee & Quinoa

To be honest, I didn’t even know you could make polenta from fresh corn – every recipe I’ve ever seen has involved cornmeal. Shows you how much I know! Turns out, you can make the most delicious polenta EVER when you start with fresh corn. And from the recipes I’ve seen, starting from scratch doesn’t add to the cooking time of “regular” polenta.

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Chocolate Terrine with Sea Salt and Thai Basil Ice Cream

July 12, 2013 by Erica

Chocolate Terrine with Sea Salt and Thai Basil Ice Cream

It’s chocolate lovers only from here on out. This is some serious chocolate.

Chocolate Terrine with Sea Salt and Thai Basil Ice Cream

A few years ago, I had this dessert at the restaurant Ten Tables in Cambridge, MA. I was out to dinner with my mom after work, and naturally ordered the most chocolaty thing I could find on the dessert menu – chocolate terrine with sea salt and Thai basil ice cream. I thought Thai basil ice cream sounded weird and that I probably wouldn’t eat that part; I was mostly interested in the chocolate. So misguided.

The first bite blew my mind. An ultra-chocolaty flourless chocolate cake topped with crunchy sea salt and fresh, creamy basil ice cream. The combination was SO unexpectedly delicious. I was in heaven.

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Caprese Grain Salad with Spelt

June 24, 2013 by Erica

Caprese Grain Salad with Spelt

Caprese salad is one of my summertime favorites. I love how the fresh flavors somehow make red, white and green seem not at all Christmas-y!

I usually make a layered version, with big slices of vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh mozzarella sprinkled with sliced basil leaves, salt and pepper, and drizzled with olive oil. But I also have a soft spot for mini things (I think this is hard-wired into females of all species?), and little baby balls of mozzarella are no exception. So this time I decided to make a mini caprese, focusing on the awesome textures.

Caprese Grain Salad with Spelt

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