I’m outfront weeding the garden and a neighbor passes by, “Oh! You have something stuck in your hair, let me get it.” “Nope!” I quickly replied, placing my hand by my ear. “That’s supposed to be there, its basil!”
Across the street at the Beach 91st St. Community Garden is where I gather my basil leaves*, and when doing so, think of my grandfather Ralph, who always in the summertime had a piece of basil behind his ear. I have this image in my mind like a still photograph, of him sitting on the red stoop with a bundle of basil in hand and one leaf wedged behind his huge ear.
Grandpa would pinch a leaf from the plant and smile. I remember his loud, audible inhales before adorning his head with the fragrant herb. He gave us basil too and we wore the leaf just like he would, without any thought or question.
These were the late days of summer when my sisters and I helped grandpa harvest. We’d take several basil leaves and wrap them in tinfoil, making rectangular pouches to store in the freezer. Clear as day I remember folding the tinfoil at the kitchen counter. I had to stand on a chair because I was too short to reach. Grandpa Ralph would hover over us “That’s too much!!!” or “That’s too little!!” Despite his voice being loud and aggressive, he was as sweet as the basil we were packing away.
I’m unsure if the tinfoil storage method is an Italian thing, a Sanfilippo tradition my grandfather’s people brought from the old country, or the right way to do it. Regardless, this is how I still freeze my basil today.
I asked my mother why my grandfather always had basil behind his ear but she didn’t know. “I guess he liked the smell.” she said. I couldn’t help searching a little online. I found an archived NY Times article from 1989 about a noted chef and gardener, Dr. Angelo Pellegrini. Here was a clue, “…it was an aromatic branch of dark-green basil that he raised to his nose and sniffed with deep pleasure. In Italy when we go courting, we put this behind the ear, It gets them every time.”
Sadly, I’ll never get to hear my grandfather’s story about why he wore basil by his ear. I continue the tradition thought, because for me, basil behind the ear reminds me of him, my childhood days learning in the kitchen and the special memories I hold of those summer days with my family in the garden.
Find my pesto recipe on The Glorified Tomato here.
* Harvest basil by cutting or pinching the stem right above a new leaf pair. In a few weeks, your basil plant will be ready to harvest again.
Paula’s Pesto
(makes 1 cup)
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (don’t use cheap stuff)
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
½ lemon squeezed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions: Mix all ingredients in a food processor except the olive oil, salt and pepper. Once roughly chopped, slowly add the olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste
Seal tightly in a container. You can freeze pesto by adding a layer of olive oil on top of the pesto mixture to preserve and prevent browning.
by Paula D.
on August 14, 2018 8:18 am in Drinks
It’s been so hot and humid. The other day I wanted an ice pop so bad but I knew I didn’t have any. Instead, I pathetically stuck my head in the freezer for a minute to cool down.
I remember as kids, my sisters and I would make icy pops at the kitchen table. It gave us something to do and we would anticipate enjoying the cooling treat after the long summer day playing outside. My mother gave us those small bathroom cups to make our ices with and she pulled out the popsticks from our craft bin. We used orange and cranberry juice for the flavors. If my mother had fruit in the fridge, she would cut it up and we’d include that into our ice pop creations. I remember one time my sister Maria grabbed the Coca-Cola out of the fridge without my mother seeing. We made soda ice pops and also… orange juice Coca-Cola ice pops. That sounds so gross to me now but I remember liking it back then, and the overloaded sugar rush.
I decide this week to make mojito ice pops since I had so much mint growing in the garden and it’s been so hot and… I love booze!
I would’ve used paper cups as a salute to my childhood popsicle-making days but I didn’t have plastic or paper cups in the house. I thought the ice cube tray technique would be too small and messy for an adult pop. I opted to buy the ice pop molds they sell everywhere these days. They’re reusable unlike the paper and plastic cups and I’m definitely planning on experimenting, making a variety of grown-up ice pops during the hot month of August.
I looked for a good recipe online and came across one from realhousemoms.com. I figure, moms make pops with their kids all the time and moms need boozy pops to deal with their kids so this would be a trusted source for the recipe.
Mojito Ice Pops
Ingredients
(Makes about 12 pops depending on your ice pop mold)
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
20 mint leaves plus more for garnish
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup white rum (Use the delicious Owneys brand, Rockaway native, Bridget Firtle’s rum!)
Instructions
1. In a small saucepan, heat sugar and water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the mint leaves. Cover and let steep until mint syrup is cool.
2. In a bowl combine mint syrup, lime juice and rum. Pour mixture into popsicle molds, adding mint leaves into each one for a pretty pinterest-y effect. Freeze for at least 4 hours.
This was surprising really fast and easy to prepare, it took only 20 min. The pops taste great, zesty minty and boozy. Alcohol doesn’t freeze. The pops are solid but melt fast. No worries though, just “chug the pop” and grab another!
I’ve never had much luck with zucchini but this year, the squash gods granted me bounty. I said to myself as I peered down over the plant, “Wow, they look like real zucchinis.”
Have you ever seen the plant? The vegetables grow outwards on an angle. They seem to defy gravity. The fruit is bulky yet the large yellow flowers are so delicate. I recently learned from Pam, the Market Manager of Edgemere Farm that there are male and female flowers. Female zucchini blossoms are directly attached to the fruit. Male blossoms are attached to a long stem. It’s a wonderful Italian treat to eat fried, ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms. You can eat both male and female, just remove the piston or stamen.
Continuing to marvel over my zucchinis, I noticed life living upon its leaves. There was a green grasshopper, and then a flat blackish, matte beetle thing. I googled the insect and learned it’s in the Coreidae family, it was a Squash Bug. I also noticed baby squash bug eggs. These suckers will kill your plant, yellowing and wilting the leaves. The damage occurs when the bug injects a toxin into the plant while sucking out the plant sap. I learned early detection is key to controlling the pest because the adults are hard to kill. They overwinter under leaves so don’t put the damaged zucchini plant into your compost. The best way to combat the bug is by wiping the eggs off with a damp paper towel that has a bit of dish soap on it. Luckily, I only saw two egg clusters on my plant. I felt a little bad removing the eggs… because aren’t we all just trying to survive? Also they were laid so perfectly and they’re deep orange and shiny, very pretty actually.
I posted a picture on my instagram of my zucchinis and asked. “What should I make with my precious harvest?” Some people suggested zucchini fritters others said zucchini linguine, otherwise known as zoodles. I’ve been meaning to make zoodles, a healthy pasta alternative with my never-been-used Spiralizer my friend Melissa gave me. Decision made.
I decided to dress my zucchini linguine in a classic garlic and oil sauce with fresh tomatoes, basil and a dash of romano cheese. It was simple but bursting with the rich flavor of seasoned, organic tomatoes. My husband barely left me a mouthful for dinner!
Zucchini Linguine Aglio Olio
Ingredients (serves 2):
2 zucchinis
2 handfuls of grape tomatoes – from the garden or organic will taste best
4 cloves garlic
A healthy pour of extra virgin olive oil
Basil, salt and pepper to taste
3-4 tablespoons romano cheese
Directions:
Make your zoodles with a Spiralizer. There are many types, so follow the directions for your specific model.
Spiralizer the zoodles directly onto the serving plate
In a small skillet, heat on low the extra virgin olive oil (I swear by colavita oil)
Half the grape tomatoes and dice the garlic. Add those ingredients to the oil.
Add salt and pepper, letting it simmer for about 5 min. When the garlic begins to lightly brown, remove and let the mixture sit for 2 min.
Pour the oil/tomato mixture over the zucchini linguine. Top with the romano cheese and chopped basil. Serve right away.
