Summer CSA Baskets Week 6 :Basil Butter, Basil Lemonade and Soup!

Pavlov assists with the cabbage harvest-I see you!

It is with renewed enthusiasm that I added basil to the CSA baskets today. Pesto? Done that. Bruschetta? Done that!

My awesome basil shirt!

I held my little Basil Bash here on Sunday and scrambled to come up with innovative ways to use so many wonderful kinds of basil. Brownies, cupcakes, pinwheels, bruschetta, basil butter and basil lemonade were all part of the offerings.
Many, many thanks to my sister and friends who made wonderful basil creations, helped out and always do. Special thanks to "The Market Chef" Michelle Gatien for coming out and making it all that much more special.
My sweet daughter Emily was up till 3 am painting the above shirt. When you look at it closely you see it is like a piece of fine art. I can't tell you how much it means to me.   ( Yes girls, I'm weepy again!)

Baskets today contained basils, tomatoes peppers, cabbage, chard, carrots, garlic, beans, onions, and a few more items(some had summer squash, ground cherries, mousemelons).
The peppers are coming on strong now and I warn you don't let your kids eat them if you aren't sure if they are sweet or hot. HINT-small ones could very well be hot. But the sizzlers aren't there yet. When they come along they will be packaged separately.

Now the recipes. These are really, really good!

Mollie's Basil Butter
I don't know honestly where Mollie found this recipe. If it is yours, please take the credit!

1 1/2 cup basil (any type)
1/2 lb butter (or vegan sub)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp pepper
1/2 garlic salt

Mix together and enjoy!

Basil Lemonade
I made this with Genovese Basil, but also tried it with the Spice. Bet Thai would be superb too.

Juice from 5 lemons
several handfuls of basil-about a cup
cold water to fill up blender and sugar to taste

I whirred this together in my Vitamix until the basil was completely mixed in, and the resulting lemonade was greenish-yellow.
Pour over ice. This is very refreshing and yummy.

KP's Tuesday Soup
Thanks Kristin for sending me this recipe. It uses everything from the basket and sounds delish! This will be my Wednesday supper....

3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 sweet peppers, finely chopped
1 hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp basil florets
1 cup cut green beans
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Cook on high heat until peppers soften.

1 cup diced tomatoes
Shredded basil leaves
1 summer squash, mandolin lengthwise into noodles
Water/stock

Lower heat and cook until tomatoes soften.

Other seasoning to taste; today I included 2 tbsp each of peanut butter and coconut cream.