White House Gardens Week #11, August 26 2010

Most of the contents of your shares are picked on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings.  Now that the days are getting shorter, we have almost an hour less of daylight each evening to pick your vegetables.  I had two helpers on Wednesday evening, Sarah Fulton, my niece, who works for me part time, and shareholder Rob Bowser.  Sarah cut basil in the dark,(among other things) and Rob picked peppers and eggplant and washed them very carefully for you.  Thank you to both of them for helping. 

The potatoes are dug when time allows and then are stored in my garage until it’s time to put them in your shares.  That’s part of the beauty of potatoes; they can sit in the ground and wait to be dug and still be good, even if the tops have died back and it looks like nothing is there but weeds. There are many more rows of potatoes to dig.  They should be in your shares regularly until the end of the season.  I am continually amazed at what I can produce on such a small area.  Each week I think about what I want to pick for your shares and I worry that there won’t be enough for everyone.  Then we pick, peppers for instance, and I am overwhelmed at how much is available to put in your shares.  I am also amazed at what can be produced from a tiny, little seed.  A pepper plant that produces dozens of peppers; a tomato plant that produces scores of tomatoes.  What a miracle that is!


Tomatoes  This week’s share includes one heirloom tomato, Brandywine, in all shares.  These need to be picked before they ripen, or they split and crack.  If yours is not ripe, let it sit on the kitchen counter for a couple of days and it will ripen in no time.  Other types of tomatoes are cherries, Early Girl, Estiva, Celebrity, St. Pierre, and Pink Beauty, all hybrids.  The Pink Beauty have a pink skin and a great flavor.  They are one of my favorites.  The tomato plants are beginning to decline.  In a couple of weeks there will be paste tomatoes, San Marzanos, in your share.  Here’s a link to a tomato soup recipe:    Blender Tomato Soup 

Peppers  The peppers are beginning to turn red.  If your peppers are just beginning to change color, leave them out of the refrigerator for a few days, and they will continue to ripen.  Besides, a bowl of peppers looks just as nice as a bowl of fruit on the table!  Green peppers are unripe peppers.  You may have Carmen, a long, thin green to red pepper; Flavorburst, light green ripening to yellow; Ace and/or Revolution, a green to red bell pepper.  Also in your shares are Hungarian Hot Wax, the long, thin yellow ones.  These are mildly spicey.  Any pepper can be stuffed and baked.
 
Eggplant  I grow 4 kinds of eggplant.  Violetta: long and thin.  Prosperosa: dark purple, globe shaped.  Rosa Bianca:  light purple. Galine:  traditional.  All of these varieties are interchangeable in recipes calling for eggplant.  See Week #9 newsletter for a link to eggplant recipes.  Included in the newsletter is a recipe for grilled eggplant.  Or here’s a link:  Grilled Eggplant
Potatoes  Dark Red Norland. 
 
Romano Beans  Not in all shares. These are flat pods with great flavor.   Next week there should be more.  I keep track of who gets what each week if there isn’t enough to go around and make sure that those who didn’t get something get it the next time. 
 
Swiss Chard  Chard and beets come from the same plant family.  Chard can be used like spinach; it can be eaten raw or cooked.  The stems are also edible.  Included in the newsletter is a recipe.
Onions  Most shares received several large yellow onions called Alisa Craig.  These grow very large, but do not keep long.  It’s best to store them in the refrigerator. 
 
Parsley and Basil  Store parsley in the refrigerator, but not the basil.  Store basil like cut flowers with a loose bag over the top.  Trim the stems periodically and change the water to keep the basil fresh.  Make a basil puree in the food processor with enough olive oil just to make a paste.  Freeze in ice cube trays.  When frozen, store in plastic bags in the freezer.  Use a cube or two when making soup or tomato sauce. 
 
Easy Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce
 From TheBittenWord.com
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
2 cloves smashed garlic
5 thyme sprigs
Olive oil to drizzle
Salt and Pepper to taste
Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Halve small tomatoes.  Quarter large tomatoes.  Arrange the tomatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer. Scatter sliced onions over the pan. Nestle the thyme springs among the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on how cooked you would like your tomatoes.
Remove pan from oven. Discard thyme sprigs. Allow tomatoes to cool slightly. Using a blender, food processor or food mill, blend the tomatoes until they liquified (as chunky or as smooth as you would prefer).
If using sauce immediately, enjoy!  If freezing, allow the sauce to cool, transfer to freezer bags and freeze.
Spicy Hoisin Glazed Eggplant

 Serves 4


1 tablespoon canola oil

1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon red chile flakes

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

2 medium eggplants, ends trimmed and cut into ½-inch thick slices

6 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 green onions, white and green part, thinly sliced



1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic and red chile flakes and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the hoisin, vinegar and soy sauce until combined.
2. Heat your grill to high.
3. Brush eggplant slices on both sides with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the slices on the grill and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes. Brush with some of the glaze, turn over and continue grilling just until cooked through, brushing with more of the glaze, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Remove from the grill and brush with the remaining glaze. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with the green onion.




Creamed Swiss Chard With Prosciutto
This recipe is one of my sister’s favorites.  You can use prosciutto, pancetta, or bacon.  They all work great.
2 T. olive oil
¼ cup diced prosciutto
¼ cup minced yellow onion
1 T. minced garlic
8 cups chopped Swiss chard leaves  (you can use the stems also, separate them from the leaves and cook the stems first, then add the leaves)
1/3 heavy cream
Salt and pepper as needed
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ t. grated nutmeg

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the prosciutto and sauté until aromatic, about 1 minute.  Increase the heat to high and add the onion and garlic.  Saute, stirring constantly, until the garlic is aromatic, about 1 minute more.

Add the Swiss chard, sautéing just until the leaves wilt, about five minutes.  Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer.  Cook the Swiss chard until it is tender, about 5 minutes.
Season generously with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan and nutmeg.  Serve immediately ina heated bowl or on heated plates.

White House Gardens Week #10, August 19, 2010

Week #10 August 19, 2010
This has been a very challenging week for me in the garden.  There is so much more to plant for you, but I seem to be running out of time!  That’s my biggest challenge, finding the time to do all that I want to do.  There are so many new things that I want to try and grow.  When these things overwhelm me, I feel like I’m running in circles, and not accomplishing anything.  The days are definitely getting shorter and I can feel the coolness in the air now that the humidity has left.  Fall is upon us and summer is winding down. 

The tomatoes are peaking, especially the cherry tomatoes, but the heirlooms are not ripening yet.  Hopefully the nice weather will continue so we can enjoy the many colors and flavors of the heirloom tomatoes.  The lettuce in your share is an iceberg lettuce.  I am not happy with it’s appearance, I think I let it grow a little too long before picking.  Please let me know what you think of the taste.  Iceberg lettuce is a challenge to grow in my soil, too much clay.  There will be a couple of weeks without lettuce, until the next planting is ready.  In all, I have been pleased with the fact that I have put lettuce in your shares more times than not.  That was one of my goals for this year. 

Another goal was to grow more and better melons.  I definitely got more, but I felt most of them did not taste very good.  I would love to hear your comments on the melons, especially the muskmelons or cantelopes. 

I am also not pleased with the fennel that I picked this week.  I have tried to grow fennel for several years and I think this year may be the last.  Many of the bulbs had bolted without even becoming a bulb!  There is some information about fennel and a couple of recipes in the newsletter.  My favorite way to cook fennel is to sauté it in olive oil and garlic.  Trim the stalks from the bulb and slice crossways into ¼” slices.  Heat olive oil over medium heat, add garlic and crushed red pepper to taste and sauté for 30 seconds.  Add the fennel slices and cook over medium heat until lightly browned and tender.  This makes a great side dish. 

All the peppers this week are hot and/or mildly spicey.  Large shares include some Cubanelles, which are only slightly hot.  The others are jalapenos, Serrano (thin green and/or red), Cayenne (small red, shriveled), Czech Black (dark purple), or Bulgarian Carrot (yellow).  Small shares do not include Cubanelles.  There will be more later.

Tomatoes  Cherry and slicing tomatoes.  Included in the newsletter is a recipe for Jamie Oliver’s “The Mothership Tomato Salad”.  I love this recipe because it’s so simple and can be used to make a salad, a topping for bruschetta, or tossed with pasta.
 
Lettuce  Iceberg type. 
 
Carrots  Carrots (and many other vegetables) are great roasted.  Cut them into slices or chunks along with any other vegetables you may have, such as onions, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic.  Cut all the vegetables into same size pieces so they cook evenly.  Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Bake at 400 degrees until tender.  The time will depend on what vegetables you are using.
 
Fennel  See above on how to sauté fennel.  Also see info and more recipes in this newsletter
 
Watermelon  The dark green ones have red flesh, and the light green ones with dark stripes have yellow flesh
 
Red Onions 
 
Green Beans  Romano (Italian flat green beans) or Tongue of Fire.  The later can be eaten as a fresh bean or picked later as a fresh shell bean.  Tongue of Fire is green with red streaks. 
 
Peppers  This week’s share is all about hot peppers.  Try the Cubanelles stuffed with meat or cheese and baked.  Use the jalapeno, Serrano, Bulgarian Carrot, Cayenne, or Czech Black to make salsa or add them to fried potatoes.

The Mothership Tomato Salad
From “Jamie at Home” by Jamie Oliver
2 ¼ pounds mixed ripe tomatoes, different shapes and colors
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A good pinch of dried oregano
Red wine or balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and grated
1 fresh red chili, deseeded and chopped
Depending on the size of your tomatoes, slice some in half, some into quarters and others into uneven chunks.  Straightaway this will give you the beginnings of a tomato salad that’s really brave and exciting to look at and eat.  Put the tomatoes into a colander and season with a good pinch of sea salt.  Give them a toss, season again and give a couple more tosses.  The salt won’t be drawn into the tomatoes; instead it will draw any excess moisture out, concentrating all the lovely flavors.  Leave the tomatoes in the colander on top of a bowl to stand for around 15 minutes, then discard any juice that has come out of them.

Transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl and sprinkle over the oregano.  Make a dressing using one part vinegar to three parts oil, the garlic and the chili.  Drizzle the tomatoes with enough dressing to coat everything nicely.

This is a fantastic tomato salad, which is totally delicious to eat on its own.  It’s also great served with some balls of mozzarella or some nice, grilled ciabatta bread. 
Note:  This can also be tossed with hot pasta.  Crush the tomatoes with your hands, then toss with pasta, add fresh mozzarella and basil. 

Fennel From a distance, fennel plants growing in the
field look like a tall, rich, plush carpet. With a sweet, delicate anise flavor,
fennel can be used much like celery in soups, salads, stir-fries, and
other dishes. When used raw, its distinct taste shines through. When
cooked, it imparts a subtle but delicious quality to the finished dish.

STORAGE
Cut off the stalks where they emerge from the bulb. To use the feathery
foliage as an herb, place the dry stalks upright in a glass
filled with two inches of water, cover the glass loosely
with a plastic bag, and store in the refrigerator
for up to five days. The unwashed bulb will
keep in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for at
least a week.

Fennel and Potato Gratin
This is a tasty variation of a traditional
dish. Replace the half-and-half with
whole milk for a less rich dish. Friend
of the Farm.
Serves 4 to 6
butter for greasing the baking dish
1 medium fennel bulb, cut crosswise into
1/8-inch slices (about 2 cups)
2 cups thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes
(about 2 large potatoes)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups half-and-half
2 tablespoons butter
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly coat a shallow 2-quart
baking dish with butter.
2. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of fennel slices.
Cover with half of the potato slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to
taste. Repeat layers until you’ve used up all your slices.
3. Bring the half-and-half to a gentle boil in a medium pan over medium-
high heat. Pour it over the fennel and potato.
4. Using a large spatula, press down on the top layer to submerge it.
Dot with butter. Bake until potatoes are tender and the top is golden,
about 1 hour.
HANDLING
Remove any damaged spots or layers. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise
and check the inner core. If it’s tough, remove it with a paring knife.
Fennel should be washed carefully, because dirt can lodge between
the layers of the bulb. Chop or mince the leaves.
 
Rich Summer Fennel Soup
This hearty soup makes for a meal on its own, and it’s even better the
next day for lunch, though the farm crew seldom leaves any behind.
To make your tomatoes virtually peel themselves, score a very
shallow X on the bottom of each one, put them in a heatproof
bowl or measuring cup, and pour boiling water
over them. Leave them in the boiling water for a
minute or so if necessary; the peel will loosen completely.
Angelic Organics Kitchen.
Serves 3
Bouquet Garni:
1 sprig parsley, stem only
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
Soup:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium or large fennel bulb, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled, cubed
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 tablespoons Pernod (licorice-flavored liqueur) (optional)
1/4 cup heavy cream or silken tofu
salt
white pepper
chopped parsley
1. To prepare the bouquet garni, tie together the parsley stem, bay
leaf, and thyme sprig in a piece of cheesecloth.
2. Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add
the onion; sauté for 1 minute. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more.
3. Stir in the fennel, carrot, and potato and cook for 5 minutes. Add
the tomatoes, stock, and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, then reduce
the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat until the fennel
is very soft, about 30 minutes.
4. Discard the bouquet garni. Let the mixture cool slightly and then
purée it in batches in a food processor or blender. (If you are using tofu
instead of cream, add it now and purée with the rest of the ingredients.)
5. Return the soup to the pot and stir in the Pernod and cream. Heat over
medium-low heat to allow the soup to heat through, but do not boil. Season
with salt and white pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley.
Excerpted from Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt On Vegetables: Seasonal Recipes and Stories from a Community Supported Farm
by Farmer John Peterson & Angelic Organics (Gibbs Smith Publisher). Check with your local farm or bookstore for availability.

White House Gardens Week #9, August 12, 2010

Almost half way through the season, it’s hard to believe.  Somewhere in early July I lose track of time, and then all of a sudden, it’s August.  Where did the time go? 

I love the summer vegetables, but my favorites are the ones that grow in cooler weather: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, spinach.  That’s what I have been busy planting for you, the fall vegetables. 

This week’s share is just the beginning of the summer vegetables.  The tomatoes are beginning to ripen faster, the peppers are getting huge, and the eggplant is just beginning to produce.  The first planting of green beans are being pulled up to make room for kale and spinach, and the second planting of beans will be ready to pick any minute!  The melons are winding down, and the winter squash is creeping out of it’s row into the cauliflower.  I planted 12 varieties of potatoes, 1800 row feet in all.  That’s a lot of potatoes to dig!  I have dug one row and we harvested about 150 pounds.  Hard work when you’re doing it with a potato fork and two people!  I put a call in to a friend that has a piece of equipment I sold to him several years ago that might make the potato digging go a little faster.  I hope it works! 

The heirloom tomatoes are beginning to ripen, however, the entire tomato crop is plagued by septoria leaf spot, a disease that affects the leaves, not the fruit.  This disease causes the leaves to turn brown and eventually fall off.  The fruit is affected by sun scald because there is no foliage to cover the ripening tomatoes.  I hope the plants can hold out another couple of weeks, but it seems to be spreading rather rapidly.  We’ll see what happens.  We had a lot of rain earlier in the season, which can contribute to tomato diseases.  I don’t use any fungicides that aren’t approved for organic use, and I only used a copper fungicide one time this year. 

All of the onions have been harvested and are drying in the greenhouse with huge fans blowing are over them.  The summer squash and zucchini plants are done, although I did plant another row a week ago.  Nothing has come up yet.  Hopefully we will have a warm, dry fall and the plants will have a chance to produce some more zucchini. 

Lettuce  This week’s lettuce is a red romaine and/or a butterhead called Nancy.  Next week look for iceberg lettuce!
 
Potatoes  This week’s variety is Dark Red Norland.  Don’t wash your potatoes until you are ready to use them.  Store in the bag they came in, out of direct light.  Light causes the potatoes to take on a green cast, which is actually harmful if eaten in large quantities.  If any of your potatoes are green in some areas, cut or peel this green off, don’t eat it!
 
Peppers The peppers are just beginning to ripen.  Green peppers are actually non-ripe red peppers.  Some of you may have received some ripe, red peppers.  There will be more to come!  The long, reddish pepper (if you got one) is called Carmen.  It is red when fully ripe and very sweet.  If your peppers are just beginning to redden, let them stay at room temperature for a few days and they will continue to ripen.  The pale yellow one is called Flavorburst and turns bright yellow when ripe.  Next week look for mildly hot, or hot peppers.

Eggplant  I grow 4 varieties of eggplant:  Violetta (long and skinny shape), Prosperosa (globe shaped with a tinge of purple), Rosa Bianca (globe shaped, light purple), and Galine, a traditional eggplant.  The taste is the same, just the color and shape are different.  Here is a link to  Recipes for Health from the New York Times with many suggestions for preparing eggplant.  My favorite way to prepare eggplant:  Cut the eggplant into ¼” slices.  Bread with flour, then beaten egg,  then seasoned bread crumbs and fry until golden brown.  I love eating this hot or cold. 

Green Beans  This is the last of Provider.  Next will be Italian Romano beans and/or Tongue of Fire, a flat green bean with mottled/reddish hues.  Tongue of Fire can be picked for fresh use or left on the plant to produce fresh shell beans, both of which we will enjoy.
 
Melons  This week’s share includes muskmelons and watermelon.  If your watermelon is a light green color with dark stripes then it has yellow flesh.  If it is dark green, then it has red flesh.  It is very difficult to tell when watermelons are ripe.  Thumping is one technique.  If the watermelon produces a deep, hollow sound when thumped, then it is probably ripe!  Watermelons do not continue to ripen after being picked, so it’s pretty much a guessing game.  Please let me know if yours is NOT ripe. 
 
Tomatoes  Hybrid tomatoes Early Girl, St. Pierre, Celebrity and/or Estiva.  Cherry tomatoes are Sun Gold, Black Cherry, Sweet Chelsea or Sun Cherry.  A very few of you got some heirloom tomatoes.  These are the misshapen, sometimes cracked, ugly globes!  They sure don’t win any beauty contests, but their flavor is superb. 
 
Eggplant and Tomato Gratin
By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
This is a delicious, low-fat version of eggplant Parmesan. Instead of breaded, fried eggplant, though, the eggplant in this dish is roasted and sliced, layered with a rich tomato sauce and freshly grated Parmesan, and baked in a hot oven until bubbly.
For the tomato sauce:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste)
2 pounds fresh  tomatoes, quartered if you have a food mill or else peeled, seeded and chopped; or 1 1/2 (28-ounce) cans chopped tomatoes, with juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon sugar
2 sprigs fresh basil
For the gratin:
2 pounds eggplant,   roasted
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1.   Roast the eggplant. Roast,  cut in half lengthwise,  cut sides down at 450,  about 30  minutes
2. Meanwhile, to make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy, preferably nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Stir until tender, about five to eight minutes, then add the garlic. Stir until fragrant, about a minute, and add the tomatoes, salt (1/2 to 1 teaspoon), pepper, sugar and basil sprigs. Turn the heat up to medium-high. When the tomatoes are bubbling, stir well and then turn the heat back to medium. Stir often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and are beginning to stick to the pan, about 25 minutes. Remove the basil sprigs.
3. If you did not peel the tomatoes, put the sauce through the fine blade of a food mill. If the tomatoes were peeled, pulse the sauce in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until coarsely pureed. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set aside 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and mix with the bread crumbs. Oil the inside of a two-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the bottom of the dish. Slice the roasted eggplant about 1/4 inch thick, and set an even layer of slices over the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon a layer of sauce over the eggplant, and sprinkle with basil and Parmesan. Repeat the layers one or two more times, depending on the shape of your dish and the size of your eggplant slices, ending with a layer of sauce topped with the Parmesan and bread crumb mixture you set aside. Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until bubbling and browned on the top and edges. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.
Yield: Serves six

Advance preparation: The tomato sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The casserole can be assembled a day ahead, covered and refrigerated, then baked when you wish to serve it. Don’t add the last layer of bread crumbs and Parmesan, with the drizzle of olive oil, until right before you bake it.

White House Gardens Week #8, August 5, 2010

Week #8  August 5, 2010

It’s hard to believe that August has begun, and we are barely half way through the 20 week season.  I have been busy planting the fall crops: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, carrots, and many others.  All of these vegetables actually like cooler temperatures, and they taste better when the weather is cooler too. 

The tomatoes are beginning to pick up speed.  Everyone received a few, most of you also got cherry tomatoes. 

The melons are ripening in a big hurry:  everyone received at least one.  I planted several varieties, each one becoming mature at different times.  But I guess the melon seeds didn’t read the seed packet, because they all want to be picked right now!  I guess it’s true that you should be careful what you wish for.  My wish was to be able to grow good tasting melons.  I got my wish regarding quantity, let me know how they taste.  Next week the watermelons should be ready. 

Tomatoes  Slicing variety: either New Girl, Estiva, St. Pierre, or Pink Beauty.
Cherry Tomatoes  Large boxes only.  Sun Gold, Black Beauty, Sweet Chelsea, and/or Sun Cherry.
Green Beans  This is the third picking of Provider, and they are still going strong.
Peas  Shelling peas in large boxes only.  This is the last of them.  Please shell these as soon as possible and store in the refrigerator. 
Lettuce  Green Ice (green, crinkly leaves) and/or Antares (red, oak leaf)
Melons  Orange muskmelon named Halona or Athena, although some of you may have a green type, also.  If the rind still feels hard, leave the melon on the counter for a day or two to ripen further.  If your melon feels soft, then consume immediately!
Peppers  The peppers are just beginning to get big.  These first ones are Hungarian Banana Peppers which are a little spicey! (HOT).  In the future I will be putting all hot peppers in a bag in your box, to distinguish between sweet and hot. 
Onions  All the onions have been removed from the field and are drying in the greenhouse.  This is the first batch of cured onions.  These do not need to be stored in the refrigerator.
Basil  Store basil like cut flowers.  Trim the stem, remove lower leaves, and store in a vase of water. Cover the top with a plastic bag   Don’t store basil in the refrigerator, it will turn black from the cold. 

The following recipe for green beans is from a blog I read, Dad Cooks Dinner    You can use this technique for just about any vegetable.

Recipe: Steam-Sauteed Green Beans

Equipment:
Wide saucepan or fry pan with a lid
Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp butter (optional, but pretty plain without it)
1 lemon, zested then halved (optional)
 Trimmed beans
1. Steam the Green Beans: Put the beans in the pan. Add the garlic, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, and 1 tbsp butter. Cover the pan, and put over medium-high heat. Wait for the water to come to a boil, then cook, covered, for 8 minutes
2. Saute the Green Beans: Remove the lid, and cook, stirring the beans occasionally. Keep cooking until all the remaining water boils off and the beans are tender, and just starting to brown, another 2-3 minutes.
*You should be left with just the butter in the pan, and you'll know you're there when you hear the beans start to sizzle. I test for doneness by biting into a bean; it should have just a hint of crunch to it.

3. Season the beans: Squeeze the lemon over the beans and stir to combine. Pour the beans, butter and lemon juice onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the lemon zest and serve.

Variations:
*I'm in a real hurry: Skip the garlic and lemon - just use beans, salt, pepper and butter.

*I want to be really healthy: Cut the butter back to 1 teaspoon.  I wouldn't eliminate it entirely.  Even a little butter adds a big hit of flavor to the beans.

*Olive Oil: Substitute olive oil (or any other vegetable oil) for the butter, or do half butter, half oil.

*Asian: Add 2 cloves of minced garlic with the green beans, substitute 1/4 cup soy sauce for half the water, and substitute 2 tsp vegetable oil and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil for the butter.

*Orange beans: Substitute half an orange and its zest for the lemon.

Notes:
*Trimming green beans: I grab a handful, line them all up with the stem side facing in the same direction, then push the bunch of beans up against my knife to get the stems in a line.  This makes it easy for me to  chop the stems off a lot of beans in one slice.