Coaching Cooking

Basil is such a versatile herb. It’s used in Italian cooking, Thai cooking and in Vietnamese cooking–just to name a few. It has a bright, clean flavor that adds a refreshing, crisp note to dishes (or even beverages). I’ve used it to make pesto and I love to use it in noodle soups to add an element of surprise. Summer is the perfect time to add basil to garden salads, stir-fries, cold beverages and more. Here are some links to recipes featuring basil.

**Note**: Basil doesn’t keep very well in the fridge. I suggest using fresh basil within a few days of purchase for best results. Or you can grow your own basil and add some beauty to a kitchen window or balcony!

First, here are a few quick uses for basil:

1.) Sprinkle finely chopped basil over salads. Fresh basil is fabulous on a bbq-ranch salad with chicken, corn, black beans and a creamy dressing over romaine lettuce.

2.) Add basil to lemonade for an interesting twist. Try making a watermelon lemonade with a quick sprinkle of basil or a few basil leaves at the top of the glass.

3.) Make a quick curry with rice and sprinkle basil on top along with chopped peanuts or almonds.

And now, the recipes:

Elise over at Simply Recipes has some great recipes featuring basil including Fresh Basil Pesto, Tomato and Basil Bruschetta, and
Basil Chicken in a Coconut Curry Sauce.

Epicurean.com features basil in recipes ranging from Tomato-Basil Soup to Creamy Basil Dressing to Red Snapper with Basil Lime Sauce.

Basil Mojito, anyone?
Basil Martinis and Basil Limeade also sound so cool!

And, when in doubt, basil can provide a great de-stressing activity:

“Pounding fragrant things — particularly garlic, basil, parsley — is a tremendous antidote to depression. But it applies also to juniper berries, coriander seeds and the grilled fruits of the chilli pepper. Pounding these things produces an alteration in one’s being — from sighing with fatigue to inhaling with pleasure. The cheering effects of herbs and alliums cannot be too often reiterated. Virgil’s appetite was probably improved equally by pounding garlic as by eating it.â€?–Patience Gray, cookery author

Yes, several days of tinkering with my new iPhone have led to a minor absence from the kitchen. I tested my new phone by loading movies onto it. I watched several episodes of Top Chef, Season 3. It was like having an extra cool visual appendage at times. Eventually, though, staring at the screen brings me back to the need for sustenance. Particularly, summer is a great time to invent a great, new drink.

Necessity is the mother of a good beverage…

So I had a bowl of citrus fruits left from my Roasted Salmon with Citrus Sauce. I decided to make a quick and refreshing drink with the leftover fruits.

Jenny’s Citrus Soda

Ingredients:

Half of a grapefruit
Half of a tangerine
Half of an orange
1/3 of a lemon
1 slice of lime
1 cup of water
2-3 tablespoons of sugar
3-4 large splashes of club soda
**Note**: This drink would also pair well with a few splashes of rum or vodka or other toasty perk

Directions: This recipe serves one (double or triple if you don’t to share!)

Put the cup of water and the 2-3 tablespoons of sugar in a microwave-proof glass. Microwave for about 90 seconds to a minute. Stir with a long spoon so the sugar is incorporated into the water. Let this mixture cool. If you don’t want to wait, I suggest a quick (and fun!) technique of pouring this mixture in between two glasses (over the sink, trust me…). This cools down the mixture a bit faster plus you look like the world’s craziest barista.

Juice all of the citrus fruits except for the lime slice. Mix into the sugar-water and add three to four large ice cubes. Add the club soda and a straw and some kickin’ tunes. Enjoy!

After a long week of STAR testing, I decided to reward myself with an adult soda. Who doesn’t love a little fizz plus a little booze? The following recipe is my take on the classic Raspberry Lime Rickey. This cocktail begs to be served with a cute straw like this one.

Boozeberry Lime Rickey

Ingredients:

4-5 ice cubes
10 ounces of lemon-lime soda
1 lime wheel
1 lime wedge
1 tablespoon of framboise

Directions:
In a tall glass, mix together all of the ingredients except the lime wedge. Squeeze the lime wedge into the drink. Serve with a fun straw! Serves one.

Thursday is just the appetizer to the weekend. It’s just a tease, a whisper of a day before that big Friday rolls along and you get to savor the weekend. And Friday is the day when I like to kick back with a hot cocktail and some cold, hard gossip. Take the edge off of my time in public school with some frivolity. Spend a little time mocking the crazy lives of celebrities all from the comfort of my couch while I tip back and savor a fruity drink. The drink of choice this week is the mai tai.

Mai Tais are classic island cocktails. They represent the silly joy of paper umbrellas and the kick-in-the-pants rum and fruit congo that begins in your mouth and travels straight to the brain. Since I suffer from the Asian flush (okay, I enjoy it too, sometimes, in the privacy of my own home where my red cheeks just make me look blushy and wonderfully red-eyed…and sometimes I wish I could hide my intoxication a little better!), I must say that Mai Tais are a sure-fire way for me to ride the alcoholic highway with my low-tolerance cape and my boozy-breathed conversations. And Mai Tais taste so wonderful (yes, maybe I should have said that first!).

Here are some recipes to get you started:

A brief history of the Mai Tai

An authentic recipe for Mai Tais plus a little history (and another recipe that uses POG…pineapple-orange-guava juice blend)

Another recipe, this one has orgeat syrup

Here’s a chicken satay appetizer recipe as a tasty companion to the mai tai. I may someday regret consuming so much Thai peanut sauce, but I haven’t regretted it yet!
I bless you with fruity wishes and rum-filled dreams…sail on into evening with the strains of a ukelele…