Basil Problems

[James_Mazetta]

As if our home crops don't have enough problems now is another one.


DES MOINES, Iowa - A fungus spreading among the nation's basil crop may leave lovers of Italian and Thai food feeling a bit bland.

Basil downy mildew first surfaced in the U.S. around 2007 and is slowly but surely ruining the herb at spots across the country. Hardest hit areas are on the East Coast but it also has been found as far west as California.

For growers, the fungus can be devastating.

"We destroyed all our crop this year," said Francesco DeBaggio of DeBaggio's Herb Farm in Chantilly, Va. "We killed about 6,000 plants, or about $18,000 worth of plants."

DeBaggio said he first noticed it in May and didn't realize what it was. Once he determined it was downy mildew he decided to destroy his crop.

"It's huge for us," he said. "We're small so it's fairly significant. We would have sold 100 percent of those that were destroyed."



Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/business/20100726_ap_funguswiltsspiritsofbasilloversfarmers.html#ixzz0uu9CJ5x7
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[Pat Garaffa]

I have a half dozen plants in the garden and so far - so good. 

I use it throughout the year in sauces.  I also take about 90% of it at summer's end and make pesto.  I make the sauce and freeze them in ice cube trays.  Then I remove them and pop them in a container or a few plastic bags.  They hold up great all winter. 

The ice cube trays make the frozen size very convenient for soups, sauces or a just toss in a half dozen for pasta with pesto.  A cube is about 2 tablespoons so it works well and I just toss in the amount I need for a recipe.  It's also much easier than chipping away at a huge brick of frozen pesto.   

I like my basil and pesto so I hope that stuff stays away!

[Kathy_Baratta]

I have the garden variety   (sorry for the pun) herbs in my garden (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, cilantro, chives, lavender and of course, good old Basil. Like Pat, I too have not experienced any plant "diseases" of any kind with any of the herbs. I have cut back the Basil twice already so I have enough for drying (I don't do the frozen thing) and the new growth seems to be healthy and lush.

I do make sure that when I water, which is every evening after 5:00 pm, I aim the hose spray for the dirt around the ground/root of all my plants including the flowers. I read somewhere that standing water on leaves (especially for evening waterers like me) means the leaves stay damp all night if the whole plant gets wet and that can prompt mildew/fungal growth. Also that if the leaves or body of the plant is wet during the day it actually causes the plant to dry out more while also causing it to burn because the water is attracting more intense sunlight.

KB

[James_Mazetta]

Didn't know that KB and we have had basil and etc for years with no problem. No problem with basil other then not big plants but leaves are big. Love it on my pasta, yes just cut up the leaves and sprinkle on top. Yum.
Tomato plants this year are a disapointment. Big, big tomatoes but they don't seem to be ripening inside even thought they are orange and red. hmn. No damn rain and we really need it badly, plants hate hose water.

[William Field]

Our 40 basil plants are doing just fine, except for three that seemed to suddenly die.  We probably have some bugs in there and they chomped the stem.  But we do what Pat does -- make pesto by the cup and freeze it.  It lasts several years and tastes fresh as long as you don't use the microwave to defrost it.

[Pat Garaffa]

"It lasts several years and tastes fresh as long as you don't use the microwave to defrost it."

Uh oh!

I nuke mine all the time and it tastes OK.  20 seconds is all it takes. 

It's never as good as the fresh stuff but it still beats anything out of a store bought jar.  I never gave the microwave a second thought but maybe I should - especially since 15 -30 seconds means the difference between cooked vs ruined with many small items.   

I'll try defrosting it at room temperature instead.  I keep them frozen in ice cube sized blocks so they would probably defrost pretty quick.   

 

[William Field]

They do defrost fast, especially that size.

My caution on microwaving was because if you heat the pesto enough, it melts the cheese and makes the result gooey.  It also (I think) cooks the basil leaves, changing their texture.  Anyway, when i microwave it, I do a larger container for longer, and the part that got the hottest is gooey and nasty.

20 seconds doesn't hurt, if you think it doesn't.

[adam monti]

Pat,

You can also place the cubes in a small bowl and put that bowl in a larger bowl of hot water which will defrost the cubes quicker and willnot nuke the taste out of them.  Give it a shot and let me know what you think.  Also works well if you freeze fresh mozzarella.  Wrap it in plastic wrap, freeze it them put it in a bowl which is then submersed in a larger bowl of boiling water.  You may have to turn it or reheat the water but it's like it was just made.

[Pat Garaffa]

That’s a good idea.  I've seen the TV chefs float a bowl inside a pan on the stove so I’ll try it.  They fill the bowl with the pesto cubes (or any other frozen stuff) and then fill the pan with water.   Crank it up and let the water get hot.   The food won't cook but the warm bowl will thaw it out on a flash.

I also do the ice cube tray trick with leftover tomato paste.  Most recipes only call for a tablespoon but the cans are 6 or 8 ounces.  I'll crack open a couple cans, fill the trays and use it when I need it.  

I didn't know you could freeze "Moozarell."  Next time I see it on sale I'll grab some extra and give it a try.  And not that crappy skim milk stuff.  Yuk!  Give me the fresh buffalo milk stuff instead.  

Eggplants are on sale and practically free.  I made Caponata the other night with 5 LBS of Eggplant so it probably amounts to 8 or 9 pounds when all the other stuff is added.  I filled 4 quart sized decanters and will be eating it all week

All the ingredients combined only came out to 10 bucks.  (That doesn’t include the half bottle of wine I drank while cooking it!)   It’s better and fresher than any store bought jarred crap.  I was able to make my own for 1/6th the price at only $2.50 per quart vs 5 bucks for a year old, 8 ounce jar.      

I want to try freezing that too.  Maybe I’ll take half, freeze it and save it for another day.  Or maybe I’ll just eat it all right now.  LOL!  

I have a simple recipe if you are interested.  And don't eat it warm if you make it.  Put it in the fridge overnight until it gets cold.  I have no clue what mysterious thing happens when it's chilled (probably the acidity in the tomatoes) but it tastes 100% better when chilled.  

A hunk of fresh crusty bread, a fat slice of some fresh "moozarell", maybe a cherry pepper or two and a glass of vino (or 2 or 3).  

Ahh - life is good!  

[adam monti]

just finished lunch and am now hungry again.  YES...please give me the recipe for Caponata

[Pat Garaffa]

There are 34 recipes here  - but not the one I used.  Some of these look good but many also look more like a chutney vs caponata because they added raisins and a few other off-beat ingredients. 

And what the heck is a currant? 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/search/delegate.do?Nr=Record Type:Result&N=0&fnSearchString=caponata&No=0

I found my recipe on the internet years ago and it's neatly tucked away in my recipe book.  It was probably on foodtv.com but I can't find it on the internet when I searched for the name or chef.   

I can scan it and email it if you like.  What's the email? 

[adam monti]

thanks Pat...please email me yours if you dont mind

[Kathy_Baratta]

I can scan it and email it if you like.  What's the email? 

What? Like the rest of us aren't dying to try it?

Why don't you just scan it and post it here like John Lebrio did with that coffee cake.

Thanks ahead of time,

KB

[Pat Garaffa]

My home scanner is on the fritz.  I have an automated scanning service via my office.  I fax it in and it shows up in my email inbox 10 minutes later.  Unfortunetly, it doesn't save as a JPG and only a PDF.  I have no idea how to convert from PDF to JPG or to post a PDF.  I'm only familiar with putting up pictures of ugly people at Walmart. 

Any ideas? 

[Pat Garaffa]

I figured out a way to convert it but it looks a little jumbled.   I can email the PDF if you want to print it.  

I doubled the recipe and used 5 LBs of eggplant.  And even then, the whole batch only cost me about 10-12 bucks for a little over 4 quarts.  

I would try it "as is" or maybe make half  - just as a test.  I also increased the tomatoes just a small amount.   The recipe called for 12 ounces but I doubled everything else.  I used a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and threw in a few tablespoons of paste too.    

I also spice it up a bit and you can toss in your favorite "burn formula."  A teaspoon of crushed red peppers is probably enough to give it a little kick.  Or maybe a couple of cherry peppers from the garden.  Chop it fine and add that in with the onions & celery and let it simmer. 

And don't forget the wine and Sinatra music.  You won't need it for the recipe but it's always better if you drink and sing while you cook.  LOL!