Today I had to pinch back the basil, so...Black Beans for dinner :)
The parsley is starting to grow well too!
To harvest basil, I always pinch back the tops down one or two nodes. This will stop it from going to flower and let it double each time. (Each center stem pinched back to just above a node will result in two new center stems, and so on...bushing the plant outward) I rarely pick the lower leaves on basil plants under 6 months old, because they need them.
The tomatoes and lettuces are doing well...I plucked a lettuce leaf to taste this morning and it is SO GOOD! I cannot wait...dreaming of cranberry vinaigrette...
And we have some Alfalfa sprouts started...once they are ready I will post a few melts and things we use them on. We will have a sprouting shelf once we get the kitchen area finished...
For the black beans...
I always soak dried beans overnight. Then put them into the crock pot on high with fresh water for an hour or two, with some bay leaves. I saute in olive oil (or clarified butter if I have some) 1 med red onion, a bunch of garlic, and add about 1 T each of cumin, turmeric, brown mustard, some salt and pepper if I feel pepperish, and saute that into a paste. Then add it to the beans, along with the basil, some lemon juice if I have it...and then turn the heat down to low for some hours. Sometimes I add some of our fresh canned tomatoes in the winter too...then we have it with rice.
Beans are so simple to make...I will try to do some Boston Baked Beans sometime soon...