(Basil) Salt of the Earth

I read somewhere that the industrial nature of farming means we eat a lot less dirt than we used to.  And that this is a bad thing.  Apparently trace amounts of dirt and soil which used to regularly come with our food  contains lots of minerals which were good for us.  Who knew?  Have you ever heard your older generation acceptingly reassure us that "we'll all eat a bushel of dirt before we die?".

Modern guys turned this into the five second rule.

Once, on a wine tour of all things, I learned that there is a form of regulation which permits a certain amount of insects to be included in wines and juices.  I guess that makes sense - my black widow spider incident convinced me that it is pretty hard to get the critters out of the plants where they live, and it is ESPECIALLY hard to do without damaging insecticides being sprayed on food.  People around the world sometimes consider insects a delicacy - from chocolate coated grasshoppers to ants.  People eat em' on Fear Factor and Survivor too.  They don't hurt you, but it's still kind of gross.

Having said that, I am willing to accept that despite my absolute, vigilant best efforts today, there might very well be a speck or two of dirt and maybe even a spider or two in my latest creations.  I certainly hope not, but I am not afraid of the idea, either.

It is October 27th and my beautiful summer herbs are sprouting their final leaves for the season.  My basil looks tired and cold, my opal basil is withering on the stems and surprisingly my thai basil is holding on the best, sprouting tiny basil flowers which look remarkably like orchids!

My solution to this past-their-prime foliage is to make basil salt.  A sprinkling or two on fresh local tomatoes brings the taste of a fresh caprese salad fast within reach - even without the fresh, tender green basil.

I took the final leaves off my plants, poured some kosher salt into the Magic Bullet and within seconds, I had three beautiful basil salts.  Opal, Thai and Genovese.

Some leaves of mint buzzed up with some sugar has left me with Mint Sugar as well.  Great for tea or fruit.

Time to locate my black widow costume from last year and head off to the two Halloween parties we have been invited to.  Hostess presents will be basil salts:)