Freezing Basil

Basil freezes well and gives a great fresh flavor to 

soups, pastas, salads and sandwiches. 

If you have basil growing in your garden or if you buy basil, 

take time to freeze any unused basil to use later. 

1. Remove basil leaves from stems. Wash and place on a towel to remove excess moisture or spin in a salad spinner.

2. Place basil in a food processor or blender and blend on high. 

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3. While processing, drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil for every 1 cup of packed basil leaves and blend until smooth and leaves are chopped into very small pieces. 

4. Spoon 1 tablespoon of basil into each slot of an ice cube tray. Press into tray and smooth the surface. Freeze for several hours. 

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 5. When frozen, remove frozen basil and place in a labeled freezer bag. Place in the freezer for later use. It is already pre-measured and ready to use so it saves time and is easy to add to a soup, sauce or pasta dish!

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Lemon Zest

by Christi Jardine-  Provident Living Leader

If you need the juice of a fresh lemon but you do not need the peel, cut the lemon in half and then juice. When you are finished place the juiced half of the lemon in a freezer bag and freeze. When a recipe calls for lemon zest, use the frozen lemon half from your freezer. It grates easily when frozen and reduces waste.

Pie Making Tips

by Christi Jardine, Stake Provident Living Leader

• To transfer a pie crust from the counter to the pie pan, fold it over the rolling pin and then gently unroll over the pie pan.

• To seal the top crust to the bottom crust, brush the bottom crust lip edge with milk or water before sealing.
• A lattice top crust can be woven on wax or parchment paper and then transferred to the pie.
• To keep the crust edges from browning to fast place a 2" strip of aluminum foil around the edge of a baked pie until the last 10-15 minutes of baking. Then remove.

• Cut shapes of pie crust with cookie cutters and lay over the top of fruit pies for a beautiful and fast alternative to a top crust. (leaves on an apple pie, hearts on a cherry pie, etc.)

Just have fun! Pies are fun to make and taste so good when they are homemade! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tip of the Week: Basil Ribbons

When a recipe calls for basil ribbons, wash and stack several fresh basil leaves and using your kitchen scissors, cut small 1//4" or slightly less "ribbons". The basil leaves cut easily with scissors and they ribbons look crisp and even. Use basil ribbons to garnish and flavor salads, sandwiches, etc.

Tip of the Week

When using dried rosemary in a recipe it is often woody. To enjoy rosemary's flavor without the crunchy texture, it can be placed in a tea tin or in a piece of cheese cloth tied with a cotton string or thread. Place it in the soup, rice, or in with the meat, etc. that you are cooking. The rosemary flavors the food without the splintery texture which is often unpleasant.

The Encredible, Edible Egg

Eggs are great nutritious sources of protein! They are also one of the most economical forms of protein. Compared to meat or even nuts, ounce for ounce they are a great value. They can be scrambled, hard boiled, poached, or baked. They are the base for custards, souffles, quiches, sponge and angel food cakes.

Eggs work great for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner! An egg can always be cooked up in minutes for a fast alternative to eating out. Add a few fruits or veggies as side dishes and you have a nutritious meal!

Eggs usually go on sale just before Easter so we will be featuring egg recipes and ideas from sisters in our stake.

Less Dishes When You Bake!

from: Christi Jardine- Stake Provident Living Leader

You know..."necessity is the mother of invention." I am always looking for ways to use fewer dishes and make cleanup faster. I have done this for years and it works great. I also have taught my children to do this so they do not make so many dishes when they make cookies or brownies.

• When making cookies or other baked goods, after you cream the butter, sugar and add the eggs and vanilla; add the salt, baking powder or soda to the creamed mixture. Mix thoroughly and then add the flour and mix well. 

This eliminates using an extra bowl to mix the flour and salt and baking soda, etc. The purpose for mixing those ingredients with the flour is to distribute them evenly through the dough so you don't get a bite of salt, etc. in one cookie or brownie. It works great and accomplishes the same result with less dishes! Isn't that a great idea!

Tip of the Week

 There are many recipes that need butter or margarine at room temperature. If you are like me, I often forget to put the butter out ahead of time to soften. Here is a great tip especially for recipes where you need to cut the butter into flour, etc. like this weeks "Raspberry Muffins".

from: Alyson Bowthorpe- 3rd Ward

An easy way to soften butter quickly is to grate it through the large holes of a box grater.
Then just add it to the other ingredients.