So Many Dishes

I have given up trying to grow basil. I used to always start a pot of basil in late September or October, and it would keep me supplied through the winter and into early spring, until the plants began to bolt. However, a few years ago, downy mildew started taking out my plants before my first harvest. (The fungus is also an issue for the commercial herb farms here in South Florida). Ben gave us an Aerogarden, a tabletop hydroponic garden, and we grew a beautiful basil crop in that, and used it to grow beautiful baby lettuce but, this being Florida, pretty soon we had an insect problem.

These days, our fresh basil comes from the grocery store. I’ve learned that it’s best to buy it the day I’m going to use it, maybe the day before. Too often, I’ll open the package and discover gray, water-soaked leaves that show evidence of downy mildew.

I intended to make shrimp vodka pasta, which I’ve written about before, so we stopped at Publix after church yesterday to buy shrimp and basil. I was thrilled to open the container and discover an abundance of beautiful basil.

I know, it doesn’t take much to make me excited 😂 I’ve opened packages, though, which were more stems than leaves, and others where nice-looking leaves covered rotting ones. But I had an abundance this time. After chopping, about half went into the sauce and we sprinkled the rest on top after plating.

This was the perfect meal for the first week of NFL football season: quick, easy, and delicious. I realized, though, that I hadn’t made this since last October. I need to remind myself that it’s okay to repeat recipes!

Happy eating!