Basil Perfection

I am supposed to be grading right now (ssshhh! don't tell anyone). I am procrastinating BIG TIME. (I'm a professional procrastinator.) So this will be a SHORT post.

I've been wanting to post something about BASIL. Yes, as in the herb. It is my recent obsession in the kitchen. I LOVE LOVE LOVE BASIL. Love the smell of it, the taste--fresh, dried, powdered, it is soooo yummy. The seasoning of seasonings. I've been adding it to just about everything in the past few months and find that it's GREAT on everything so...there you go. It's especially de-lish when combined with tomato or sun-dried tomato. It's been hard to pass up Basil & Sun-Dried Tomato items in the supermarket---like those wheat thins and chips and feta cheese, etc. etc. I've been making pesto with it which is ridiculously addicting. And for an easy treat, I cut up some potatoes and drizzle olive oil on them, then sprinkle them generously with basil and a little sun-dried tomato, and bake them 'til sizzly. Then I add a little grated parmesan or asiago--AWESOME flavor. Mark and I have decided to grow our own herbs and tomatoes this summer on our tiny balcony. Yeah! I want to grow heirloom tomatoes--they are the weirdest looking but in my opinion the most delicious.

And in addition to the basil, I have been rather taken lately with pomegranate. Especially pomegranate JUICE mixed with other juices. I've been mixing it with Crystal Light and Fresca and well, even just a little bit added in my water-- and just like the basil, it's all good!!

Try making the potato thing with a nice salad with olives and a big glass of pomegranate juice in Fresca. You're in for a treat, I tell ya. OK, this post is making me hungry.

I want to write more, but alas---my big bag of papers to grade is SCREAMING my name and the morning comes soon enough as it is. It is beyond necessary that I answer the call. So ADIOS for now, amigos.