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We started planting a garden with Burpee Home Gardens plants last month. I wrote my first post about our planting process here. It has been almost a month since our herbs and vegetables were planted, and we’ve made some progress.

First, you may remember that our herbs were in little cups like the picture above, and we planted the cups in soil in balcony containers. I left them in the cups for a few weeks because I was unsure if I was supposed to remove them or not. I decided to finally remove the plants from the cups and plant directly in the soil because the cups were not decomposing even though they say “compostable.” It’s not the same thing.

Our herbs have started to really grow tall, and I even used some fresh basil for my favorite hummus recipe, see below for details. The tomatoes and peppers have not started to bloom, but I assume they will take a while. I water them daily or every other day, and they get a small amount of direct sunlight in their location, but mostly indirect sunlight.

In the picture you’ll see little dots in the center, which I think are the beginning of tomatoes.

Now for the recipe! Basil is probably my favorite herb, and I’m excited to have a few varieties now. There is traditional basil that looks like the leaves at right, and also Boxwood Basil, which are much smaller leaves. I didn’t use those yet.
For the recipe, I picked about eight leaves and cut them in a chiffonade, a fancy word for ribbon. You just roll them up together and cut.

Then it looks like this (at right). Basil in this shape is a great addition to a salad or pasta dish.

I added mine to the food processor for my hummus. I talk over and over about my love of homemade hummus, and how store brands aren’t for me anymore. I recommend you try this if you like a simple, healthy dip or spread with simple and few ingredients.

Basil Hummus

Ingredients:

• 1 garlic clove
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 can), rinsed
• 8 basil leaves (chiffonade)
• 3 Tbs EVOO
• 2 Tbs tahini
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Water (I used about 3-4 Tbs to thin it out)

Instructions:

In a food processor, pulse garlic and chickpeas. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse to combine.

Add basil and pulse again.

Add water as needed to thin it out. It will congeal in the refrigerator so you can make it looser knowing it will thicken.

Here’s final product with specs of green inside and topped with paprika. It’s pretty neat to walk to your garden to pick your herbs for a recipe!

Do you have any gardening tips or any favorite recipes with fresh herb to share?