Preserving fresh basil - one bunch can go in many meals

pizza_ready_oven Last weekend we were riding our bikes to Roberts, a 62 mile ride to a great farmer's market in the middle of nowhere - or around Homestead, Florida. I had found a bunch of basil and stuffed it into one of my empty insulated water bottles.I used the basil in a batch of delicious tomato basil risotto. But it was a big bunch - and I didn't want it to wither in the produce drawer. So, I blended it in the food processor with a little olive oil. And then I froze it in a flat chunk in foil (see the picture below). A traditional pesto has more ingredients - like garlic, pine nuts, other herbs, etc. and you can certainly add all of those, but there is also nothing wrong with simply preserving an herb in olive oil and freezing it and using it like pesto.Last night we made a low-fat, low-sodium tomato basil pizza -  this is thanks to a low-sodium crust called Mama Mia, salt-free Enrico's pasta sauce, my frozen basil stash, fresh tomatoes and a very light 1 tablespoon sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese. The basil was so delicious it more than made up for the lack of cheese that you would usually find on pizza - much less saturated fat and sodium too!I regret that there is not a picture of the finished pizza - we were scurrying to eat it while watching the Tour de France and forgot to photograph it!pizza_pestopizza_pesto_dabs

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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

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Shhhhhh - 5 people ate 16 cups of veggies with this meal - fajitas, pico de gallo, guac and more!

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