Kitchen Witchery- Summer Cooking with Basil! 😋

Witchy Wisdom
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Hearty greetings to all! :heart:

Here in Poland the weather is hot and sticky- I love to cook, but it’s just not a great time to be firing up the oven! :hot_face: With the markets full of delicious summer fruits, veggies, and herbs, I really want to make some fun dishes- without slaving away in a toasty kitchen!

Here is one of my all-time favorite summer recipes- it’s quick, easy, chill, and there’s no roasting or toasting involved :grin: :+1:

:herb:~Summer Caprese Salad~:tomato:

This classic Italian recipe stars one of my favorite herbs: Basil.

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Basil is an immensely popular herb that can be used in a wide variety of recipes. It is very common in Italian cooking and is often added to sauces and pizzas! :pizza:. It comes in many different varieties- from thin tiny leaves, to purple basil, to the thick and luscious leaves of Genovese basil! :yum:

Delicious and easy to grow, basil is a wonderful addition to an outdoor herbal garden or an indoor counter/windowsill garden. It enjoys warmth and sunlight and is simple to grow from seed or clipping. Basil is a great plant for those wishing to get into herbalism or gardening! :herb:

Did You Know?
If you or a friend have a thriving basil plant you can make more plants from clippings! Simply cut a medium-sized stem just below a new sprouting of leaves. Place your basil clipping in a cup of water and leave it in a bright and sunny spot. Change the water every few days and watch as your new baby plant grows roots!
Once the roots are a few inches long, you can transplant it into soil. These baby basils can grow your own basil collection, or they make great gifts for friends and family! :seedling:

Basil isn’t just delicious- it also has a host of magickal properties and benefits for your craft! :sparkles: Take a look at the Spells8 page on Basil: Love & Luck Magick to learn about this very versatile herb.

Basil-Herbal-Course

Delicious, healthy, and… what’s this? Something I learned recently about this long-time favorite herb: Basil also attracts money! :moneybag: To use your basil plant to help attract fortune, try the “Fresh Funds” Spell to Attract Money with Basil Leaves :money_with_wings:

Spell-with-Basil-to-Attract-Money

With all the goodness in basil, it’s time to put it use in a tasty and cool summer recipe! :memo:

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Caprese Salad

  • :herb: Fresh basil
  • :tomato: Tomatoes
  • :cheese: Mozzarella cheese
  • :champagne: Olive oil (just a splash!)
  • :salt: Sea salt
  • :salt: Black pepper
  • :funeral_urn: Balsamic vinegar (optional)

Dice the fresh basil, mozzarella, tomatoes, and olive oil and mix them together with salt and pepper. If you are using the basil for a magickal purpose, now is the time to thank the plant for sharing it’s leaves and focus on your intent. Draw on the basil to bring in luck, fortune, and health :sparkles:.

If you are serving it plain, you may like to drizzle a little balsamic vinegar on top. If you do, you must eat the Caprese Salad right away! :plate_with_cutlery:

Serve the Caprese Salad cold in small bowls, on top of a tossed salad :green_salad:, use it as a serving on pizza :pizza: , or sprinkle it on cooked pasta :spaghetti: for a delicious meal! :yum:. One of my favorite ways to eat it is on a fresh slice of bread from the bakery :bread:

:woman_cook: For all the other kitchen witches out there, you may also be interested in:

:green_heart: Green witches, plant witches, and anyone with an interest in herbalism- feel free to also check out:

Have you made Caprese Salad before? Do you have another favorite summertime recipe? Feel free to share! :yum:

Blessed Be and Happy Kitchen Witchery! :sparkling_heart:

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Beautiful recipe! Thank for sharing @BryWisteria! One to try this week :heart:

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Looks so refreshing, might have to try this

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If you love Basil, I have another great summer salad recipe :blush:
it consists of:

  • Fresh Basil

  • Watermelon

  • Cucumber

  • Cashew nuts (optional, but I love them!)

  • Balsamico vinegar

Just dice the watermelon and cucumber, and mix with all the other ingredients. Super tasty and very refreshing :blush: :herb:

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sounds yummy yummy @christine4

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Let me know how it goes if you give the Caprese Salad a try, @Abs53 and @Katt! :blush::two_hearts:

Ohhhh this sounds mouthwatering- and so many cool, fresh, summer ingredients! :star_struck: I bet I can find watermelon and cucumber at the market :watermelon::cucumber::yum: This sounds like a perfect snack for a toasty summer afternoon- Thank you so much for sharing, @christine4! :heart:

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I love basil! For some reason it’s expensive and hard to find where I live now (in Oregon). I used to have basil on pizza all the time! :pizza:

This is what we have now. It’s growing!

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Fresh from my home to my plate
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It’s looking good, @Francisco! :herb::grin: Hopefully you will have enough to harvest to make some very tasty pizzas! :pizza::yum:

Beautiful, @Katt! A perfect summer dish :yum::herb: Bon Appétit! :two_hearts:

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That looks very good! I love basil and balsamic vinegar things! I am making balsamic green beans and a chicken and apple salad for lunches here. I think I will add some basil to it! I also love the idea of making more basil from basil, I have a couple of plants in my garden and I would love to expand the herbs that I have growing in there. I think once they are big enough I will clip some from each! Thank you for the recipe and the ideas! I hope you have a great rest of your day!

:star_and_crescent: :star_struck: :star2:

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That sounds delicious, @Susurrus! :yum: A healthy and tasty summer meal- I think basil could fit very nicely in such a salad! :green_salad:

Yes, sounds like a plan! It’s a great time to take clippings now when the basil is thriving but hasn’t started to go to seed yet. The basil clippings I cut the other week have been growing rapidly on my windowsill- it’s almost time to plant them into their own pots:

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Thank you- same to you! Blessed Be :sparkling_heart:

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Ah! That’s what I need to do today, clip some of the basil and make the chicken salad. I got so wrapped up in the crock pot roast I made the green beans and forgot all about the chicken salad. I’m surprised my son didn’t remind me, but he did have his hands in the green beans all evening after dinner.

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So many tasty things at your table, @Susurrus! :yum: Were you able to make the chicken salad with basil? :herb: I hope everything came out as you hoped it would! :blush:

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@BryWisteria I just now have all the ingredients to make the chicken salad, but no one is home to eat it. I made the green beans the other day. I think later this afternoon I will make the chicken salad, I was waiting on the celery and greek yogurt Sunday when I forgot to get them. I have them in the refrigerator now.

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This photo makes me hungry to try this! Your photography is beautiful!

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I hope you enjoyed the chicken salad and green beans, @Susurrus! :two_hearts: They sound very tasty :yum:

Thank you, @wendy4! :heart: I hope you can try some summer kitchen witchery with basil soon- feel free to share pics if you give it a try! Good luck, and enjoy! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Hey Travel Witch, I love your positively. Also I appreciate your travel news. Thanks.

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You are very welcome, @wendy4! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: I love your positivity too! Blessed Be :sparkling_heart:

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