Summer Goodies & Starting an Outdoor Pantry

  On Wednesday we released our newest episode of our Podcast where we talked about how to start an Outdoor Garden, how to use and incorporate herbs into your cooking and the health benefits as well as starting to plant all your favorite summer veggies.I talked about how to make infused vodka and tequila, a summer green been recipe and a couple others and I got a big response on the alcohol. LOL! Love it so I thought I'd do a little recap of what we talked about and throw some recipes in here also. If you want to listen to the Podcast, you can find the Inspire & Thrive Podcast on any major platform. Click here to listen to it on Itunes.

Summer Veg to Grow Now

• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• green beans
• lettuces
• peppers
• squash and zucchini

Herbs & How to Incorporate Them

• Basil-  for pizza, pesto, caprese
• Rosemary- chicken, stews and soups, cocktails
• Dill- salmon, pickling items
• Thyme-salads, marinades, dressings
• Mint-infusing water, mojitos, watermelon salad
• Oregano- Pizza, Lasagna- anything Italian
• Chives-eggs, spice up potatoes, add to Bloody Mary's
• Sage- Squash, heavier dishes with meat
• Parsley- Chimichurri, herb butters, eggs
• Chamomile- tea, bath detoxes
• Echinacea- tea, medicinal uses

Sage, oregano, rosemary and thyme are great for drying and to store for the winter months. Just tie some twine at the ends and hang them up to dry. 

Recipes:

Basil Strawberry Infused VodkaWhat you'll need:

• 2 big handfuls of fresh basil
• 1/2 C cleaned and de-stemmed fresh strawberries
• 3 C of your favorite Vodka
• Jar to store it.

Directions:

1. Rinse your produce.
2. Cut strawberries in halves
3. Pour Vodka into a jar, add basil and strawberries.
4. Let it ferment for 1 week, remove basil and berries.
5. Serve anyway you like. Cocktail, over ice cream, etc.

Cilantro & Chili Infused Tequila

Repeat the same steps but you need:

• Cilantro-a large handful
• 2 chilis sliced open to expose the seeds
• 3 C of clear Tequila like Patron.

Blueberry Infused Bourbon

• 1 Cup blueberries
• 3 Cup Bourbon

Sesame Green Beans!

• 1-1.5 lbs of green beans- ends snipped off
• 2 Tbsp of sesame seed oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• sea salt

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil in a pot
2. Drop in beans and blanch for 2-3 minutes
3. In a bowl add water and ice cubes.
4. Once the beans have turned a bright green-drop them in the ice bath to cool quickly
5. Drain and place in a bowl.
6. Top with sesame oil and seeds. Sprinkle with salt and serve