Catherine, our resident Herb Lady has some great tips and a recipe using basil. For more wonderful tips from her visit her website at http://www.herbs2u.net.

Basil is bursting out of the gardens now (or available at your farmers market). So, enjoy adding some of this wonderful herb to recipes. Here are a couple of tips I've recommended before - worth repeating:

Use whole fresh basil leaves in place of some or all of the lettuce on cold sandwiches, or in salads. Shred the leaves for mixing in mayonnaise or other "spreads" used in making salad-type sandwiches like tuna, chicken or egg. Basils mix well with nuts-try varying the combinations of basil variety with different nuts. Use a 'dust' of finely ground herb/nut to create a crust on foods. Pesto is the perfect addition to sauces, spreads (use pesto in place of mayo on sandwiches), "in" the sandwich salad (Tuna, chicken, tofu), and make 'green' deviled eggs, using the pesto instead of the mayo.

BREAD SALAD RECIPES
Here is a great salad to take advantage of the wonderful fresh basil, tomatoes and corn either from your gardens or the local farmer. It uses up day old or stale crusty bread too. Variations of this 'peasant' food come out of good-old practical cooking recipes from Italy (and probably other cultures too).

4 cups of bread cut into 1/2-1 inch cubes
(you can either break up stale bread, or cut fresh and allow to air dry the day before)
4 cups of fresh tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch pieces, catch juices
1 cup basil leaves, loose pack, rinsed, and torn into pieces
4 ears of sweet corn, grilled
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste.
4 cups of rinsed and spun dry lettuce/greens mixed
Optional: 1-2 cups of cubed cheese of choice

Shuck and de-silk the corn. Soak for 10 minutes and grill turning often until some of the kernels are blackened. Cut corn from cob and allow to cool some (you can do this the day before). Combine olive oil and vinegar. Double the amount of dressing if you want the salad wetter.

In a large bowl, place in order, the bread, tomatoes and juice, basil and corn. Stir or shake oil/vinegar to combine and pour over salad. Grind pepper over and toss to combine. Do not mush the bread. Check taste and add salt to taste. Place about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of bread salad on a portion of greens. Sprinkle optional cheese cubes on top. Serve immediately.

MORE: Instructions for making a simple pesto!
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/pesto.html
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