Basil Choices for 2011

Last year R&B Farms offered seven different basil options, many of which we've ordered seeds for this year.  They worked great for pesto, bruschetta, more flavor for salads, soups, sandwiches, and more.  We had a wonderful basil year in 2010 and hope for the same in 2011.  Here's a list of this years offerings:

• Cinnamon Basil - makes a great addition to fruit salads, teas and muffins.  Very prolific but not a big seller in 2010.  We love the flowers and they are beautiful plants like those shown here
• Greek Basil - heirloom variety that is great with tomatoes but slightly different flavor than Italian varieties, first time we will offer this variety
• Geneovese Basil - Great pesto variety with nice Italian flavor, a favorite in 2010
• Indian Holy Basil - this one is new and is supposed to have a cilantro flavor.  We're hopeful the cilantro flavor comes thru since real cilantro bolts so quickly. 
• Large Leaf Italian - this one is also new for this year but should provide more Italian options for 2011
• Lime Basil - a favorite for 2010, goes great with chicken and fish dishes, or stir fries with squash, onions, and other summer veggies
• Lemon "Dani" Basil - also a great citrus flavor for those that prefer lemon to lime
• Lettuce Leaf Basil - great for sandwiches, burgers, and wraps! This one is new for 2011
• Mammoth Basil - new Italian offering for this year
• Napoltano Basil - a favorite from 2010, large wonderful leaves.  We used this favorite as our background photo for the website.  Great on sandwiches instead of lettuce
• Siam Queen Thai Basil - a new offering for 2011, great for Asian recipes!

Butterflys back soon!

We've reached the negative temperatures for multiple days in Iowa, the time when the ground is so hard it's difficult to believe that it will ever thaw so that soil can be turned, seed planted, and veggies will grow.  So on those days,  it's better to focus on the fact that the day seems ever so much longer which means the opportunity to capture photos like this one are just around the corner.  So while this has nothing to do with new veggies on the table, it has everything to do with the joy that comes from being outside.  For now, enjoy the view and wait for the promise that a butterfly can bring.  And maybe make a trip to Reiman Gardens at ISU...it's good for the soul, particularly the winter soul!

Salsa requires peppers!

Jalapeno, ripe and ready for a warm salsa recipe!

Part of the fun of ordering seeds for the next season is remembering the successful selections of previous seasons and checking out the new varieties for the coming year.  Last year was not a successful pepper season at R&B Farms, just a handful here and there.  As seen in the photo, jalapenos were still available and at the stage shown here, they have that blend of sweet and hot all in one!  This year's varieties include the following, which we hope will produce like they have in the past. 

• Chinese Giant - large, sweet bell that goes from green to red
• Carmen - Italian sweet pepper that also goes from green to red
• Anaheim - mildly warm green chilli which makes great tortilla soup or chilli relleno
• California Wonder - classic sweet bell 
• Mucho Nacho - mild jalapeno, all the flavor without the heat of a traditional jalapeno
• Aruba - cubanelle, sweet long pepper that goes from green to orange to red.  Great for salads or roasting on the grill
•  Yellow Bell Jackpot - new for this year, we're hoping for sweet yellow bells
• Salsa - more heat than a jalapeno, be careful with this one!
• Cayenne long red slims - hot but great when dried and used in spicy dishes, either Mexican or Asian
• Goliath Jalapeno - larger size and lots of flavor, great for fresh salsa or stuffing for poppers
• Habanero - this one is hot and we'll be picking it with gloves!  To hot for our family but if we're lucky and if you like them, we'll have them available at the farmer's market this summer
• Holy Mole - a pasilla pepper with mildly hot flavor and great for Mexican foods.  This one is new for this year and we look forward to trying it!
• Gourmet Sweet Orange - new for this year, but should provide us a nice orange bell to go with the greens, reds and yellows
• Zavory - this was new last year and produced enough for our use at home.  It has a nice flavor - Habanero like but without the heat.  Yummy in soups, salads and Mexican foods.  
• Ancho Magnifico - Poblano - these may not make it to the market because it's our favorite kind of pepper. Plus they are great for smoking using native Iowa hickory.  YUM!  Hope for a big crop and maybe there will be some to share!

That's the list for this year, so far.  We could decide on a few more varieties of Poblano and maybe a pepperocini.  Anything you see that we should add?