The many uses of Basil

MDH has planted a little kitchen herb garden on our balcony for me.  So far, we have got two types of basil, a very happy rosemary, a curry leaf plant and a tiny chilli padi shrub (we don't really eat chilli at our house - so this plant is purely for looks.  MDH harvests the chillies for my mum which pleases her to no end.)

It's so nice to have some fresh herbs to use!  The flavour is so much stronger and sweeter.  I also love using fresh basil as a garnish on tomato-based dishes.  It's so pretty and green. 

I made a beautifully red tomato-and-basil soup - I also like to add a bell pepper for some kick and colour - on a particularly rainy morning this week, so the air was very cool.  It was just the right weather for light lunch of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  The soup would have probably been nicer with a swirl of cream or creme fraiche in it, but we're trying to be healthy so I used a bit of milk instead to give it some richness.

Since my George Foreman grill retired from the kitchen, I have been grilling my sandwiches using a stove top griddle.  I don't use oil on the griddlepan as far as I can help it and it seems to work quite well - as long as I get those nice crisscrossed lines on the bread, I am quite happy.

Yum.

I might go and have some of my leftover soup now.