Sometimes, the garden surprises you. Last year, our herb garden soared with success – except for the basil, which wilted and fell apart by mid-summer, barely yielding a single leaf. This year, however, our basil has clearly made up for lost time – it’s growing faster than we can use it! Not that we’re complaining, of course. We can always find something to do with our garden’s bounty.
Tonight we enjoyed one of my favorite meals – LeeLee’s Lemon Basil Pasta. It’s such a summertime dish, so light and bright. And the best part? Every ingredient except for the penne (and the side salad) was locally grown! Some ingredients, like the basil, were grown SO locally that it only took about five steps to procure them. The others were snapped up at the farmer’s market last Saturday. There’s just something about farm-fresh food that’s extra-tasty – tonight’s meal was a treat!
The stats:
Lemon: $0.50 ($0.25/person)
Basil: FREE from the garden!
Penne: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Cherry tomatoes: $3.00 ($1.50/person)
Salad: $3.99 ($2.00/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $8.49 … or $4.25 per person.
BUT WAIT! This meal makes two additional servings for leftovers. So the per-person price goes down even more!
:)