Here I go!!!! So my group for the L.UL.S (Let's Use Less Stuff) project was the Sea Monkeys which consisted of Taylor W., Carli, Alex F., and myself. Together we grew French Thyme and Sweet Basil, but we also took on the class extras that were Basil and Thyme. We were so excited that we gave them all names! Our Sweet Basil was Mokona, our French Thyme was Fai, the basil was Kurogane, and the thyme was Syaoran. The reason for this garden idea was to help us better understand the concept that we were being taught; the concept that is comprised of these questions: Why don’t people live more sustainably? How can I convince them to do so? By growing our own herbs we could see that in reality it's not that difficult to grow food for ourselves. The most common excuse used by people in the question "why don't people live more sustainably" is "I can't grow things it is too hard" or it's easier to get them from a store." In growing food ourselves we can now better convince people that it is possible to grow our own foods and that it is not that difficult to achieve. It's easier to convince people to do something when you yourself have tried it. It's like this: how can a leader expect his people to follow him if he is not willing to take part in what he commands?When it came time to harvest we Sea Monkeys looked up the proper way to harvest the leaves without killing the plant completely. For the Basils we discovered that you should take leaves from the bottom and the larger leaves from the top and middle to encourage new growth. Also we discovered that basils do well when given food like tea composts and such. This helped us better understand care for our basils. For the thyme it was a bit different. We learned that to harvest thyme one must gently remove "sprigs" while being careful not to take too many. In cooking a little thyme goes a long way. If you pull too many sprigs you could kill the plant completely. That would ultimately defeat it's purpose in being sustainable. The point was to keep them alive so they could continue to grow and give us herbs we can use for some time to come.
Cooking was one of the steps of this project I enjoyed the most! I decided on making a tomato and basil brushetta and a thyme crustinni. Here are the items I used and what I did:
Ingredients
1. Thyme Crustinni
~1 loaf of French Bread (this really depends on how much you want to make ^^)
~Salt (amount as desired)
~Pepper (amount as desired)
~Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 large spoons)
~olive oil
~Thyme
Things you will need
~cookie sheet
~spoon
~small bowl
Steps:
1. Take your olive oil and pour some of it onto the cookie sheet and gently spread with a paper towel until the sheet is completely covered. This will toast the bread on the bottom when in the oven! :D
2. After your cookie sheet is done slice your french bread in long thin slices. To do this cut the bread at a slightly slanted angle. Then you want to take your bread and spread it out on the cookie sheet. You need not worry about spacing them out because they do not stick together. ^_^ The only thing you shouldn't do is pile them on top of one another.
3. When this is done you take your olive oil again and pour some of the bread in a drizzling manner. Be careful not to completely soak your bread! Remember the oil's purpose is to toast the bread. It probably doesn't want to go swimming. XD
4. Now comes the fun part! Take your small bowl and add the thyme. To do this you firmly hold the sprig and gently slide your fingers down it to pull off the leaves. Then you add your salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese and mix them up together. Don't worry about exact amounts of those 3 ingredients. It is basically common sense. What ever you think looks right will be fine just remember that the cheese needs to be a bit more than the salt and pepper.
5. When your "mix" is done take your cookie sheet (remember? the one with the bread :D) and sprinkle it onto the bread. You want to make sure it lands on the bread and not the cookie sheet. After it is meant for the bread so do not be afraid to put it on your bread!
6. When the bread it covered in your thyme mix you want to take your cookie sheet and put the bread in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the bread looks toasty and golden brown.
Now while the bread is toasting you want to make your brushetta! ON WARD!!!! 8DDDD
2. Tomato Basil Brushetta
Ingredients
~3 ripe tomatoes
~1 clove of garlic
~olive oil
~salt
~pepper
~sweet basil (normally it is but any basil works)
Things needed
~medium bowl
~spoon
~chopper or knife
~bread board or something to cut your tomatoes and garlic on
Steps:
1. Take your tomatoes and cut them into cubes, adding them to the bowl you have. After take the garlic (must I say you have to peel it XD) and chop it up rather finely. (ha ha I have a chopper :P) Don't stress too much about getting the garlic into tiny pieces just make sure it is small enough that it looks right. :) Add the garlic to the bowl.
2. Now you want to take your basil and lay them across one another in different directions and when they are all stacked roll them up tightly and slice them long and thin and add them to the bowl as well. When you have added the tomatoes, garlic, and basil to the bowl take your olive oil and pour some into the bowl. Pour enough in so that the tomatoes, garlic, and basil are covered with plenty but not floating in it. Then add your salt and pepper as you desire and fold the ingredients together.
Now it should be about time to check on your bread! HURRY!!! DON'T LET IT BURN!!!! D:
When your bread is all toasty and delicious looking take it out of the oven CAREFULLY and put it on the table or where ever you are working. Take your brushetta (that thing you just made XD) and gently take your spoon and put it on to the bread. Now you can put it on a plate or platter and enjoy!!!!!
Want to see it all go down!? 8D Then look down there!!!!!
This recipe was taught to me by my family and I have memorized it. :) It is fairly simple so I could remember it.
I have aways loved this recipe! It's so crunch and warm and tasty writing about it is making me hungry. XD The herbs make it so much better and I could really tasted them in this recipe because the ingredients really compliment each other. The perfect combination of salty and sweet! If I could do anything differently I would have spoken in the video. I got shy and didn't want to talk but overall I'm glad I chose the recipe I did and that I could cook this even though it's been awhile. I guess my memory isn't that fail after all!!!
I cannot say that growing these herbs was a life altering experience but it did make me want to begin growing herbs again. When I was 10 I used to grow mint, pineapple basil, apple basil, sweet basil, thyme, and purple sage. This project made me miss that and if it will help the environment to grow my own food or some of it at least why not? Besides it would mean more to me to cook with food I grew myself rather than cooking with store bought projects. I cannot be like the family in Homegrown Revolution but I can do something. This project has made me feel like I can make a difference and because of it I am inspired to grow other things I can use in the future.
