Tulsi Milkshake
Tulsi tea is great. However, there is something about the flavor of fresh tulsi that is lost when dried. Also, when consuming the tea, you are only getting the water soluble nutrients and medicines. This recipe has tulsi eaten fresh and whole, and it absolutely delicious. I don’t make my own ice cream, but I can tell you that tulsi is my FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR! (serves 2 to 4 people)
- 1 quart fresh tulsi (I harvest the tips with leave, tender stems and flowers)
- 2 cups vanilla ice cream
- 1/3 to 1/2 half cup milk (depending on thick you want it)
Blend in a vitamix or similar high powered blender. You’ll need this to break up the fibers in the tulsi.
Tulsi Smoothie
For a healthier alternative, which we regularly enjoy in the summer time: (serves 2 to 4 people)
- 1 quart fresh tulsi (I harvest the tips with leave, tender stems and flowers)
- 2 cups yogurt
- 2 cups frozen blueberries
Blend in a vitamix or similar high powered blender. You’ll need this to break up the fibers in the tulsi.
Open Face Pork Sandwich with Papalo and BBQ Berries
Papalo is probably our favorite herb. It is from Mexico and Central America, where it has been used for thousands of years. It is often called “summer cilantro” because of the way it is used, not because of the flavor. It loves the heat, unlike cilantro, and grows here only in the summer time. It is best used fresh, often the last thing we do before eating is go to the garden and pick the papalo. It pairs well with anything that has spicy peppers (like jalapenos.). The easiest thing to do (and what we do all the time) is to simply chop it up and put it in salsa.
Upon a piece of lightly toasted (not super crispy) sour dough bread place:
- Pulled pork (aka carnitas)
- salsa (we like roasted chipotle, but any good salsa will do)
- cooked BBQ berries (see below)
- fresh papalo on top (we put as much as we can without it falling off!)
BBQ berries is a name that we created for a plant that is mostly sold as “dwarf tamarillo.” Regular tamarillo or tree tomato, although related, is so different in texture to and flavor to BBQ berries it is like comparing peppers and tomatoes. So that name doesn’t work for us, so we renamed it. Why “BBQ berries.” Because when the berries are cooked and placed in salsa, it adds a BBQ sauce-like flavor.
We cook the BBQ berries in a bit of water in the skillet on the stovetop, just a little until they “change.” Then we strain them out and add them to salsa or on top pizza or in this case, the open face pork sandwich. These are not absolutely necessary for this recipe, but sure make it more fun!