I'M USING HOME-GROWN BASIL ALREADY, AND IT'S NOT JULY YET! 2 EASY, YUMMY RECIPES

It was such an early spring and summer, and the weather has been so warm, that my basil is doing wonderfully well. I had to use some of it, so I thought I'd share the two easy recipes, a spread and a salad dressing, that I came up with-- both use a whole cup of fresh basil leaves, packed down.

PS: We had the basil dressing on our whole-meal lunch salad toda. The salad was comprised of home-grown freshly-picked lettuce with snap peas, oven-broiled Crispy Tofu (or B of T- recipe at the end of this post but this time I crisped it under the broiler instead of sautéing in a skillet); sliced baby cukes, grape tomatoes, oven-grilled corn, with our first pattypan squash and onions. Mmmmmmm!

Here's the dressing recipe:

Printable Recipe (for both recipes)

BRYANNA'S FRESH, CREAMY VEGAN BASIL SALAD DRESSING

                                                              Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves, sliced

6 oz. (1/2 a tetrapak) firm or extra-firm silken tofu (OR 3/4 cup well-drained cooked or canned white beans)

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise (I use my homemade)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 clove garlic, peeled

Run all of the ingredients in your blender until smooth.  If it's too thick, you can add a bit of water or non-dairy milk. Store in a covered jar in your refrigerator.

And here's the spread:

Printable Recipe (for both recipes)

BRYANNA'S SUNDRIED TOMATO, BASIL AND KALAMATA OLIVE VEGAN RICOTTA SPREAD

Makes about 2 cups

1 lb. (2 cups) plain (no herbal seasoning) vegan ricotta (See my Tofu ricotta and Almond Ricotta recipes here-- at the very bottom of the post; and my Okara-Cashew Ricotta recipe here.)

1 cup (packed) fresh basil, sliced or chopped

2/3 cup drained and sliced pitted kalamata olives

3 oz. sliced sundried tomatoes in oil (squeeze most of the oil out, or rinse with warm water and drain well)

3 tablespoons vegan parmesan (I use Go Veggie!)

1 clove garlic

1/4 tsp. salt

Optional: a little bit of vegan milk or plain vegan creamer

Combine all of the ingredients (except Optional) in a food processor and run until mixed to your satisfaction.  If it seems too thick, add a bit of nondairy milk or plain vegan creamer. Pack into a shallow container, seal and refrigerate.

Enjoy!