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Basil, a wonderfully aromatic, deliciously useful culinary addition is a great plant to have in your kitchen. Basil oil has been studied to have antioxidants, anti-cancer, antiviral and anti-microbial properties. And best of all since all it needs is a bright windowsill, many people love to grow this herb right in their own homes. But what happens when your beloved basil starts to look a little less than sprightly? Though your plant might look dead, as long as there is even a small amount of green left, all it might need is some TLC. 1. Check the leaves. If there are small bites, it might be a pest problem. Spray them with a mixture of soapy water with a teaspoon of jalapeno pepper juice to keep those little buggers away. 2. Check to be sure that your plant is not…

We’ll come up with any excuse to add more flavor into our summer!  A great tip to keep your ice coffee cold and not diluted, is freezing coffee in ice cube trays and using that as your ice cubes.  This concept of freezing your favorite beverage and using that instead of ice cubes can be applied to almost any drink, even to just flavor a glass of water.  Freeze lemonade in ice cube trays and use in your iced tea instead of ice cubes adds the perfect amount of citrus flavor.  Freezing fruit inside the flavored ice cubes is an added touch to jazz up any beverage.  In our “A Taste of Summer” camp we make “Bug Juice” which is filling up ice cube trays with your favorite juice, and a couple blueberries!

Basil is an all time fave in the herb category here at Taste Buds Kitchen! We are constantly adding it to our pizzas and pasta dishes. We were tired of running out to the store all the time to grab this fresh ingredient so we decided to get a whole basil plant for our sun…

With so many places to buy fruits & veggies, it’s hard to know what’s best. Should you shop at the grocery store, the farmer’s market or your local street vendor? We decided to do some digging and we think you’ll be surprise by what we found. Your standard grocery store shelf produce has the same nutritional value as most organic and local food but they may contain more pesticides and heavy metals. What about those street vendors with their colorful display of produce and signs showing insanely low prices? These fruits & veggies are best for same day consumption–the prices are enticing, but you don’t want to let these sit in the fruit bowl too long. Onto the farmer’s markets where you’ll find produce grown locally and often organically (produced without pesticides, fertilizers, growth hormones, and additives). So where do…

It’s Watermelon season and we can’t wait to sink our teeth into a sweet slice of watermelon. While most of us will agree that Watermelon is a most delicious fruit, here are a few things that you may not know… Watermelon is over 92% water, and early explorers used watermelons as a canteen. Every part of a watermelon is edible, even the seeds and rinds. Contrary to popular belief, eating watermelon seeds will not cause a watermelon to grow in your stomach. While most Americans associate watermelon with the 4th of July, it is actually consumed much more heavily in other countries making it a truly international fruit.