I’ve been enjoying a plethera of fresh basil thanks to a local market that is selling it for 99 cents a bunch! My favorite ways to incorporate this divine herb into my cooking repertoire include making pesto from scratch and enjoying plenty of caprese salads. The easiest way to work with fresh basil is by chiffonading the leaves. Once you have accomplished this step, it makes it so easy to incorporate the basil into a basic pasta dish or even use as a garnish on top of grilled chicken or a summer salad.

Never tried chiffonading basil leaves?…no problem, check out this quick instructional video. Enjoy!

Zupas is known for finishing every meal off with a chocolate dipped strawberry. Each fresh strawberry is hand dipped into imported Belgian chocolate (our favorite). With Valentines Day just around the corner, consider surprising your significant other on Saturday with a box of these delicacies. We’ll be selling them by the dozens at all of our locations. If you’d rather dip your own, here are our top tips for the perfect chocolate dipped strawberry.

• Always work with strawberries that have been rinsed and completely dried. Additional water could cause the chocolate to seize and become grainy.
• Use the best chocolate you can get your hands on…the better the chocolate, the better the dipped strawberry.
• After dipping, allow strawberries to dry in a baking sheet lined with wax paper. For even cleaner results, insert a toothpick in the top of each berry and stick carefully into styrofoam allowing the berry to dry without creating an edge.
• Melt chocolate in a double boiler.

I need to start off by saying that I am not a pasta expert.  In fact, this was my first time attempting homemade pasta - which just goes to show that anyone can do it!!  I used to always think that you had to have a special attachment or fancy machine, but really, it can be done by hand!

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until recently i couldn’t tell you what almond bark was. i would have guessed some kind of a tree, but almond bark is actually a great chocolate-like candy coating that melts amazingly well, and is great to use to make homemade candy coated yummies.

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Pumpkins bring us so many wonderful things during the Fall season. Jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, and my favorite pumpkin seeds, are just a few. Roasting pumpkin seeds is so simple and takes just a little bit of time to clean the seeds, and just about an hour to roast them. They are a simple little treat! So after you’ve carved your pumpkins, make sure you don’t let those seeds go to waste.