Purple Ruffles Basil Vinegar

• Place 4 cups fresh Purple Ruffles basil leaves in a clean 1 quart jar and bruise the leaves slightly with a wooden spoon.
• Fill jar with cider or red wine vinegar; add several cloves of garlic and a hot pepper; cap jar.
• Place in a sunny window or outside for three weeks.
• Strain vinegar, pouring it into another jar or individual glass bottles.
• Add a sprig of fresh Purple Ruffles basil for decoration.

-Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of From the Cook's Garden cookbook