Tag

herbs

Four Herbs You Should Be Using In Your Spring Kitchen

written by Ali

With spring only a few weeks away, our attention is finally turning to the prospect of warmer temperatures and a greater variety of fresh, seasonal food.

But with so many herbs imported from abroad, it’s sometimes hard to tell which are in season and which aren’t. Here are some of the herbs that will be coming into season in the next few months, and some meal ideas to go with them.

Garlic

Pixabay

You can grab garlic bulbs all year round, but garlic never tastes as good when imported. The good news is that in places in the northern hemisphere, including the US, garlic comes into season in February. Garlic is one of the most versatile ingredients on the planet and can be found in dishes from Thai to Italian to French.

If you want to enjoy the flavor of garlic in its purest form, then one of the best ideas is to roast the whole bulb and then use it to make a kind of dip for some toasted, fresh bread.

The French also have some great, garlic-centered recipes, including mushroom and puy lentil casserole, which helps to bring out the flavor of this classic bulb.

Parsley

By the time March rolls around, parsley starts to grow again in northern climes. Fresh parsley, either curly or flat leaf, makes a great addition to dozens of meals.

Flickr Credit: http://www.sweetestkitchen.com/

Strangely, parsley pairs particularly well with cauliflower. You can make cauliflower “steaks” with walnut, hemp, and parsley pesto. Just roast the cauliflower in the oven in strips, seasoning as you wish. And then mix up the pesto ingredients with a little lemon juice and zest in a high powered blender.

Many meal kits rely on parsley. If you don’t have time to prepare everything from scratch, then take a look at The Meal Kit Comparison reviews out there and find out which is best for you so that you can enjoy spring herbs.

Chives

Chives are part of the allium family of vegetables, along with leeks, onions, and garlic. Not only are chives delicious – adding a savory note to practically any dish – but they’re also extremely good for you. Like other alliums, research shows that they help fight cancer and keep cells healthy.

Want to incorporate chives in your cooking? Chives pair exceptionally well with nacho potatoes. Chop up some white potatoes into cubes and then grab a bowl and mix with some oil and arrowroot. (Arrowroot is a kind of starchy root vegetable that gives roast potatoes a great crispy texture). Then pop in the oven on high heat for around 20-30 minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the toppings: guacamole, salsa, cashew cream, creme fraiche, cheese, olives, red pepper flakes, and, of course, chives.

Ginger

Wikimedia Commons

Ginger is the last spring herb in our list. Ginger is renowned throughout Asia for its medicinal healing properties and is an excellent addition to practically any Asian dish.

The best way to bring out the flavor of ginger, however, is in gingerbread. The timing is good too with the Easter holidays coming soon.

January 31, 2019 0 comment

Appetizers Baked Goods Farmer's Market Lunch Recipes Vegetarian

Summer Squash and Goat Cheese Tart

written by Ali

I’m sure my readers have noticed me waxing rapturous about most vegetables that come my way, particularly throughout the summer time. The only summer veggie that I have a very indifferent relationship with is summer squash. I attribute it to the fact that summer squash has a propensity to become slimy when cooked, which is a texture I just can’t stand in food. That said, I really enjoy cooking with squash blossom flowers, and with that in mind, planted a summer squash plant about mid-way through the growing season this year. My logic was that it just wouldn’t produce fruit – I’d be diligent about plucking the flowers and using them.

Try as one might, it’s hard to be a prurient guardian of a vegetable’s chastity. My summer squash defied me and set out squash anyway. It turns out I had a yellow zucchini on my hands. I picked it before it became a giant and grabbed one of the smaller ones that was starting to grow, too. I decided finding a way to cook it very minimally would be the way to go, so sliced off about sixteen thin slices and set them aside for this goat cheese summer squash tart (the remainder was grated and made into zucchini coconut cashew muffins – recipe to come). It turned out so well that I almost regret not having more summer squash on the way. I’m already starting to envision planting several zucchini next year, thus starting a cycle of vegetable love and loathing all over again.

Summer Squash and Goat Cheese Tart
Serves 4

1 recipe rough puff pastry
1 very small zucchini or other summer squash
2 ounces goat cheese
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup walnut pieces (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Slice the zucchini into thin slices – you should have at least sixteen slices.

Roll out the rough puff pastry into a square that is 8 inches by 8 inches. Divide into four squares that are 4 inches by 4 inches. Place the squares on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.

Place the zucchini slices in the middle of each square, 4 slices to a square. Divide the thyme leaves, goat cheese, and walnuts (if using) over the zucchini. You can fold up the sides of each square to create a border or use any leftover strips of puff pastry to do the same.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the puff pastry is a light golden brown.

August 16, 2016 0 comment

Main Dishes Quick and Easy

Easy Baked Chicken Breasts

written by Ali

Last week was one of those weeks that I just didn’t feel very enthusiastic about anything, particularly cooking. By Friday night, I was just tired – it had been raining all week, and as much as I love rain and love the PNW, I’m not a huge fan of this occasional season called Juneuary. Sometimes, even a PNW girl needs some sunshine. All of this is a long way of saying that on Friday, I just wanted to make an easy dinner, curl up under a blanket, have a glass of wine, and just be done.

Fortunately, I have just the recipe for such a situation. Easy baked chicken breasts are just that: easy. They can be accompanied by all manner of roasted veggie, including potatoes, green beans, cauliflower, and my personal favorite, fava beans. I had fava beans from the farmer’s market from the previous Sunday, and I have an abundance of herbs in the garden right now, so all of these combined, along with a little bit of easy focaccia, made for the perfect weekend night meal.

(Showing off my herb garden – all in pots and all doing better than I expected).

This is designed to be an easy meal for two, but could easily be adjusted to make more.

Easy Baked Chicken Breasts
Serves 2

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 – 3 tablespoons finely chopped herbs (I used basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme and parsley)
2 or 3 finely chopped garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
A few grinds of fresh pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the herbs, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Put the chicken breasts on a foil lined baking sheet and spread the herb and oil combination over them with a spoon.

You can also put vegetables on the baking sheet with the chicken – just keep an eye on them as you cook the chicken as they may cook at different speeds.

Bake the chicken for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

June 26, 2016 0 comment

Beverages

Herbed Spring Sangria – Friday Happy Hour

written by Ali

We had some lovely sunny days here in the PNW. And then all the sunshine went away and it’s been raining and cloudy for days and days. Fortunately, cherries and strawberries are now both in season and sangria can be enjoyed even when it’s raining. My patio garden is very happy about the rain – I couldn’t resist seeing what I could do with some of the lemony herbs and dry white wine. This recipe calls for a simple syrup with lemon verbena and lemon thyme steeped until the simple syrup cools.

Herbed Spring Sangria

Lemony Simple Syrup
1 sprig lemon verbena
2 or 3 sprigs lemon thyme
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Bring the water, sugar and herbs to a boil. Take off heat and let steep until the syrup is cool.

Herbed Spring Sangria

1 bottle of dry white wine
1/4 cup orange liquor (curacao or similar)
1/4 cup lemony simple syrup
8 – 10 sweet cherries, pitted
6 – 8 strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 orange, sliced thinly

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and stir. Refrigerate and let sit for several hours for flavors to develop.

May 27, 2016 0 comment