Hey there, Kossacks! My Hubby and I had a few things leftover from last week's diary about fresh herbs. So, here is some more sage advice...
With so many fresh herbs to choose from, either on your patio, in your garden or at the local produce stand, you can do almost anything. Herbs are magical plants; they can transform plain old food into gourmet dining. Here is one example...
Herbed Cheese
Simple and delicious, you control the intensity and character of the taste. Simply get one package of Neufatchel Cheese (cream cheese will do fine, too). Soften it up to room temperature. Meanwhile, go out to your plants and take a nice assortment. This is how you control the taste; you can use more of one herb, less of another, add a unique note with a flavored herb or just go with one or two. We like to use oregano, marjoram, dill, basil, rosemary, tarragon and chives. Adjust the amount of each to your own taste. We used a sprig of each (except tarragon-only 1/2 a sprig) and a small bunch of chives. Take your bounty in and wash it, dry it well. Now mince as finely as you can. We have this gizmo called a Magic Bullet (right) which does a wonderful job of getting the herbs chopped into the right size (it also makes a mean fruit smoothie-we LOVE ours). Once the herbs are the right size, mix into the softened cheese. Let it sit in the fridge for at least an hour or two to blend the flavors. Serve with your favorite crackers.
Often while shopping, you find a great buy on a not-so-great cut of meat (vegans, please accept my apologies and skip down). Herbs can help make that cut palatable. This is my Hubby's favorite way to do that...
Zen Beef (One With Everything)
We used a cheap London Broil cut. Marinate it in lime juice and beer (overnight if you have time). Place the beef in a deep pan. Cover with the marinade. Now, go out and grab a few sprigs of everything - yes, everything! You can see that my Hubby even threw a couple of sprigs of lavender in there. Okay, maybe not mint. Toss the whole shebang, along with a few lime wedges, on top of the beef. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.
Before:
Bake at 350° for half an hour. The meat should be med-rare; adjust to taste. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. While that's resting, pour the juice off, strain it and reduce on the stove. Add a little cornstarch to thicken it.
After:
To go with this, Hubby made mushrooms and beets, both with herbs and garlic:
This is strawberry season... Yay!! If you love strawberries as much as I do then you want to eat them on everything. Our favorite way (besides Marie Callendar's strawberry pie) is the following:
Strawberry Delite
Okay, there are no fresh herbs in this - so sue me. But adding a few leaves of mint or lemon balm to the "syrup" adds to the summery taste.
Slice a large clamshell container of strawberries (I slice them rather small so it makes more of the "sauce"). Rinse. Place in a container with a close-fitting top. Pour 1 cup of sugar (to taste) over the berries and add just enough water to wet the sugar. Lightly crush and toss in a few leaves of mint or lemon balm (or..? experiment!). Cover and refrigerate. Let the strawberries stew in the syrup for at least 5-6 hours. To serve; place a "shortcake" or biscuit or slice of angel food cake in the bottom of a bowl. Add one scoop of ice cream (we use Tillamook strawberry). Spoon berries over ice cream, be sure to get some syrup! Add whipped cream and nuts if desired. Garnish with 1/2 a berry. Dig in!!!
Here are a few simple recipes for your fresh herbs...
Fish Baste
2 Tbsp. unsalted margarine or butter
2 Tsp. crushed garlic
1 Tsp. lemon juice
1 Tsp rosemary
1 Tsp tarragon
Dash of pepper
Spread over fish before cooking. Spoon over the cooked fish before serving.
Herb Butter
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 Tbsp of herb (chives, dill, thyme, marjoram all work well or mix)
1 Tsp lemon juice
1/2 Tsp dry mustard
Follow the same method as the herbed cheese or, if you'd like your butter to be just flavored, melt it and add the herbs. Let that warm at very low heat for about 15 minutes, then strain. Store the butter in a small margarine tub (we call them "poor man's Tupperware").
Pesto Sauce
2 cups basil
3 cloves garlic
4 Tbsp pine buts (walnuts are a good substitute)
1/3 cup olive oil
pinch salt
Optional: sun-dried tomatoes
Pulverize everything in the blender (our Bullet is great for this, too). I process mine so it will store. Serve on hot noodles. We add fresh tomatoes and zucchini. For a Thai version of pesto, use peanuts instead of pine nuts, Thai basil and a chili. Hubby loves this on pad noddles!
Basil Eggs
8 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup minced lemon or sweet basil
salt/ pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Paprika
Beat eggs, water (milk will make eggs watery while water won't - go figure), and basil together. Melt butter in non-stick pan. Add egg mixture and scramble until nearly set. Add salt, pepper, cheese. Remove from heat and cover briefly so that the cheese melts. Sprinkle with paprika, toss gently and serve.
Herb Vinegar
2 cups fresh herb
3 1/2 cups white or red wine vinegar (depending on the herb)
Wash the herbs gently. Pat dry or spin in a veggie spinner (dry thoroughly because water will make the vinegar cloudy). Use a wooden spoon and pack the herbs into a large, dry glass jar. Add vinegar until 1" from top. Use the spoon to push down and bruise the herb leaves. Be sure to remove air bubbles by shaking gently. Cover (use a piece of plastic wrap if you're using a jar with a metal top), label with herb name and date. Store in a dark, cool place for 4-6 weeks. Taste after steeping and adjust flavor to suit. If you're satisfied with the flavor, strain the vinegar through a mesh colander to remove herbs. Then strain through paper filters until clean. Pour into sterile bottles in which you have added a sprig or two of the herb. Cap tightly and store.
I always use white or red wine vinegar (or rice, see below). Cider is just too strong for me but YMMV. With white wine vinegar use marjoram, opal basil (makes a pretty pink), chive blossom (lighter pink color), tarragon, thyme, nasturtium, lavender, rose petal, violets or rose geranium. For red wine use dill, basil, garlic, sage, fennel, mint, bay, thyme, chive foliage, caraway or savory. Here are a few blends: Sage and caraway for pork, mint and rosemary for lamb, basil and summer savory for beef, sage and lovage for poultry and fennel and bay for fish. For an Italian vinegar, combine rosemary, oregano, basil, bay, marjoram and thyme (add some olive oil for a killer salad dressing). A Mexican blend is cilantro, lime, jalapeno, cumin seed and lime rind (use on fajitas or in meat fillings). An Asian vinegar uses star anise, sesame seeds and wasabi root in a rice wine vinegar base (use in stir fry). Play around with the tastes and find your perfect blend.
You don't have to use herbs just for eating....
Pest Spray For Roses: Whirl lots of chives with water in the blender. Let sit overnight. Strain through cheesecloth and add 3X as much water as you have chive juice. Spray the roses three times the first day then after every heavy rain.
Car Perfume: Inside a cheesecloth or muslin bag, place some lemon balm, lavender, geranium, rose petals or mint (or all of them!) and tuck into the ashtray (you don't use that anyway, right?).
Carpet Fresh: Grind up an old potpourri in the blender or make a fresh one with dried flowers and herbs. Add to 1/2 cup baking soda. Sprinkle on your carpet, wait an hour and vacuum. If fleas are a problem, be sure to use pennyroyal, rosemary and/or citronella.
I hope we have got you excited about fresh herbs. Experimentation is the best way to figure out which herbs you like and in which dishes. We have tried to give you a jumping off point with these two diaries. Many of you already grow your own fresh herbs and know just how nice it is to have plants in or by the kitchen to snip and pinch as needed. If you don't, consider giving it a try. Most herbs are quite hardy (my tarragon survived the very cold and snowy winter we had!) and easy to grow. Right now is a good time to buy starter plants. Grow them big and healthy and we will be back in the fall to talk about how to store them for cooking and eating all winter long.
UPDATE: Wow... go to the store, wrestle some alpacas and come back to the rec list. Thanks Kossacks! :)