Tag Archives: Herbs

Chive Blossom Omelettes

Posted on by Laurie

Cousin Kate asked me for my Chive Blossom Omelette recipe and so I decided to share it here. Unfortunately, our chives are done blooming for the season – and I don’t have any other herbs flowering today, so I can’t make this recipe to photograph it right now. I am borrowing a chive photo from one of my very early blog posts and giving the recipe anyhow.  I hope that this post inspires you to use some herbs from your garden.

Thank you for the prompt, Kate!

chiveblossoms

2 large eggs, beaten until frothy

about 1 1/2 teaspoons of unsalted butter

optional: a little bit of Vidalia (sweet) onion sautéed in butter

sliced Havarti cheese, torn into several pieces

pinch of garlic powder

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

about 1 tablespoon of snipped chives and parsley

about 3 chive blossoms, gently torn apart

3  whole chive blossoms for garnish

Directions

Clean the herbs and pat dry with a clean towel before starting.

Preheat a 9″-skillet over medium heat. Add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of unsalted butter to the skillet and swirl it around until the butter just barely begins to sizzle. Immediately pour the eggs in and swirl them around the bottom of the pan. Try not to let the butter or the eggs brown. Turn the heat down, if necessary, while cooking the omelette.

Spoon the onion – if using – over half of the eggs. Top with enough cheese to mostly cover half of the egg mixture. Lightly  sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and fresh ground pepper. When eggs are very nearly set, top with the fresh herbs. Slide the omelette, filled half first, out of the pan and onto a warmed plate, folding the egg side over the filled side as you remove the pan.

Garnish with little creme fraiche (crema), a sprinkle of fresh ground pepper and a few whole chive blossoms. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

The Underrated Chive

Growing and Cooking with Herbs

 

What’s For Breakfast?

Posted on by Laurie

Some very nice guests from Oklahoma gave me a bunch of fresh asparagus from their garden. What a treat! Now, I am trying to figure out how to incorporate it into breakfast this morning. As I write, I’m thinking that my special of the day will be Scrambled Eggs Primavera. The dish is still taking shape in my mind, but I am thinking fluffy scrambled eggs served atop a bed of baby yellow potatoes with sautéed  asparagus, Vidalia onions and cherry tomatoes, garnished with a dollop of crème fraîche and chives from my garden. I had better get back to work. It’s a good thing that everyone is have a late breakfast today! Have a wonderful weekend!

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Spaghetti with Asparagus & Herbs

Posted on by Laurie

Spaghetti with Asparagus & Herbs

This dish is designed to highlight the flavors of its fresh ingredients rather than overpowering them with heavy tastes. Serve for lunch or a light dinner with bread, fresh fruit and a light cheese. (Makes about 3 servings.)

Approximate measurements:

12 oz. spaghetti

1 lb. fresh asparagus

2 oz. extra virgin olive oil

1 oz. white balsamic vinegar

4 fresh lemons

several twists of fresh ground green and red peppercorns

1/4 t. sea salt

1/4 c. fresh golden oregano

1 T. fresh flat leaf parsley

1 1/2 t. fresh thyme

1. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of lightly salted, boiling water.

2. About half way through the cooking time for the spaghetti, put the asparagus on the stove to steam. Cook until crisp tender. Remove from pot then rinse asparagus with cold water and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, combine olive oil, vinegar, juice of 2 of the lemons, fresh ground pepper and salt. Set aside.

4. Submerge herbs in a bowl of cold water to remove any possible dirt or insects. Remove herbs and rinse well. Pat dry. Strip herb leaves from stems. Discard stems and any damaged leaves. If there are any thyme flowers, set them aside for garnish.

5. When the spaghetti is cooked to desired consistency, drain well. Add the olive oil mixture to the pot that the pasta was cooked in. Return spaghetti to the pan and toss with the olive oil mixture.

6. Divide spaghetti between serving bowls. Top with fresh herbs and then with asparagus. Squeeze a little more fresh lemon juice over asparagus and then grind a little more fresh pepper over dish. Garnish with thyme flowers if available. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

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Harvesting Sage

Posted on by Laurie

Having noticed earlier today that my sage has started to bloom, I realized that it is time to start thinking about harvesting some herbs. It is hard to believe, given that just a few weeks ago we had snow. It is generally recommended that if one wants to cut sage for drying (or freezing) that one do so before it starts to bloom. I love to see the purple flowers, though, so I disregard that rule and instead collect some stems before they go to seed. It is best to cut them in the morning after the dew has dried but before it gets hot for the day. One should not cut more than about 1/3 of the height of the plant. Sage can be hung in bundles to dry, but I prefer to spread the leaves out on a baking sheet and dry them using the pilot lights in my ovens. 

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Special of the Day: Spinach Omelette with Leeks

Posted on by Laurie

Everyday we offer a set breakfast menu plus a daily special. Today’s special was Spinach Omelette with Leeks.

The omelettes were filled with organic baby spinach, sautéed leeks, and shredded Monterey Jack and mild Cheddar cheeses. They were seasoned with a homemade herb salt made with herbs from our garden. The fresh leeks were sautéed in extra virgin olive oil with a splash of  Sauvignon Blanc and seasoned with the herb salt. They were finished with a twist of fresh ground green, black and pink peppercorns.

At the end of the meal, there were clean plates all around. Just what I like to see!

Italian Seasonings

Posted on by Laurie

After yesterday’s harvesting and drying of herbs, this morning I found myself thinking about to what uses I wanted to put them. Most of them I will just store plain, but  I will probably make some seasoned salts and after breakfast I did make a batch of Italian Seasonings. (Recipe below.)  The golden oregano, thyme, rosemary and chenzo pepper were from my garden. Except for a few leaves here and there – not enough to merit drying – my basil is already gone for the season.

There are quite a few variations in recipes for Italian Seasonings. Some have majoram, parsley and/or savory. Many don’t have the hot pepper. Here is the recipe that I use.

Ingredients:

4 T. dried basil

4 T. dried oregano

1 T.  granulated garlic

1 1/2 t. dehydrated minced onion

1 1/2 t. dried thyme

1 1/2 t. dried rosemary

1/2 t. dried hot red pepper

Pulse ingredients in a small food processor until desired consistency.

As you can imagine, after producing a batch of Italian Seasonings, I had to make something Italian with it! And luckily for me, I had some fresh vegetables in the house that I needed to use. So for lunch we had polenta with romano cheese and a thick, tasty tomato-pepper sauce. Now I need a nap! Ciao!

“Refreshing Minty Lemon Limeade” and “Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream”

Posted on by Laurie

Having recently written in general terms about ways to use mint – see my post Mint: It Grows Like a Weed, but That’s Okay from 5/15/12 – I thought it appropriate to offer a few more mint recipes every now and then. Both of the recipes below contain mint ingredients employed to a subtle effect. Enjoy!

 Refreshing Minty Lemon Limeade

2 1/4 c. ice water

1/2 c. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. fresh lime juice

3/4 c. mint simple syrup, or to taste

Stir ingredients together. Chill until serving. Serve over ice.  Garnish with mint leaves, or with lemon or lime slices.

Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream

(based on a recipe from Scottish Heritage Food and Cooking, 2005, Lorenz Books of Anness Publishing, London)

5 large ripe tomatoes

1 c. heavy cream

2 mint leaves

1 T.  mint-infused vodka

1/3 c. crumbled cheese of a good melting variety, such as Monterey Jack

salt and pepper

1. Fill a large stock pot to about half full with water then add a dash of salt and bring to a boil.

2. Meanwhile wash and core tomatoes – a grapefruit knife works well for coring – and then cut an ‘x’ into the bottom of each tomato. Carefully drop tomatoes into boiling water. When the skins start to split, transfer tomatoes to a colander and give a quick rinse with cold water. Allow to cool.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. While the oven is heating, place the heavy cream in a non-stick pot, add mint leaves and vodka, and allow to simmer over low to medium-low heat. Simmer until the heavy cream is reduced to about 3/4 of a  cup.

4. While the cream simmers, brush a baking dish with olive oil. Slice tomatoes and arrange them in baking dish, allowing them to overlap slightly. Strain the thickened cream over tomatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and then with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve as a side dish or with a rustic bread for a small but rich meal.

Baked Tomatoes with Mint Cream

Mint: It Grows Like a Weed, but That’s Okay

Posted on by Laurie

Herbs in the mint family are known to be so invasive that it is generally recommended that they be grown in pots rather than directly in the ground. A few years ago,  I started a couple of large pots of spearmint by the back steps. I still have those pots of mint. Kansas winters can’t kill them off, but grasshoppers can do some damage.  While the leaves are still pristine, having not yet been gnawed upon by the voracious grasshoppers that seem to plague my garden during the summer and are already appearing, I’ve decided to harvest some of the mint. So I have been thinking of its culinary uses. (In the post immediately following this I give a cocktail recipe that I created for using homemade mint products.)

Tip: To harvest mint, make sure that it has been well watered for several weeks prior to cutting. Cut mint in the morning before the heat of the day has started to set in and, preferably, cut only stems of mint that have not yet started to flower. Clean with cold water. Use only undamaged leaves.

Uses

(1) Mint Tea

Place a large quantity of leaves in a teapot. Pour fresh boiling water over leaves and let steep for about 5 minutes. Strain to serve. Variations: add lemon balm leaves, chamomile flowers, black or green tea leaves, orange or lemon peel, and so forth.

(2) Mint Simple Syrup

Add 1 cup cold water and 1 cup granulated white sugar to a non-stick pot. Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved. (No need to simmer.) Place 2 c. mint leaves in a large glass bowl. Carefully pour simple syrup over mint and allow to sit for 5 to 15 minutes. Squeeze juice from leaves into syrup. Stain into syrup into a glass jar.

Use in cocktails such as Mint Juleps or Mojitos.  Use to sweeten lemonade or  to sweeten black or herbal teas  (hot or iced). Toss a small amount with fresh fruit such as honeydew or grapefruit segments for a minty fruit salad.

(3) Mint-Infused Vodka or Rum/Mint Extract

Fill a glass jar with fresh mint and top off with vodka or white rum. Cover tightly and shake. To make infused-vodka, store in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Strain out mint leaves and pour vodka into a glass bottle. To make extract, allow the mint leaves to sit in the vodka for 2 weeks before straining. While the mixture is sitting for the 2 weeks, remove any leaves that float to the top and turn brown.

Use vodka or rum in cocktails. Use extract in brownies, cookies, or whipped cream.

(4) Dried Mint Leaves

Hang bunch of leaves on stems 4 – 5″ long and hang in a warm, dry place or dry leaves in an oven or food dehydrator.

Use for teas or  in middle Eastern and far Eastern dishes.

That’s all that I came up with for today. What are your favorite ways to use mint, whether spearmint or some other variety? I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Growing and Cooking with Herbs

Posted on by Laurie

The Portia Club from Wamego came over today for a tour of the house and garden and a discussion of growing and cooking with herbs. They are a very lovely group of women to chat with.

Here are  some of the things we talked about:

(1) Using herbs in the landscape versus growing them in pots. Some herbs such as Golden Oregano make wonderful groundcovers without being invasive. Some such as Sage are attractive accent plants when in bloom. Parsley is a good plant for butterfly gardens. Anything in the mint family, however, will have a tendency to take over the garden if not harvested on a regular basis and so should be grown in pots. The pots can be placed in the ground, though, if you want to hide the pots in the landscape. Many herbs are suitable for container gardens.  Basil, Parsley, and Cilantro come to mind for potted arrangements as well as some of the fancy Sage varieties.

(2) Herbs want sun. I’ve tried growing herbs in shade to part shade. I haven’t found any that are happy with those conditions. They don’t all like heat, however. Cilantro, for example, will go to seed as soon as it gets hot. So in hot areas, late afternoon shade will help extend its growing season. Others, such as Basil, are very intolerant of cold temperatures. So don’t put basil outside when temperatures might still dip into the 40’s. Grey leaved herbs such as Sage and Lavender are more drought resistant than green leafy herbs such as basil which will need regular watering when it is hot.

(3) Overwintering of herbs.  This year I left large pots of Rosemary, Oregano, and Spearmint outside over the winter. They came back fine. It was the first winter that I have had luck doing this.  Two things were different from other years. One, of course, was that we had a milder winter – it was still definitely a winter with freezing temperatures, though. The other difference was that I had the herbs in large pots so I think that they had enough soil to give the roots a bit of insulation. Some people have luck bringing their herbs inside for the winter. Expect the herbs to go through a period of adjustment and make sure that they have enough sun if you are going to try this.

(4) Cooking with fresh herbs. When cooking with fresh herbs, the thing to remember is that they are fresh. Their fresh flavor is what you want to come across. I like to use them in cold sauces and dips – added right before serving. Their fresh flavor can also be harnessed by using them in compound butters – in a food processor blend softened butter and herbs with citrus zest, citrus juice and/or spices. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate. If using herbs in a cooked sauce, add them right at the end of cooking to get the best flavor.

(5) Other ways to capture flavor. The flavor of herbs can also be preserved by using them to flavor simple syrups and vinegars. (See my post, The Underrated Chive.) Simple syrup is made by heating sugar and water (either equal parts or twice as much sugar as water) until the sugar is dissolved. Herbs, such as spearmint or lemon balm, can be added during the cooking and allowed to sit in the syrup for about 20 to 30 minutes after removing from heat. They should then be strained out before the syrup is bottled. Simple syrups can be used to flavor drinks such as iced tea or cocktails or to flavor desserts. Flavored vinegars can be added to salad dressings and sauces.

(6) Drying herbs. Generally herbs should be harvested before blooming – unless it is the blooms that you are harvesting –  and before the weather starts to turn cool. The real key to drying herbs, though, is to dry them quickly so that they don’t rot before they are dried out. Herbs such as Rosemary, with a lower moisture content can be suspended in small bunches in an airy, dry space out of direct sunlight. For herbs with a higher moisture content, such as Parsley, the method with which I have had the best luck is spreading the cleaned leaves out on a large baking sheet and placing them in the oven using just the pilot light or the lowest heat until the moisture has evaporated. Then I transfer them to a zip top freezer bag and freeze. Some herbs such as chervil, however, just don’t dry well.

Happy gardening! Happy cooking!

Top photo: Sage, Rosemary & Oregano

Middle photo: Golden Oregano by Day Lilies

Bottom photo: Potted Herbs (Sage, Thyme, Oregano, Thai Basil, Tarragon)

Rosemary

Posted on by Laurie

For this first time ever, I have successfully over-wintered Rosemary in a pot outdoors. I am thrilled to have fresh rosemary to cook with that I thought that I would share my favorite way to use it. Start with fresh rosemary that has been washed and dried off. Put some olive oil and fresh rosemary in a skillet, then warm over medium heat. Once the rosemary has lost its bright green color, remove from pan. Use flavored olive oil right away to flavor eggs, potatoes, asparagus or mushrooms.Image