Recipe: Southeast Asian BBQ

Inspired by a Malaysian cooking class today at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and a gluttonous late lunch at a Malaysian restaurant, I decided to celebrate Independence Day Eve by grilling out...Southeast Asian style.

Not only does this meal use up a ridiculous amount of herbs, especially mint and basil which many gardeners are drowning in right now, but it's also light, easy and fun to eat. Pair with some good Asian beers (When I'm not knocked-up, I really like Export 33 and Singha) and you've got a party...a party that doesn't even need utensils!

First up: Summer Rolls
These are not authentic and are serving as the "salad" for my BBQ. In fact, they are derived from Mark Bittman's recipe in The Best Recipes of the World. I've tried other recipes and often what happens is that the roll only tastes fabulous if it's liberally dipped into peanut sauce. Otherwise, it's just kind of "blah." However, Mark Bittman gave me a revelation: His recipe has almost equal parts herbs and lettuce. This, my friends, is KEY. For the rolls to taste similar to those at your favorite Vietnamese or Thai restaurant, you need to put more herbs than you think is strictly necessary. Trust me on this. The more herbs, the merrier.

Now, you could very well make these rolls an hour or so ahead of time (store in fridge with damp towel over them and don't let them touch), or you could turn it into a Summer Roll Bar. Recently I had these made more in the shape of a "taquito"/cigar than a "burrito" from a Thai restaurant. IMO, this is brilliant. It's easier to do and it really does lend itself to make-on-demand.

If you are one of those people that think cilantro tastes like soap, simply up the mint and basil by 1/4 cup each. You can get the rice paper, vermicelli and Mae Ploy at Asian supermarkets. If you'd like, you could also add some cooked, sliced tofu or shrimp. And, if you want these flavors but are feeling REALLY lazy, you could turn this into a traditional salad. Just mix all the ingredients as listed below and drizzle a thinned-out peanut sauce over top.

Ingredients:
8 rice paper sheets (10-12 inches)
4-oz of rice vermicelli, cooked according to package instructions & well rinsed. (Beware that these cook very fast. Mushy noodles are gross, so keep an eye on these)
1/2 c mint, chopped
1/2 c cilantro, chopped
1/2 c basil (Thai basil if you have it), chopped
2 scallions, minced
2 carrots, shredded
4 leaves romaine or similar lettuce, chopped
1 tsp of Mae Ploy (sweet chili sauce), plus more for dipping

Directions
1. In one bowl, mix herbs and lettuce. In another bowl, mix Mae Ploy, scallions and vermicelli. And, finally, in the last bowl, put shredded carrots.

2. To rehydrate the rice paper, put several inches of hot tap water (110-120*F) in a low, wide bowl (a pie plate often works well). Dip a sheet of the rice paper in the hot water, flipping once, until soft. This could take about 10 seconds. Place on damp towel. If you get one too many tears in the rice paper, you can double up on wrappers.

3. Next, build your summer roll. Add desired toppings to bottom 1/3 of rehydrated rice paper and roll up like a taquito. Alternatively turn into more traditional burrito shape: roll up just enough so filling is completely enclosed in the rice paper, tuck in sides and then continue rolling.

4. Consume! Dip in Mae Ploy or peanut sauce.

Second up: Chicken Satay
Generally, when I think "chicken satay," Thai is what comes to mind. However, satays are all over Southeast Asia. This version comes to you from His Hotness, Tyler Florence. It's almost Indian with its yogurt and curry powder marinade. But, as you know, there are lots of Indian influences in that part of the world.

One thing I want to caution you about is to use GOOD curry powder. Either make your own (I use Mark Bittman's Hot Curry Powder recipe) or get it from a place that has high curry powder turn-over...like an Indian market or maybe an Asian grocery (meaning, using an Asian brand. Malaysia makes some good ones). Stale curry powder is gross.

Ingredients
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp grated garlic
1 Tbsp good curry powder
1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced in half
skewers
Directions
1. Put skewers in a bowl with water to soak so they won't burn on the grill.

2. Mix remaining ingredients together. Let marinate for 2 hours.

3. Thread chicken on skewers and grill 3-5 min per side.

4. Consume with peanut sauce.

Recipe: Sage Shortbread

I am not a baker. I mean-- don't get me wrong-- I love baked goods and sweets. I just don't particularly enjoy making them. For me, baked goods seem more tedious and dirty all the bowls, scoops and measuring utensils I own whereas for most of the savory dishes I make I dirty no more than a knife, cutting board and Dutch oven (part of it is that you don't need to measure, certainly).

However, my friend Sarah (now living on the left coast), is quite the baker. And, when I was complaining a while about about the amount of sage I needed to deal with, she gave me a recipe for Sage-Scented Shortbread. Sarah knows me all too well...if it's uncomplicated and dirties only 1 dish, it's for me. And, this recipe comes together all in a food processor. (Or, in my case, the mini food processor attachment to my immersion blender). Additionally, Sarah reports the dough freezes fabulously.
What does this cookie taste like? Well, they're not terribly sweet. In fact, they're a tad bit salty. The sage is very subtle...I'll increase the amount in the future. They would be perfect for a tea party or something different at holiday cookie exchanges. So delicious. Thank you, Sarah!

Below is the recipe & how I made it in my small-capacity food processor.

Ingredients:

• 2 c all purpose flour, divided
  
• 1/2 c powdered sugar, divided
  
• 3 tbsp thinly sliced fresh sage leaves, divided (the original recipe has 2 tbsp, but I think a bit more would be nice)
  
• 1 tsp coarse kosher salt, divided
  
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, divided

Directions:

• Put 1 c flour, 1/4 c powdered sugar, 1.5 tbsp sage leaves and 1/2 tsp kosher salt in a food processor. Process until combined.
• Add 1 stick of butter (cut into a few pieces) to the food processor and process until the dough is formed.
• Lay dough on a piece of wax paper, parchment or cling wrap and form into a 1-1/2 in wide log. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm or package for the freezer.
  
• Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
• To bake, preheat oven to 350*F. Slice cookies and place on lined baking sheets (you can place them fairly closely; they don't spread). Bake 10 minutes, rotate pans and bake another 10-15 minutes.

Recipe: Fall in a Bowl- Butternut Squash & Sage Risotto

Let me get this out of the way: Parmigiano Reggiano is my second favorite cheese (any kind of blue cheese is my first). Also, you should know I *love* cheese in a very unhealthy way. So, add these together and you get a person that really, really, really likes parm. A lot.

That said, I don't think this risotto needs Parmesan at all. Blasphemy, I know, risotto is supposed to have parm. Whatever. This dish is like a bowlful of fall and I think the pungentness of the parm would just get in the way. If you happen to be watching your waistline, this is a great seasonal recipe. It's creamy and the scant amount of bacon (works out to less than a slice per person & no other fat is used) gives it a deep, luxurious taste. And, the butternut squash almost doubles the volume of the recipe limiting the amount of carbs. Save the calories you would have spent on the cheese and indulge in a piece or two of Halloween candy. :P

This would serve 4 for lunch with side salad. Or 2 for dinner.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, halved and seeds scooped out
3 slices of your favorite bacon, diced (cut off the large areas of fat if you like)
1 small onion, diced
1 c arborio rice (you can get it at Trader Joe's)
1/2 c light, crisp beer (I used Yuengling. You could also use white wine)
2 c chicken stock
20 sage leaves, chopped and divided
water
parm, if you must

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400*F. Place butternut squash halves face down on a roasting pan. Add a bit of water and cover. Cook for 25 minutes or until squash is very tender.
2. Meanwhile...Put the bacon in a saucepan and brown. When half-way done, add onions and half of the sage.
3. Heat the stock in another pan on medium-low. You'll need to have a constant supply of warm stock so that you don't cool down the risotto when you add it.
4. When onions are translucent, add the rice and toss in the bacon drippings. Let "toast" for about a minute.
5. Add beer, stir and let evaporate. When the pan is almost dry, add a few ladle-fulls of the warm stock. Stir occasionally until absorbed. Once absorbed, repeat adding stock, stirring, etc. until rice is done. You may need to add a bit more liquid (in the form of water) if after 2 cups your rice isn't quite done.
6. Scoop out insides from cooked squash and add into risotto using a fork to mash the larger pieces. Add in remaining sage and season with salt & pepper. Oh, and add parm if you find it absolutely necessary.

Putting Up: Herb Drying

Certainly, you can dry herbs by hanging them upside down inside a paper bag with holes in it (to keep out dust) in a dry, dark place with good air circulation for a few weeks. I've personally found this works best for woody herbs like rosemary & thyme.

But what about for more "moist" herbs like basil or mint?

Well, I've read about a few options on the Internets. Basically, the oils in the herbs start to decline if they are heated above 100*F. An idea solution would be to construct a mesh frame that would be put on blocks outside in the shade in 80*F, non-humid weather. But...um...that isn't going to happen. A second idea would be, perhaps, using a dehydrator. However, I do not have a dehydrator and would prefer not to one as I have no where to put it.

So, my runner up method is using the microwave. Yes, microwave.

The deal: Arrange leaves between 2 paper towels. 'Nuke for 2 minutes checking every 30 seconds (for me, they were done at 1:30). I think next time I'll do 50% power because I think it might have gotten too hot, but it definitely worked.

<-------Here's the before












<-------Here's the after




You want to make sure they are crinkling and crumbling. That's how you know they are good & dry.

Recipe: Chocolate-Mint Lime Fizz

Ok, ya'll, I'm not an alcoholic. I promise. I'm just ridin' the wave of herb-y cocktails because I succumb to peer pressure easily.

Hey, it's a great way to use up the herbs in new and exciting ways!

Anywho, this concoction comes to you courtesy of my husband. It's basically a mojito made with what we have on hand. But it has this fabulous chocolate-lime thing going on like those little candies. So delicious.

Ingredients:
3 springs of chocolate mint
1 shot of light rum (we have Cruzan)
2 Tbsp lavender simple syrup (we had this leftover. Regular simple syrup, equal parts water & sugar boiled together & cooled, would work too
tonic
1 Tbsp lime juice (we used bottled)

Directions:

1. Put the rum in your cup and bruise it (he used our Mexican hot chocolate thingy, but a wooden spoon would work too.
2. Add ice and the rest of the ingredients. Stir.
3. Enjoy! (serves 1)
   

Recipes: Herbaceous Happy Hour Drinks & Snacks

This week's happy hour, if I do say so myself, was a huge hit. Here's the menu:

Drinks:
Lemon-Lavender Vodka Tonics (lavender from the garden)
Pimm's Cup
Lemon Balm Iced Green Gea (lemon balm from garden)

Food:
Herby Goat Cheese Spread (oregano, rosemary, thyme and sage from the garden)
No Recipe Bruschetta topping (tomatoes from garden & CSA and basil from CSA)
No Recipe Tapenade (purple basil from garden & garlic from CSA)
(with crackers & toasted baguette)
Garlic Roasted Blue Potatoes with Garlic Mayo (blue potatoes & garlic from CSA)


Recipes:

Lemon-Lavender Vodka Tonic
3 springs of lavender
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water

vodka
tonic water
lemon

-Bring water, lavender and sugar to a boil & dissolve sugar. Cook on low for 5 minutes or until syrup smells heavily of lavender. Remove lavender and cool syrup overnight.
-For a drink, pour 1 shot of vodka and 1/2 shot of lavender syrup over ice. Top off with tonic water and add a squeeze of lemon. Adjust syrup/lemon/vodka to taste.

Pitcher of Pimm's Cup
1/2 English cucumber, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
2 c Pimm's No. 1
1.5 cup lemonade
1.5 cup ginger ale

-Put lemon & cucumber in a pitcher. Add Pimm's No. 1 and let marinate at least 6 hours. Better if longer, though, longer.
-Add the rest of the ingredients just before serving. If desired, add a "fortifying" shot (or two! or more!) of gin!

Lemon Balm Iced Green Tea
Use the caffeinated mint tea recipe, except substitute lemon balm for the mint & green tea bags for the black tea bags.

Herby Goat Cheese Spread
3 Tbsp of assorted fresh herbs (No basil, though. I used thyme, rosemary, sage and oregano), finely minced
4 oz log of goat cheese
2 oz cream cheese
2 Tbsp plain yogurt

-Whip goat cheese and cream cheese together. Add herbs.
-Add yogurt, one tablespoon at a time until mixture is easily spreadable (can use more yogurt if necessary)

No Recipe Tapenade
Olives
Basil
Garlic
Anchovies, optional
Capers, optional

-In a food processor, add whatever quantities of above makes you happy (or whatever quantities you have on hand). I like using purple basil and using only 1 clove of garlic!

No Recipe Bruschetta Topping
Tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Basil, chopped
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

-Add whatever quantities of above makes you happy!

Garlic Roasted Blue Potatoes with Garlic Mayo
Blue (or white) potatoes, diced
garlic powder (yes, powder. small pieces of garlic tend to burn on me in the oven)
generous amount of canola oil

1/4 cup mayo
1 large clove of garlic, minced

-Mix the mayo & garlic. Let sit for at least an hour. Best if overnight.
-Toss your diced potatoes in canola oil and give several dashes of garlic powder.
-Preheat oven to 475* and roast for 20 minutes or until done (time depends on how much you're putting in your oven & how big your pieces are)

Enjoy!

Recipe: Caffeinated Peppermint Iced Tea

August in the DC area is always hot. It's the quasi-South and a former swamp, after all! But this year it seems particularly intense thanks to the mild June and July we had. I guess you could say that we were living on borrowed time.

Thus, when my CSA had a fat bunch of peppermint, I knew what to do: Make iced tea!

Herbal (non-caffeinated) iced tea is nice, but I like the slightly bitter after note that black tea offers. So, here you go:

Ingredients:
1 bunch of peppermint, washed
3 bags of black tea
1 Tbsp-1/4 c sugar (depending on how sweet you like your tea. I do 2 Tbsp)
8 c almost boiling water
2 c ice

Directions:

1. In a pitcher, put peppermint & tea bags. Pour almost boiling water over it.
2. Let steep 4 minutes.
3. Remove peppermint & tea bags (use tongs if necessary) and add sugar to tea. Stir to dissolve.
4. Add ice to cool it down.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Homemade CSA Veggie Pizza

Two of you asked for my pizza recipe, so here it is! I first started making my own pizza dough b/c I was a poor, single grad student that lived alone. This meant that delivery was often out of my price range and that I had a lot of free time after a long day of studying (last thing I want to do after studying is hang around people. My brain is mush & making conversation just isn't going to happen). So, I started making my own pizza dough and stuffed won tons (for won ton soup). These tedious, repetitive tasks were a nice way for me to relax.

I think this crust is best simply topped with fresh tomato (this time from our CSA & garden!), basil (CSA) and mozzarella (I'll also describe how I do that) but by all means put whatever you want on it!

This makes 2 12-inch pizzas or one very large pizza. I use a KitchenAide Mixer now for the kneading but did it by hand in my grad school days. The good news is that I don't think it's possible to overwork pizza dough, especially by hand, so err on the side of too much rather than too little. This looks time consuming but the total hands-on time is probably close to 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
For dough

1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp sugar
1.25 c warm water
1 packet of dry yeast
3 c all-purpose King Arthur White Wheat flour, divided (or regular all-purpose flour)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Cooking spray

dried oregano, optional
dried basil, optional
garlic powder, optional


For toppings
1-2 large, tomatoes, cored & sliced thin
1 bunch of basil, torn or chopped
salt & pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
mozzarella
parm

Directions

1. Put tap water in Mixer bowl (or other good-sized bowl). This water should be bath-water temperature and not hotter. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for yeast! Pour in yeast & sugar and dissolve. Let stand 5 minutes. If after 5 minutes there's a bit of foam on top and the mixture smells like bread, your yeast survived. If it doesn't look any different, start over using cooler water.
2. Lightly spoon in 2.75 cups of the flour, the olive oil, salt and, if you're wanting a flavored crust, now's the time to add in your oregano, dried basil, and/or garlic powder. Oh, and I add in an extra 1 Tbsp of sugar b/c I like sweeter crust a la Pizza Hut (yes. shut up). Stir to combine.
3. At this point, if you're kneading by hand, dust your work surface (and hands) with flour and turn out the dough. You should knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is elastic. Add the remaining flour 1 Tbsp at a time, if the dough feels wet. When done, roll dough into a ball, turning the bottom of the ball into itself (kinda like when you converted your Popple back into an innocent-looking "ball").
   
   If you're using you stand mixer, then just turn on low and then medium speed with your dough hook attachment. I don't leave my mixer for this...the mixer can act like your washing machine when all the towels get on one side! Mix for about 5 or so minutes or until the dough is really elastic, adding in the extra flour 1 Tbsp at a time as needed. When done, roll dough into a ball, turning the bottom of the ball into itself (kinda like when you converted your Popple back into an innocent-looking "ball").
   
   
4. In a large bowl, spray cooking spray. Put dough ball in the bowl and spray the top of it with cooking spray. Put plastic wrap over dough (making contact with the dough itself) and place in a warm spot for an hour. Note: You could totally do the above in the morning & let the dough rise all day. Up until this point, the total hands-on time is about 20ish minutes if you are kneading by hand.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. When the dough has doubled, preheat the oven to 450*F, punch it down and spread out to the size of your pizza pan. There are many ways to do this (rolling pin, stretching, throwing up in the air!) so experiment & see what works for you. Put pizza in your pan
   
   
   
   
   
6. Bake the pizza nekkid for 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, drain your marinated tomatoes & dry them off as much as possible.
8. After the 10 minutes, remove the pizza from the oven & drop the temperature down to 400*F. Top you pizza with whatever you like (I'm doing tomatoes first then mozzarella on top) but leave fresh basil for the end.
9. Put pizza back into the oven & bake for 20 min or until cheese starts to get golden and the underside of the crust is brown & crispy.
10. Let pizza cool at least 5 minutes before cutting into it. (Hot cheese is like lava. Trust me on this one!)

Enjoy!

Herb Garden Design

I am the first to admit that I am both cheap and lazy. Or perhaps "efficient" is a better term than "lazy" because I don't mind doing work but I certainly mind doing needless work. And, when it comes to herb gardens here in Northern Virginia you can create some needless work and expense. And y'all know I love herb gardens!

Primarily I'm talking about plant selection. Some of the workhorses of the herb garden just can't handle our winters. (Rosemary, I'm lookin' at you.) You either have pot it up and take it inside for the winter or just cross your fingers & hope for the best. Neither of these sound like a particularly tempting option to me.

Luckily, however, there are varieties out there of many of these "tender" perennials that don't mind living outside all year in NoVA*. I've found that you generally have to mail order or look at specialty nurseries to purchase these, but occasionally I've seen them at larger independent nurseries (not big box nurseries). Just because these are more hardy varieties doesn't necessarily mean that they don't taste good or they look awful.

This was my first year having a dedicated herb garden. Sure, I'd grown the odd pot with basil, mint or rosemary before but there seems something more definite when the plants are in-ground. Here's what my herb garden looks like this year:

In it is Arp Rosemary (hardy to -10*F), Greek Mountain Oregano (hardy to -20*F), Hidcote lavender (hardy to zone 5 so can survive our winter), parsley (biennial), mitsuba (hardy to zone 4. A Japanese parsley-like perennial herb. Planted in the parsley box too), english thyme (hardy to -20*F), chives (hardy to -40*F), bee balm and thai basil (an annual). Oh, and a mass of Unwin's dahlias because I didn't know where else to put them! The plants that will not come back next year are marked with an asterik in the graphic.

Overall, I'm pleased with how it's turned out. If anything my herb garden pays for itself more than my tomato plants! But, next year I'm going to put the dahlias some place else and want to add in a few more herbs and change it up a bit. Here's the working idea for next year:

You'll notice it has many of the same herbs but more parsley/mitsuba, sage (which is currently in a pot on the side yard) and red basil (well, purple might be a better description. Right now it's with the sage on the side yard). I'm not actually sure my bee balm/bergamot/mondara is going to survive this year; I'm still battling some powdery mildew. I'm saving a place for it just in case!

I've got 2 squares I'm not sure what to put in, though. I had thought mint, but I think I'm going to put a container of that right outside the herb garden (it's invasive). Likewise, I'm going to put my italian basil in with my tomatoes so no need for that in the herb garden. And I suck at growing cilantro. If anything that'll get put in the veg garden just for its flowers (they attract lady bugs) Hmph. I suppose I could go for a lesser used herb (borage? lovage? chervil?) or a crazy variety of something I already have (lemon thyme? pineapple sage?) but whatever it is, I want it to be winter hardy so that I can just plant once!

Anyone have any suggestions?


*Note that some perennial herbs will die down into the ground during winter but they will re-emerge in the spring, so don't be worried if they disappear on you when it starts getting cold! Also, if you container garden I've heard a good rule of thumb is that a plant will overwinter if it can handle 2 zones colder than you. NoVA is on the zone 6/'7 border, so look for plants at least hardy to zone 4/5 for your outdoor containers.

Recipe: Kra Pow Chicken

Thai cooking is like a piece of music from any of the great composer. There's a balance of the astringent shriek of flutes or piccolos and the deep voice of a cello, as well as the different textural quality of brass instruments vs. string instruments vs. woodwind instruments. In short, it's a symphony in your mouth with the principle instruments being sweet, sour, salty and spicy.

My love for thai food is so great, it's where I went on my honeymoon. My husband & I ate our way through the country; from Koh Samui to Chaing Mai and Chiang Rai to Bangkok we ate at markets, street food vendors, and fine restaurants. Without a doubt, it was the market stalls that were our favorite. And my favorite dish, which is also apparently a favorite of the Thais and widely available, is kra pow.

Here's my recipe, adapted from a cookbook I got in Thailand: A Passion for Thai Cooking, for Kra Pow Chicken using the cayenne peppers and thai basil from my garden. Note, that I planted these in vast quantities explicitly to make this dish!

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken (or pork)
oil
12 cloves of garlic, minced (trust me. lots of garlic is key)
2-4 cayenne peppers (2 = "American hot", 4= approaching "Thai hot")
.25-1 c chicken stock (depends how saucy you like stir-fries)
1.5 c thai basil leaves

6 Tbsp. oyster sauce
4 Tbsp. fish sauce (no substitutions available for this. It smells weird, but it's a key "deep note" in this symphony)
1/4 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, mix the last 4 ingredients. This is the sauce.
   
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add garlic & chilies and cook until garlic is golden.
3. Add meat & cook until brown.
4. Add the sauce to the meat, then add chicken stock. Heat through, taste & adjust seasoning if desired.
5. Take off heat, add basil. Stir to combine & serve with jasmine rice.
   

All About: Basil

Basil is a must for any herb garden, especially an herb garden of a cook. It's essential in Italian cooking as well as southeast Asia (of which, Thai is my favorite). Needless to say, we have 3 types: purple (5), green Italian (4) and Thai basil (3).

Last year I tried to grow Italian basil with disastrous results. First off, I used some clay soil I dug up to my back yard. This was neither the most well-draining nor fertile choice! The basil survived but hardly thrived. This year, I vowed to do things right! That includes:

1. Good soil. Basil loves well-drained soil rich in organic matter.


2. Full sun. To thrive, basil needs the heat of summer, but appreciates a bit of afternoon shade around July & August when the summer sun is at its hottest.


3. Harvest early & often. Harvest as soon as plants have several sets of leaves. Wherever you cut/pinch off, the basil will fork thus becoming more bushy & more productive. About once a month in the summer, do a big harvest and remove about 2/3 of the plant (leave a few sets of leaves at the bottom). The plants will come back bigger & badder than ever in just a few weeks!


4. Pinch off flowers. I've read that basil is predetermined to flower after they get a certain number of leaf sets. If this is true, then harvesting often or doing one big harvest a month will help prolong the plant's life. If it's not true, just pinch off the flowers, preferably the node below where the flowers are.

Ideas on how to store your excess basil:

1. Freeze pesto.


2. Wash, dry, & place into ziploc bags. Place these bags in the freezer.


3. Chop up basil, mix with a little oil, and pour into ice cube trays. Freeze.


4. Chop up basil, mix with a little water and pour into ice cube trays. Freeze.

Ideas on creative ways to use basil:

1. Strawberry-Basil Tea


2. Basil-Lemon Granita


3. Basil Gimlet


4. Bruschetta


5. Watermelon salad with feta & basil


6. Basically, anywhere you'd use mint! (basil & mint are related)
   

Recipe: Lemon-Lavender Sorbet

I've been wanting to post a recipe from my garden's bounty, but...um...aside from a sprig of thyme here and a few snipets of chives there, I haven't done anything interesting with my garden produce. I've been quite excited about my lavender plants. And, my favorite sorbet at the Dairy Godmother is their Lemon-Lavender flavor. Since President Obama recently visited Dairy Godmother, I fear I won't be able to go back anytime soon!

Luckily for me, my lavender is thriving!

Here's what you need:

******Warning: This recipe takes 2 days to allow for ample chilling******
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 or more sprigs of *culinary* lavender, cut into pieces (About a tbsp. Don't use stuff from a craft store.)
4 lemons, juice & zested
2 tbsp lemoncello (or vodka), optional

Here's what you do:

1. Bring water to a boil. Add sugar & stir until dissolved. Take off heat and add lavender & zest.
2. Chill sugar mixture at least 4 hours, overnight is better.
3. Remove lavender sticks from sugar mixture and add lemon juice & lemoncello to sugar mixture. The lemoncello will help you get a more scoopable sorbet since it won't freeze.
4. Freeze according to ice cream maker's directions. You'll probably need to chill it in the freezer for a few hours after the machine is done so that it's firmer. (No ice cream maker? Use the granita method, but you may want to leave out the alcohol)

ENJOY!

Propagating Mint

I am dangerous. Seriously. I walk on the wild (gardening) side, throwing caution to the wind! I'm a rebel, baby! Let's just say I'm sooooooo dangerous, I planted chocolate mint in the ground. Without a pot. Without any sort of barrier what so ever.

See, I told you: Dangerous.*

I did, however, take out some "insurance," if you will. I planted the chocolate mint (smells like peppermint patties! Swoon!) in a location that gets a good deal of shade. This, I figured, should slow the mint down.

I was right. Too right, in fact.

My visions of making gallons of chocolate mint iced tea this summer were being dashed by it's slow growth. So, I did whatever any gardener with a frugal side would do: propagate more plants via cuttings. Here is what you do:

1. Clip off a 5in or so piece of mint (this also works for other types of mint).
2. Strip off the leaves on the bottom half.
3. Stick into water.
4. Change water every 3 days or so.

...and, here's what you get:

In the cup. Roots are coming from where the leaves I stripped off were. Even above the water line.


After 7 days, these are the roots my mint grew! This is a perfect project for anyone impatient, like myself.

Now these cuttings are ready to be planted. I'm going to put these 3 new plants into a pot & place in a sunny location. I may be dangerous, but I've not completely lost my mind!!!

Note that this method of propagation is the same as I did with ivy.




*In case you didn't know, mint can be highly invasive. I can completely take over a bed. Resulting in constantly cutting it back & weeding.

Pinkies Up!

(Note: Photos are from Wikipedia articles, not me. Herb are, starting from top left, lavender, rosemary, sweet woodruff, bergamot, chamomile and mint)

{Note: Um, blogger is currently experiencing technical difficulties. I will fix the photos when it starts working again...}

I'm more of a coffee drinker in the morning, but if I need a warm beverage at any other time of day, I reach for tea. An afternoon pick-up is usually yerba mate. Something after dinner? Then, I favor a roobios for it's caffeine-free-ness.

When planning my 2009 herb garden, I knew I wanted mint(s), bergamot (aka bee balm) and lavender. Then I found out that chamomile is a good companion plant to strawberries so decided to save some room for it in the strawberry patch. Next, it turned out that sweet woodruff would be perfect in the bed in the front of the house. And, finally, I found a local source of scented geraniums. And couldn't resist buying one. Before I knew it, I had the makings of a tea garden!

What is a tea garden you ask? Ideally, it's a container or patch of an herb garden dedicated to herbs that can be used in teas. But since I like my plants to multi-task, they are going to be a spread out across the yard: in a pot in the house, in the herb garden, in the strawberry patch, ground cover in the front bed, and ground cover in a raised bed under a tree.

Here's what I'm planting that could be used for tea:

• Mint (spearmint, chocolate mint and maybe apple mint)
• Bergamot/bee balm
• Chamomile (german, most likely)
• Sweet woodruff
• Old-fashion rose (scented geranium)
• Lavender
• Thyme
• Rosemary

What other herbs could be used for tea:

• Lemon verbena
• Lemon balm
• Marjoram
• Lemon grass
• Other scented geraniums
• Rose hips
• Sage

Now, it should be noted that before you turn anything into a tea you should first verify that it is what you think it is AND that there aren't any restrictions for use. For example, scented geraniums are an entirely different species than regular geraniums (scented ones are Pelargonium {variety}, regular ones are Geranium {variety}). Additionally, sweet woodruff is good for making a tea that helps you go to bed at night in small doses but can be toxic at high doses. And, obviously, if you're going to be eating the leaves, it's best if they aren't coated in a layer of pesticides.

So, dear readers, do your research! Be smart about what you ingest!

To make a tea out of herbs, you can do it two ways: with fresh leaves or with dry leaves. Either way, put the leaves in a cup & pour hot water over them. Then, let steep for 5 or so minutes and strain. Voila! Garden-fresh tea! For those of you that I know in real life, anticipate that a good crop of herbs this year will result in you getting homemade herbal teas and homemade reusable tea bags like this: http://www.craftleftovers.com/blog/archives/32 (sorry it's not clicky. blogger is buggin' out on me!). Fair warning folks, fair warning.

Who's growing a tea garden (I'm even talking containers on windowsills here! You don't need a yard to garden.)? And, if you think you can't grow any herbs, then clearly you haven't read my previous post: http://thedirtyradish.blogspot.com/2009/04/herb-for-every-pot.html (I have no idea why this link is clicky but the other one isn't. :::shakes fist at blogger:::)

An Herb for Every Pot

Herbs, in my oh-so-very-humble opinion, are what "makes" a dish. Chicken stock, for me, isn't complete without a bay leaf or two. Ever had salsa without cilantro?!? Not the same. Where would your Thanksgiving turkey be without the classic thyme and sage combo? They instantly make anything taste better without adding fat or calories. In short, they are a wonder seasoning. And for that, you pay the price!

With glass jars of rosemary hovering around $4 and a bunch of fresh cilantro over $2 (i.e., highway robbery!), what's a cook to do? Grow the damn things yourself. Herbs work wonderfully in containers for those without a yard and of course are fine in ground for those that do. You can start them from seeds for dirt cheap (a pack of 25+ seeds costs 1/4 of the price of a jar of the dried leaves), propagate from cuttings from a friend (free!!) or buy a plant for less than what you'd pay for a few sprigs at the grocery store. There's an herb for every location...and every container.

The following herbs are almost all available (with multiple varieties) from DeBaggio's, an herb nursery I hope to visit soon!

Herbs for Shade:
And in this context, I'm meaning, dappled light, not a total void of light. Part of this depends on your climate. In extreme tropical climates, basil might do best with a fair amount of shade-- otherwise it'd get burnt by the intense sun. More examples can be found here. Note: Often this means the herbs will tolerate the low light level. You'll get better yields with more light.

Anise hyssop
Parsley
Lemon balm
Sweet Woodruff


Herbs for Part-Sun/Part-Shade:
By this I mean 4-6 hours of sunlight per day. Again, this can depend highly on where you are. I'm talking mostly about north Mid-Atlantic. If you're on the low end of the light requirements, you may be able to grow shade-tolerate herbs in addition to these. If you're on the high end, then maybe some of the full-sun herbs will work out (but they probably won't produce like they would in full sun).

Borage
Mint
Rosemary
Thyme


Herbs for Full Sun:
By this I mean 6-8 hours of sunlight per day. Again, whether or not these herbs will work in full-sun light conditions this can depend highly on where you are. I'm talking mostly about north Mid-Atlantic. In general, most herbs thrive in full sun & just tolerate everything else, so the above part-sun will likely work for you too!

Basil
Chives
Chamomile
Dill
Lavender
Lemon balm
Marjoram
Oregano
Parsley
Sage
Savory