Early Frost and Harvesting my Herbs

 It's that time of year. The time when an early frost promises to decimate your garden. I should have harvested my herbs earlier but here I am holding out to the bitter end.

What would you do with these herbs? I have curly parsley, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme. The parsley will make a tabouli. What else!

I think I will make a grape and rosemary focaccia. Rosemary would be great dried so if I have any left over I'll dry it.

The thyme will also be great dried. I think I'll hang it to dry and save for winter roasts.

But what about the oregano and sage? I could dry the sage but the oregano isn't that highly flavoured. I could freeze it. What could I make with my fresh oregano and sage? Ideas welcomed.

These trimmings will go into my freezer bag for making stocks.

Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce is great on your mixed grilled meats

Chimichurri sauce is just like a pesto. Lots of fresh herbs, garlic and a good quality olive oil. It matches with any meat from your grill. And it only takes a minute to make.

Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce

2 c. packed fresh Italian parsley leaves 500 mL

4 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/4 c. packed fresh oregano leaves 60 mL

1/4 c. red wine vinegar 60 mL

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 3 mL

1/2 tsp. salt 3 mL

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 c. extra virgin olive oil 250 mL
 

Place parsley, garlic, oregano, vinegar, pepper flakes, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Process until finely chopped, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, about 1 minute.

With the motor running, add oil in a steady stream. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse a few times to combine. Transfer sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 day to allow the flavors to meld. Before serving, stir and season as needed. This will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Basil Pesto preserves summer flavour

Blogging takes a back seat in the busy summer market season. I am cooking a lot, every day, all day. Except when I take the occassional day off to garden or go for a drive. This is not my garden basil. It's from the market and so lovely.

Basil Pesto
2 cups lightly packed, fresh basil leaves
¼ cup pinenuts, toasted
½ cup nice olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
salt optional

Dry toast the pinenuts in a stovetop pan. Chop basil, pinenuts and garlic with olive oil in food processor until finely minced. Stir in parmesan cheese and more olive oil if necessary. Pack into a jar and float a little olive oil on top to help preserve the mixture. Or, freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray and store the ice cubes in freezer bags for later use.

 And just because my lilies are lovely and at their peak, here's a picture for you. Aren't they purdy?

Brown Basmati Rice & Lentil Pilau with Fenugreek

 

 

In my small town where I only find flat leaf parsley once a year, yes in my garden, you can imagine my disbelief. Fenugreek? I checked the label again and, yes it is fenugreek. Strangely I made a quinoa and lentil pilau, or pilaf as many say, only a few days ago that asked for a cup of chopped fenugreek. I simply omitted it. I have never tasted fresh fenugreek and to make a substitution was unnecessary. There was already lots of flavour.

This reminds me of when I found fresh Black Mission figs at the peak of ripeness. The bewildered produce manager had no idea how one would eat them. I bought a case. They were chopped and added to my farmers’ market loaves. I enjoyed them with a lovely chevre drizzled with local honey. I preserved jam and chutney. That was two years ago.

And then there was the time I found halloumi cheese. I had barely moved to town and was not familiar with anything let alone the standard fare at the grocery stores. I was suitably impressed but that was it. Once. Ditto with angostura bitters. That same Christmas there was an impressive display of angostura bitters. Wish I had bought a few bottles. I have not seen it since.

I looked again at my pilau recipe and it was indeed fenugreek that had been called for. Coincidentally I am making the pilau, this time with brown basmati rice, for a catering gig. Did I dare use the fenugreek? What would it taste like? 

How could I not buy it? I’m sure I’ll never see it again.

Brown Basmati Rice and Lentil Pilau

2 cups cooked brown basmati rice

1/2 cup cooked green lentils

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup finely chopped fenugreek

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon each of mustard seeds and cumin seeds

4 curry leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon raw cashews

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt, to taste

Cook the rice and lentils separately. I cook both of them like I cook pasta, with lots of water. I drain them when they are cooked but still firm and lay a clean tea towel over them to steam for a few minutes.

Heat oil in a wide saute pan on medium heat. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When they begin to pop add the cashews and toast. Add turmeric, curry leaves, coriander and saute for a minute or two. Add shallots and carrots. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add rice and lentils. Mix thoroughly. Cover and heat on lowest setting for 8 - 10 minutes or they can be placed in a 325F oven in a covered pot for about 20 minutes.

Fenugreek (/ˈfɛnjʉɡriːk/; Trigonella foenum-graecum) is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semi-arid crop, and its seeds are a common ingredient in dishes from the Indian Subcontinent. (Wikipedia)

It has a green herbaceous flavour with a slight bitterness. It is very mild in this dish. 

14 Food Goals for 2014

I normally don't make New Year's resolutions. It doesn't make any sense to me to set out a list of things...on January 1...that  I would like to do differently. I make lists like this all year long. Sometimes they result in changes but most often not.

Valerie at A Canadian Foodie has issued this as a challenge in our ongoing Canadian Food Experience project. I am already doing many of these things but sometimes I get lazy or complacent. Time for a tune-up. Check here for a full list of participants.

14 food goals for 2014:

1. Continue to eat LOCALLY produced foods as much as possible.
As much as possible means that I won't be giving up my sea salt, chocolate or coffee any time soon. It means that I will forego seafood on the prairies. It doesn't taste as good so why bother.

2. Be more aware of the SEAFOOD Watch.
I just said that I would forego seafood on the prairies. However, that doesn't account for eating out and temptations at friends' homes. It does not account for the possibility I might find myself by the sea. Who doesn't find shrimp on menus everywhere and at friend's parties. No more shrimp.

3. Less JUNK food.
Restaurant choices are limited in my town so often I just grab a burger or fried chicken when I am starved and in a hurry. I leaned on this a little too often last year. A clean up is required.

4. SCRATCH cooking.
I am already doing this but I want to be sure to continue. I will continue to promote scratch cooking through my blog and writing.

5. Explore VEGETARIAN and be more creative in my vegetarian choices.
One of my sisters has been vegetarian for 35 years. Even though she has access to a vast array of choices, she still lacks a certain creativity in her meals. Don't we all, vegetarian or not.

6. Expand my GARDEN.
The summer is so busy for me. I am a farmers' market vendor and it consumes my time. Last year my garden suffered. I don't want that to happen again this year.

7. Amp up my NUTRIENT intake.
I am aware of the nutrients in foods but rarely make choices based on their nutritional value. The past couple of winters I have suffered more with colds. It is time to make some changes to improve my immune system.

8. Continue to TEST recipes for local super foods...
... like sea buckthorn and haskap. I have tons of these in my freezer. I make jams and jellies but I don't eat jams and jellies very often. It is time to bring them into my everyday menus that do not include desserts. Einkorn and kamut flour are nutritious and I have not taken the time to work with them.

9. Work on BREAD recipes for the farmers' market.
I like providing new things over the summer.

10. Be CREATIVE with the presentation of food.
I like to think I am but I am also falling into a rut in how I present food. This can be seen in my food photography.

11. Focus on SIMPLICITY in meals and recipes. I think this will be a trend this year.

12. EXPAND my circle of food-centric people.

13.  READ books relating to food.

14. SEEK out more wild food. I want to forage for mushrooms and other edible plants indigenous to my area.



My recipes this month will help satisfy Goal #5 - explore vegetarian options. Black rice and amaranth are my two new ingredients. Why would I want to include these two in a vegetarian meal?  (Source: Whole Grains Council)

In 2003, researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada found that amaranth can be a rich dietary source of phytosterols, which have cholesterol-lowering properties.  Just a few years later, in 2007, Russian researchers drew from the 1996 study to determine whether or not amaranth would also show benefits for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).  Patients who presented with coronary heart disease and hypertension not only showed benefits from the inclusion of amaranth in their diets, researchers also saw a significant decrease in the amounts of total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol. 

In addition, amaranth is a good source of protein containing the essential amino acid lysine which is absent in other grains. It is also naturally gluten-free. 

Black Rice Rivals Blueberries as Antioxidant Source

Scientists working with Zhimin Xu at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center have found that black rice (sometimes called “forbidden rice”) contains health-promoting antioxidants called anthocyanins, at levels similar to those found in blueberries and blackberries.
August 26, 2010 presentation at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Boston MA

Black Rice Bran Protects Against Inflammation

S.P. Choi and colleagues from Ajou University in Suwon, South Korea tested both black rice bran and brown rice bran for their effectiveness in protecting against skim inflammation. In mouse tests, they found that the black rice bran did suppress dermatitis, but the brown rice bran did not. The scientists suggest that black rice may be a “useful therapeutic agent for the treatment and prevention of diseases associated with chronic inflammation.”
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, August 23, 2010.
 
 

Portabello Mushrooms stuffed with 3 Rice Pilaf

1/2 cup wild rice

1 cup brown basmati rice

1/2 cup black rice

1 small onion, diced

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Cook rice in separate pots until tender. Drain and combine in large bowl. Saute onion until clear, add almonds and continue to sauté until they are toasted. Add dried cranberries. Stir and add to cooked rice. Toss to mix.

Prepare mushrooms by removing the stem. The stem can be chopped and added to onions when sautéing, if desired. Remove gills of mushroom. Stuff the cap with the rice mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake in 375F oven for approximately 30 minutes or until tender.

 

Amaranth Tabouli

Tabouli, a mid-eastern salad usually made with bulgur wheat, makes light, refreshing, warm weather fare. I am using amaranth for a new taste.

1 cup amaranth

1 cup parsley, chopped

1/2 cup scallions, chopped

2 tbsp fresh mint

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tomato, diced

lettuce leaves, whole

Simmer amaranth in 2 cups of salted water for 12-15 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

Place remaining ingredients except lettuce in a mixing bowl and toss together lightly. Chill for an hour or more to allow flavours to blend.

Wash and dry lettuce leaves and use them to line a salad bowl. Add tabouli and garnish with more diced tomatoes.

True Confessions

I met Meredith after my friend, Scott, moved to Victoria.  They are cousins!  Meredith lives in Sooke in a most magical location.  Their property abuts a lovely stream that ebbs and flows with the seasons.  The salmon spawn, the river wanes and exposes more of the lovely rocks, it rises and has a lovely breeze with the rushing water.  They have lived here for years.

I love Meredith.  She has such a joie de vivre.  It is always a wonderful day in Meredith's life.  It is so refreshing.

But, I have a confession.  It was none of those wonderful qualities of personality or riverside location that originally caught my undivided attention.  It was her bay tree.

The first time I knew that bay trees grew in Canada was on this very first visit to Meredith's.  Scott picked a bunch of leaves and we went back to the city to make a lovely lamb roast laid upon a bed of fresh bay leaves.  I have always since been so envious.  I would love to go out my front door and pick a handful of bay leaves.

Look at these lovely bouquet garni!  Meredith has made these with a labour of love and I am one lucky recipient of this gift.  They are so adorable!  They are so more adorable than the almost identical bouquet garni that I purchased in Paris at La Grande Epicerie.  I now feel a little ridiculous to have saved these 'petit cher bouquet garni' from Paris.  They are dry and, well, lifeless, in comparison to the wonderfully fresh bundles from Meredith.

The garden is all but gone. (sigh)  The frost has come with a vengeance and left little but pansies and strawberry plants alive.  Thank heaven I harvested my herbs.  I only had a few sprigs of rosemary but wanted to make something fresh.  These make a nice cocktail snack. 

I have not been blogging and cooking as much lately (another sigh).  I am so busy with my house renovation.  So I am a tad distracted.  The reno is not very interesting at this point either.  All I am doing right now is writing cheques.

This is also my entry for Fresh Friday with La Bella Vita! 

Parmesan, Rosemary, and Walnut Shortbread

Epicurious  | October 2004

by Serena Bass

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cups walnuts, toasted at 350F for 10 minutes, then chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter; add the Parmesan, and mix well. Stir in the flour, rosemary, pecans, salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Form the mixture into 1-inch-wide logs, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate for at least half an hour, or up to 3 days.

When you're ready to bake the shortbread, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Cut the logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices, place the slices on the baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden at the edges. Remove the shortbread slices and cool them on a wire rack. You can offer these by themselves passed in a basket, or top them with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto.

Tarragon Vinegar and Sage Honey

I know what you all think, "Canada is an iceberg!"  Well, this year I am apt to agree with you.  Just throw in an ark for good measure.  We have had rain every day or night in the past month.  How do you think that goes with harvest?  Yeah.  It doesn't.  The field peas, chick peas and lentils (which are the main crops in this area) are swathed and molding in the field because they can't pick them up and combine them.  Mustard is the only crop still standing and has half a chance.  Not to mention, the millions, yes millions, of acres that were never planted to wheat due to excessive rain in seeding season.  It is a dire situation.  Look for flour and bread prices to rise over the next year.

And now it is cold.  I hear we may have frost soon.  That means everything that is tender, in the garden, will freeze and die.  So I am not taking any chances and I am harvesting my herbs.  I also picked all of my roma tomatoes this afternoon and they will ripen indoors.  I might be making catsup yet this year!  Or, yum, some green tomato relish.  Stay tuned.  They will be turned into something delish.

Thank you, Pam at Sidewalk Shoes.  I have some French tarragon in my garden this year and I don't want to waste even this year's little twigs.  So I am making tarragon vinegar.

With my sage, I am making sage honey.  I hear it is to die for!  I will let you know in a month or so.  Look at how clear that honey is!  It is perfect for infusing flavours.

My flat leaf parsley is chopped and in the freezer.  Ditto chives.  And the chamomile is drying for future tea.

I have already harvested the seeds from my cilantro, coriander!  

This is also my entry for Fresh Friday!

Butterfly in My Garden and Another Summer Project Completed

This is my first pretty butterfly this season.  See all those ants in the blossom, too!  For some reason all the insects like the false spirea...

...even the ladybugs

My cilantro has gone to seed and now it is coriander.  I decided to cut it down and spread the coriander seeds to dry in the sun.  Finally my chamomile and rosemary are taking hold.  Without the shade of the huge cilantro it should do much better now!

But this is my big project yesterday.  I had removed the ugly, rotten indoor/outdoor carpet from my patio.  I was left with a lot of adhesive.  And it is not easy to remove.

Coincidence ... I don't know ... but a company right here in Swift Current manufactures snap-together patio tiles that can be used to cover this situation.

It took me 6 hours on Saturday to finish the job and what an improvement.

Basil Pesto from the Garden

Today was the day to deal with all that wonderful basil in the garden. I can’t bear to let it go to waste. I had almonds but no pinenuts in the pantry so that is what I decided to use. It was wonderful. I forgot to toast the chopped almonds. I think that would have made a difference.

2 cups lightly packed, fresh basil leaves
¼ cup chopped almonds, toasted
½ cup nice olive oil
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
salt optional

Chop the almonds in the food processor and dry toast in a stovetop pan. Chop basil & garlic with olive oil in food processor until finely minced. Combine toasted chopped almonds, finely chopped basil & garlic, parmesan cheese and more olive oil if necessary. Pack into a jar and float a little olive oil on top to help preserve the mixture. Or, freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray and store the ice cubes in freezer bags for later use.


Unfortunately there is little chance of snapping a nice pic of pesto.  It turns from the beautiful bright green to drab in seconds.

I tossed cooked penne with pesto and cooked chicken. Topped with more parmesan cheese and served. Yum.