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Category: Herbs

  • Basil Chimichurri-Vinaigrette Sauce

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    I’m not sure if this is a vinaigrette or a chimichurri sauce. It is almost a pesto except there are no nuts. I think pestos have to have nuts? Maybe not.

    Whatever this sauce is-it is delicious. It is fresh and clean tasting. You can put it on vegetables grilled or raw,  bean or potato salads or grilled meats. And, it couldn’t be more simple.

    Assemble all your ingredients and put them in a blender or food processor.

    1/2 cup olive oil
    2 tablespoons wine vinegar, I had red but white would work too
    1 or 2 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced
    1 heaping teaspoon good mustard
    a good pinch of salt
    a big couple of handfuls of fresh basil leaves-at least 1 1/2 to 2 cups

    Put everything in the blender and pulse it a few times, then mix on high-speed for 15 to 30 seconds until the sauce is smooth. If the sauce is too thick add a little water or olive oil to thin it out.

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    This will keep in a covered jar in the refrigerator for a week. Delicious.
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  • Rhubarb Mint Lemonade

    This lemonade tastes like summer. Using rhubarb makes the tart acid of the lemons more balanced. I added some mint too. Just because it was growing next to my rhubarb. After I picked the mint I saw some thyme in a different area of the garden and thought that might be nice too, I think I’ll try thyme next time I make this.

    All you need to make this is:

    1 1/4 pounds of rhubarb stalks chopped up

    1 cup of sugar – I used raw sugar but use what you like.

    4 lemons to get 1 cup of juice and zest from a couple of those lemons

    A handful of mint or other herbs you might have – optional, but really good.

    Heat 4 cups of water and the rhubarb and sugar in a pan until it boils. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for a half hour or so. While that is simmering juice and zest the lemons. Remove the pan from the heat after 1/2 an hour and add the lemon juice and zest and herbs if you are using any. Cover the pan and let that cool. When it is cool strain out all the solids and refrigerate it. You can serve this with ice and some sparkling water, or even with a little rum or tequila. This will store in the refrigerator for a week.

    Look how pretty and pink it is!

    Cheers.

    Mo

    Note – please use any of my recipes and posts as a guide, they are written knowing that ingredients change by seasons and tastes differ cook to cook.  Adjust freely and accordingly and enjoy the process – I do!

     

     

     

  • Storing Parsley and Basil

    Today is August 22, 2016 CSA week #14. Almost 3 weeks ago we got parsley in  our CSA share. I put that parsley in my refrigerator to see what is the best way to store it. I put two small bunches in a tall container with water (on the left), hoping that the tall sides would protect the parsley. The other bunch I put in a glass of water. Like I would a bunch of flowers, leaving the parsley leaves exposed to the air. I didn’t take a picture of them on July 29th, darn. This picture is was taken this morning.

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    I didn’t change the water, or do anything to them after I put them in their containers. Have a look at the difference between the two.

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    The two bunches on the left that were somewhat protected by the container look nearly fresh. The bunch on the right is droopy but usable.

    Here is a closer look at on of the bunches on the left kept in the higher sided container.

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    I think we can conclude that keeping bunches of herbs like parsley (cilantro too) in containers of water will keep the herbs fresh for weeks. The higher the side, the better!

    Let’s talk about basil now. Here at Red Wagon we harvest basil by ‘tipping’ the plants. We only take the top 6 leaves off the basil plants.

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    We harvest the tips of the leaves because it allows the plant to keep producing harvest-able leaves which, in turn will prevent the plant from flowering. We can harvest our basil all season without succession plantings.

    Basil doesn’t like cold at all. That makes storing a little tricky. With a little trial and error I have found that given the way we harvest basil the best way I have found to store the basil is like this.

    In a semi-opened baggie in the door (warmest part) of the refrigerator. I don’t have a butter shelf in my refrigerator. If you do, that would be a great place to store your basil.

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    The semi-opened baggie seems to be the key to storing the basil longer than a few days. I tried storing closed bags and I also tried to poke holes in bags of basil and leaving about a 1/3 of the bag open/un-zipped, kept my basil fresh for 8 to 10 days.

    This is day 11 and the basil is starting to look a little sad :-(  . It’s usable, but on it’s last leg.  I made pizza last night and used some of this basil. I had to pick through it, but it was fine.

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    I hope this was helpful and that all your herbs are fresh and lovely. Enjoy your week!

    Let any questions or comments below and I’ll see some of you at the pick-ups!

    Mo

     

     

     

     

     

  • Chimichurri

    I have made this twice in the last two weeks. I have been putting it on everything. Grilled or raw vegetables, grilled meat, any grains or legumes, sandwiches, eggs, Mexican food…really anything. It is fresh and tangy and fast and easy to make and it keeps for at least a week in the refrigerator. Though, mine only lasted a few days.

    Here is what you need. We got almost everything to make this in our last CSA share!

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    • 1 bunch of parsley, not the stems
    • a clove of garlic peeled
    • 3/4 cup of olive oil (I didn’t take a picture of that:)
    • 1/4 cup of vinegar, I used red wine vinegar this time, last batch I used white balsamic and it added a bit of sweetness to the chimichurri
    • juice of a lemon, give or take. Use 1/2 the lemon and see if you want more after you mix it up
    • a red onion, chopped
    • I had a jalapeno I threw in, it doesn’t need it, but it added a nice heat to the sauce
    • other herbs, if you like. I had some oregano I used, you  could use basil, or thyme, or pretty much anything you have
    • salt and pepper

    Now you just throw it all in the food processor and whiz it up.

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    That is it. That is delicious.  It tastes like a summer garden. I had chimichurri with leftover rice and eggs for breakfast and mixed it in tomatoes for dinner last night.

    I hope you try it!.

    Mo

     

  • Herb Ideas

    One of the very special ‘perks’ we get often get in our CSA share at Red Wagon is a choice of herbs.

    I thought it might be helpful to start a section here sharing a couple of my favorite things I do with herbs: Herbaceous Salad Dressing and Compound Butters (below).

    This is one of my favorite salad dressing, it’s a Herbaceous dressing using parsley or cilantro. This dressing uses hard boiled eggs, not raw eggs like most dressing. So, the worry of eating raw eggs is avoided AND the dressing will keep in the refrigerator for several day, unlike raw egg dressings.

    Herbaceous Salad Dressing

    • 2 hard boiled eggs
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp paprika
    • 1 tsp dry or Dijon style mustard
    • 1/2 tsp pepper
    • 1/2 cup oil, any kind or mix of any kind you like or have on hand
    • 1/4 cup of any vinegar you like. Cider vinegar is good here with just a splash of balsamic.
    • a big handful of parsley or cilantro chopped

    Start with your eggs and herbs. I have bantam chickens and their eggs are about 1/2 the size of standard size hen so I needed more bantam eggs to = 2 large eggs.

    Parsley and Eggs

    Put the egg yolks in a bowl with the dry ingredients and smash them up with a fork.

    Egg Yolks

    Next stir in the oil and vinegar, it makes a creamy, but not too thick dressing.

    Creamed Dressing

    Mix in the chopped egg whites and herbs and refrigerate the dressing for a few hours to let the flavors mix and mellow. This keeps for a week or so and is great on all greens and mixed vegetable salads.

    Jar of Dressing

    The next idea for using the herbs we get is making compound butters.

    Compound Butters are a versatile fun addition to simple meals. They are so easy to make, you can use almost any combination of herbs and they keep in the refrigerator for a couple weeks and freeze pretty much indefinitely. If you freeze the butter you can cut off small portions as you need them.

    The method for all compound butters is the same, just change the herbs you add.

    Directions for all compound butters

    1. Add all ingredients to a large glass or steel mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat all ingredients until well incorporated and fluffy. If you do not have an electric hand mixer, you can do this by hand using a wooden spoon.
    2. Place a piece of plastic wrap onto your counter and spoon the butter mixture out of the bowl and onto the center of the plastic wrap.
    3. Grabbing the bottom portion of the plastic wrap, pull it up over the butter and begin forming the wrap around the butter, rolling and forming a log shape. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap and place butter in the refrigerator or freezer.

    I had a bunch of dill and a few bulbs of green garlic from last week so I thought I would make a compound butter. This will be great to have on hand this summer when we grill fish or vegetables.

    Dill and Garlic

    Here is the butter, dill and green garlic on the plastic wrap. I decided to add some lemon zest at the last minute.

    Compound Butter

    Now roll the mix into a log and don’t forget to label it!

    Label Your Butter

    Yum…popcorn! I just remembered compound butters are great for popcorn too.

    Have a great week and add any questions or comments to the bottom of the post.

    Mo

  • Sorrel and Garlic Scapes Pesto

    This week, and probably next, you will be getting either garlic scapes or green garlic. See my previous post on both here on how they grow. Scroll down a bit past the recipe.

    Sorrel is probably the one item on the Farm, at CSA pick-up and at the Farmer’s Market we get most questions about.

    Sorrel

    It looks a lot like spinach but is related to rhubarb and buckwheat. If you ever see buckwheat or rhubarb going to seed you will see the similarities. Sorrel is tart like rhubarb too.

    I think of sorrel as somewhere in-between a green and an herb. It’s tart pungent flavor isn’t great alone, or I don’t think it is. But sorrel is great as an accompaniment with other pungent flavors like kale, garlic, or arugula. I tell people to use it in dishes you would use basil, parsley or cilantro. You will get an unexpected tart, bright ‘bang’ in your dish.

    I don’t know why but sorrel leaves always have some wear and tear and holes. Very few leaves are ever perfect, and that is just fine. You almost always shred, process, or cook the sorrel so it doesn’t matter if the leaves aren’t perfect. This is my bunch of sorrel leaves washed and ready to cook with. This is actually a really nice looking bunch of sorrel. Very few leaves are beat up. I would be fine with much worse.

    Washed Sorrel

    Wyatt suggested I make a sorrel pesto. I had never made sorrel pesto, so why not? I used my ‘go-to’ pesto recipe. You can sub any ingredients for like ingredients in any pesto recipe. So, please, play with this through the season with what you have. Sub kale, or spinach, or cilantro for the sorrel. Use any allium or nuts you like. Try walnut or pumpkin seed oil.
    I got green garlic this week, but if you got garlic scapes you can use those in the same amount. You could also just use a few cloves of garlic if you want to make this later in the season when scapes and green garlic are gone.

    Sorrel and green garlic pesto

    INGREDIENTS

    1 1/2 cups (1 3/4 ounces) loosely packed washed sorrel leaves (or any leafy green), trimmed if there are tough stems.
    3 or 4 garlic scapes or green garlic bulbs or cloves of garlic washed and trimmed.
    1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (any cheese will do) (about a 1-ounce piece)
    1/4 cup nuts, any kind you like. I used almonds today.
    1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I thought I would skip the lemon because the sorrel is so tart, but the tartness was diminished from the fat in the oil and cheese and the lemon was very nice here. Taste before you add it though)
    Salt and pepper
    1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
    DIRECTIONS

    Process sorrel, Parmesan, pine nuts, lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until coarsely ground. With machine running, add oil in a slow, steady stream until mixture is emulsified. Pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Put a light film of oil on top of the pesto if you are storing more than a day so it doesn’t turn brown. If it does turn brown it is ok to eat, it just looks unappetizing.

    This recipe makes about a cup of pesto. I really like it made with sorrel, good suggestion Wyatt!
    If I’m being honest I am not a classic basil pesto fan. I don’t like the clove undertones of sweet basil and I really don’t like pine nuts in anything. This sorrel pesto has a nice, clean balanced flavor. I hope you try it.

    Finished Pesto

  • Storing Herbs and Creamy Herb Salad Dressing

    I LOVE that herbs are being added to our CSA share. I thought I might post on how to store your herbs and a really basic recipe for a salad dressing that you can adapt to any herb you might have on hand.

    Clockwise, top to center we have; chives, oregano, garlic chives, cilantro and thyme.

    Various Herbs

    Tender herbs like basil, cilantro and parsley should be treated like fresh flowers on your counter. Just put them in a container with water and make sure the stems are touching the water. Change the water every day or two until you use all the herbs.

    Parsley

    Woody herbs like oregano, thyme, tarragon, and grassy herbs like chives need to be stored in the warmest part of your refrigerator; in the door, or where you store your butter. You can wrap them loosely in plastic wrap, Ziplock bag, or in a small Tupperware like container with the lid slightly ajar. Don’t seal them tightly or they will mold. Oh, and don’t rinse any of your herbs before you use them. They don’t store well wet or even damp. I put a little piece of papertowel in a Ziploc with my herbs to keep them dry and really fresh.

    Herb Bags

    I also put them in front of everything on the shelf so I can see them. That way I don’t forget about them and I use them.

    Here is a basic recipe salad dressing. It makes at least enough for 12 or 15 single salads and keeps for two weeks. I keep this on hand and put it on any greens I have, lettuce, arugula, kale, chard. Keeping greens washed and ready to eat and having a nice fresh dressing on hand makes me really happy.

    Creamy Herb Salad Dressing
    1 cup (about) loosely packed dill, parsley, basil, cilantro, or chives washed and most of the stems removed. Any combination of these works.
    2 or 3 tablespoons loosely packed leaves of woody herbs like thyme, oregano or tarragon.
    3/4 cup mayonnaise, low-fat, or not, or even yogurt works here.
    1/2 cup buttermilk
    2 Tbs. vinegar, any type.
    1/2 tsp. kosher salt; more to taste
    1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
    3/4 tsp. hot sauce _optional.
    In a food processor, combine everything and process for a minute or two. Pour into a bottle or jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

    Jarred Dressing

    Dressing Ready to Use

  • Sugar Snap Peas with Mint

    The Red Wagon Farm Crew picking your CSA snap peas this morning.

    picking peas

    Snap peas and mint are one of my favorite flavor combinations. The snap pea season is very short. I try to make this super simple dish at least two or three times while the snap peas are on. This dish is a great example of the flavors being more than a sum of their parts. The mint melts onto the garlic scapes and lightens their flavor and brings out the sweetness of the snap peas.

    snap peas and mint

    2 teaspoons olive oil
    3/4 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
    2 tablespoons of garlic scapes or green onion
    pinch of salt and pepper
    2 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
    Directions:
    1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sugar snap peas, garlic scapes or green onion. Season with salt and pepper. Stir-fry for 4 minutes try to get a little bit of a sear on the peas, then remove from heat and stir in the mint leaves.

    Trimmed snap peas.

    trimmed snap peas