Tag: Culinary Herbs

Summertime, and the living is easy … as well as scrumptious

Continuing on Summertime theme… this week is summertime FOODS, always a fun topic. Summer seems in part to be in about the food, specifically the fresh produce and veggies. Easy to find everywhere, fun to find at your local outdoor markets! Keep it local folks- support your local farmer (especially the organic ones) and your community will be better off for your actions.

Monday, today, we will start the week off with HERBS – hopefully your herb garden is flourishing by now. My mint is taking over already! (see photo!) MintThese wonderful words are from Kathy Weber: Wedge Wood Flowers: Herbs for culinary, medicinal and ceremonial use: She is one of the fabulous growers at the Whole Foods Farmers Market in Garden City on Tuesdays! There are 2 recipes (bottom of page.) One is from Kathy and the other is from Linda Nunes- the Healthy Eating specialist at Garden City Center Whole Foods. She made us this luscious salad last week as the taste sampler food for the day. Want to know what is being made this Tuesday? Sorry, it’s a secret you will have to come on down to see/taste for yourselves!

“Now that is it summer in our area, the farmers markets are filling up with fresh greens, strawberries, peas and herbs. All of these wonderful offerings from the fields will give us an early summer salad just right for us.
Snipping herbs regularly helps the herb plants grow bushy and full and provides more for us to use. Pinch the tops of the plants to prevent flowering and going to seed. If that happens, the flavor becomes bitter.  That is another reason why snipping herbs daily is a good idea.  If you have more herbs that you can use, dry the sprigs on a paper towel and store for cooking.
Use herbs in the summer to bring out the flavor in meals. Here are some tips where using herbs.  Use dried herbs when cooking sauces and soups. Dried herbs have more intense flavors.  Use fresh herbs in salads, as a garnish in soups or sauces, and add sprigs of parsley or basil in a sandwich. Then taste how good that is! (Note, from Ronfleur and Liz- put a bit of mint on my turkey wrap { turkey, a touch of low-fat feta dressing, lettuce and a sprinkle of mint} and it was WONDERFUL! ) 
Plan to enjoy the early summer time enjoying all the bounty provided to us and know that more is soon to come to us from the fields.”
Kathy learned to love herbs from her parents.  Her father lovingly tended his herb garden and often brought in lettuce, scallions, and parsley for a salad for supper.  Her mother loved to make herb tea from herbs that she dried for the winter and so she grew up understanding how to grow herbs and health benefits they provide. Currently she is studying to become a herbalist with Susan Clements. Learning to make tinctures, salves, and creams.
She has combined all her knowledge of herbs and turned it into a business,
Wedge Wood Flowers: offering a wide variety of herbs for culinary, medicinal and ceremonial use. “I love to help folks, learn to grow and use herbs. Along with my herbs, I make cold pressed soap using essential oils and clays. I often use herbs in making soap.  This year I can be found at farmers markets, Pawtuxet Village, on Sat., Whole Foods University Heights and Cranston on Mon and Tues. I also will be at Washington Co Fail in Aug, Woodstock Fair, and Hebron Fair in Conn. I can also be found at various festivals and harvest fairs. Information on where I will be can be found on my Facebook page, Wedgewood Flowers.”  Kathy’s email is wdgewood89@aol.comif you have questions for her.
Here is a recipe with snap peas from Kathy
Cook in water a handful of snap peas for 1-2 min. Toast 2T sliced almonds. Combine 2T oil, 2 T fruity vinegar salt pepper. Combine romaine or spring greens with 1/4 cup chives, and tarragon, add peas, and almonds
Here is the recipe from Whole Foods Market Healthy Eating Specialist,
Linda Nunes.
Combine fresh greens using red and green lettuce. Add sliced strawberries and chopped basil. Make a simple dressing by blending, 1 cup strawberries, 1T Dijon mustard, 1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar, and 1 shallot.  Pour over the greens and enjoy the flavors.

Culinary Herbs: Indoor window, or small space, plantings.

Well we must be on track for as I sit to write A Prairie Home Companion  is running their Spring Time Planting Show! If it is springtime in Minnesota it must be springtime, or moving into summer, pretty much everywhere here in the USA! So I write and I listen…

The Plan for the week is Culinary Herbs, for it mixes the Art of Food, ( blogged here on 5/18 ) and the Art of Gardening (blogged  here too many times to count) and to us that is a Great Combo! Our featured Spokes-Creature will be Milly since she is the grower from our Herb Seed Contest.   As you may remember, Milly and Tilly are the greeting committee for Botaniumus therefore, it also seems perfect that Milly is greeting the new cycle of plants called Springtime. In honor of this week Milly went shopping, naturally she wears “Eco” clothes, check out her original Basil Skirt (A Birdelli Original) . You gotta luv those stores in Botaniumus!

Milly in a Birdelli Original "Basil Skirt"
Milly in a Birdelli Original "Basil Skirt" and Flower Flip Flops

Herbs are wonderful; you can plant a glorious garden using exclusively Herbs. You can grow your garden on window sills if need be, or you could do a vast vista of grander as far as you can see! Each day this week we will think and chat about a “venue” for your Herbs. Herbs by Wiki definition.” A herb is a plant that is valued for flavor, scent, medicinal or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes…Culinary use of the term “herb” typically distinguishes between herbs, from the leafy green parts of a plant (either fresh or dried), and spices, from other parts of the plant (usually dried), including seeds,berries, bark, root and fruit. Culinary herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts and provide flavor rather than substance to food.”

Today, Monday, We will start at the most contained versions of Herbs, i.e. potted herbs on your indoor window sill (or an edge of a Fire Escape, a corner of a balcony, any small space.) Tuesday: Out Door Potted Herbs. Wednesday: Herbs in the ground. Thursday Fresh Herbs in the Kitchen (yum) and naturally, Friday is Fun Fact (Herb) Friday. Before we venture any further you may ask: Why bother with growing your own Herbs? Milly and I love to cook when we can share the food with others. Guess what? We think the pleasure of growing our own,  nurturing them as they grow is grand in itself. Then, that they nurture us back by being beautiful for our visual sense and likely a delight for our nose sense (scent) makes the process a near perfect synergistic grow. So get your Grown Going and let’s get to it!

How to start:
•Select the herbs you enjoy the most.  Pick your sunniest window sill, South (or South West)  facing is ideal if possible. If you live in a dark home, use grow lights.  Herbal plants prefer at least five hours of sunlight per day and keep them from enduring drafts.
•Start with a grown plant, grow from seeds, or buy a kit, which you can find pretty much at every garden center or big store this time of year.
•If you start with a potted herb, be sure to put a saucer under it to protect your sill. If you are doing the seed thing, be sure to thin out when you have a bunch of little shoots so the roots of only a few have a good start.
•Water: Be careful about the amount of water you give your herbal plants. They don’t do well in damp soil, so water sparingly, but don’t forget all about them and leave them parched.

In a few weeks time…

♥ You have now added color and fragrance to your room.  Now your window may inspire new and wonderful creations in your kitchen. How great that!   Have some fun and enjoy.♥

Organic Gardening.com  “A windowsill kitchen garden: Grow great tasting herbs indoors.

You can grow herbs indoors during the winter and add that just-picked taste to your meals, even when snow is drifting up against the kitchen window. You don’t even need special lights—herbs fare just fine in a bright window. Here are the best herbs for growing on windowsills and the smart techniques you need to keep them happy and healthy until you can plant outside again.

Smart Techniques for Growing Herbs Indoors
Rooting a cutting. 
Many herbs—including oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage—are best propagated for indoor growing by taking a cutting from an existing outdoor plant. To do it, snip off a 4-inch section, measured back from the tip. Strip off the lower leaves and stick the stem into moist, soilless mix, such as perlite and/or vermiculite. To ensure good humidity, cover with glass or clear plastic, and keep the growing medium-moist.”

Transition to indoors
Before the first fall frost (while the weather is still on the mild side), start moving your potted herb plants toward their winter home. Instead of bringing them directly inside, put them in a bright, cool “transitional zone,” such as a garage, entryway, or enclosed porch, for a few weeks.

Once they’ve acclimated, move them to an area with lots of sun (south-facing windows are brightest, followed by east or west views). But protect them from heat and dryness. Most herbs prefer daytime temperatures of about 65 to 70 degrees F, although they can withstand climbs into the 70s. It’s especially important that night temperatures drop at least 10 degrees—down into the 50s would be better—to simulate outdoor conditions.

With the exception of basil, they’ll even do well with occasional dips into the 40s. (So turn that thermostat down when you go to bed.) Place them outside on mild days, and give them regular baths to wash off dust.

Water, light, and temperature
Most herbs like to be well watered but don’t like wet feet. That’s why good drainage is important. Water when the top of the container feels dry, or learn to judge the moisture in the soil by the weight of the pot. Add sand or vermiculite to the potting soil to ensure good drainage.

Learn to juggle water, light, and temperature. A herb in a clay pot in a south-facing window will need more water than one in a plastic pot in an east, or west, facing window. If the light is low, keep the temperature low.  page 2 of the article is pest control .. page 3 is

Ten Best Herbs for Indoors ( Milly adds – “Only if you like these flavors, use your favorites”)

Basil: Start basil from seeds and place the pots in a south-facing window—it likes lots of sun and warmth.

Bay: A perennial that grows well in containers all year-long. Place the pot in an east, or west, facing window, but be sure it does not get crowded—bay needs air circulation to remain healthy.

Chervil: Start chervil seeds in late summer. It grows well in low light but needs 65 to 70 degrees F temperatures to thrive.

Chives: Dig up a clump from your garden at the end of the growing season and pot it up. Leave the pot outside until the leaves die back. In early winter, move the pot to your coolest indoor spot (such as a basement) for a few days, then finally to your brightest window.

Oregano: Your best bet is to start with a tip cutting from an outdoor plant. Place the pot in a south-facing window.

Parsley: You can start this herb from seeds or dig up a clump from your garden at the end of the season. Parsley likes full sun, but will grow slowly in an east, or west, facing window.

Rosemary: Start with a cutting of rosemary, and keep it in moist soilless mix until it roots. It grows best in a south-facing window.

Sage: Take a tip cutting from an outdoor plant to start an indoor sage. It tolerates dry, indoor air well, but it needs the strong sun it will get in a south-facing window.

Tarragon: A dormant period in late fall or early winter is essential for tarragon to grow indoors. Pot up a mature plant from your outdoor garden and leave it outside until the leaves die back. Bring it to your coolest indoor spot for a few days, then place it in a south-facing window for as much sun as possible. Feed well with an organic liquid fertilizer.

Thyme: You can start thyme indoors either by rooting a soft tip cutting or by digging up and potting an outdoor plant. Thyme likes full sun but will grow in an east, or west, facing window.”