Weekend Recipe - Herb Flower Salad

This weekend it is to be so hot and right before the grilling event of the summer, that I thought I would share a quick salad recipe with you.  You can make this as a meal by serving over a chicken breast, or as a side salad.  It is the perfect way to enjoy all the blooming flowers in your herb garden.

Herb Flower Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

2 Nasturtium flowers and 8 leaves

6 red clover blossoms

6 to 8 young plantain leaves

2 stalks lambs quarter greens and seeds

12 pepper grass leaves

    you can use kale instead

2 purple mustard leaves

    you can use kale instead

6 catnip leaves

6 violet leaves

4 dandelion leaves

Dressing

½ cup good olive oil

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

      add about 1 to 2 tsp. lemon thyme or lemon basil, crumbled dry or minced fresh.

 

Gently toss the flowers and herbs in a bowl.  Prepare dressing by combining ingredients in a jar and shaking briskly.  Toss with greens just before serving.  To add texture to the salad, drop in some slivered almonds or plain roasted nuts.  To give it strength mince in some fresh garlic.  

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Holiday Gift Making Series - Food Gifts

This year I’m trying to put a more personal spin on the gifts we give.  I have always given herb blends and many years I have given cookies, truffles and the like, but this year, I decided to use the garden bounty in a different way.  I have come up with several ideas, a couple of which I have shared already.

Food items are always a hit and rather than giving a mix or two this year, I am actually going to make up a few items and put them in a basket.  Instead of a theme, like breakfast or dinner which I have done in the past, I am going for an herb sampler of items.  Making the time to create a gift from scratch is well worth it, most people you give a homemade gift will recognise the love and effort that went into the gift making it more special than anything you can buy in a shop. 


Here are a few recipes for herb infused items you can bake up and give to your friends too:

Savory Herb Crackers
Here is the recipe, for detailed instructions for making these, check out the how to I did back in July.

Rosemary Crackers How to!


Herb Scones
Baking up a pan of scones is probably the easiest gift to create.  They have a good shelf life and you can make them as a mix or as the baked finished product.  They also do not require special tools and the variations are endless. and most versatile recipe you can create.  For other scone recipes, check out this past post.

Tea Party Currant Scones
4 cups flour plus 2 tablespoons, divided

¼  cup white sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons grated orange or lemon zest
3 sticks (1 and one-half cups) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (see testing note)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup dried currants
Egg wash made from 1 egg whisked with 1 teaspoon water or additional cream
Crystallized sugar for topping, optional

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, zest and pieces of cold butter. Beat on low speed just until butter is the size of peas. (Alternately, whisk together dry ingredients and work butter in by hand.)

In a small bowl, whisk together schnapps, eggs and cream. Turn mixer on low and add liquid in a slow, steady stream and mix just until mixture is blended, about 1 minute.

In a small bowl, toss currants with 2 tablespoons flour. Add to bowl and mix for a few seconds just until distributed. Turn dough out onto a clean counter and make it into 2 balls. (Note: due to the large amount of butter and eggs, this is a very sticky dough. Add flour as needed to form into balls. It will firm up when chilled.)

Flatten into disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press or roll chilled dough out to one-inch thickness and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut scones of desired size. You can re-roll scraps but they may need to be re-chilled first. Place scones on a greased cookie sheet and brush with egg wash or cream. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.  Bake 13 to 20 minutes depending on size until golden brown.  Yields about 60 mini (2-inch) scones.

 Herbal Jelly
Scones can be topped with jelly or with Devon cream or even lemon curd, so try this!

Savory Jelly

1 Tbls. fresh or dried summer or winter savory

½ cup boiling water

1 ½ cup unsweetened cranberry juice

3 cups honey

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 box powdered pectin

Make an infusion (tea) of savory and water.  Let steep 5 minutes or more.  Strain.  In large sauce pan combine juice, honey, and infusion liquid and bring to boil.  Add pectin, stirring at all times.  Heat until mixture reaches a hard boil.  Boil hard for 30 seconds and give a sheet test.  Once it passes the sheet test remove instantly from heat. Pour into sterilized jars with a sprig of fresh savory in each, seal.

Sheet test –

Dip a metal spoon into the boiling syrup.  As the boiling mixture nears the jellying point, it will drop from the side of the spoon in two (2) drops, (not a stream).  The jelly is finished and should be removed from the burner.

Bouquet Garni
Bouquet Garni is traditionally bay, thyme, rosemary & parsley, but I believe you can mix your own bouquets to work with your favorite ingredients.  You can combine the herbs and place them in cute squares of fabric or muslin bags.  And put them in a bale jar or basket with a few recipes.  You can add an herbal vinegar and a bottle of quality olive oil to make a perfect seasoning package.

Here are some suggestions for a selection of Bouquet Garni bags that will compliment different types of food.

For Meat – 1 teaspoon each Nutmeg, Thyme, Chervil and Tarragon.
For Fish – 1 teaspoon each of Tarragon, Dill, Mint and Lemon peel.
For Vegetables – 4 Bay Leaves, 2 teaspoons Parsley and 1 teaspoon Thyme.

Herbal Vinegar

1 cup fresh herbs (of your choice)

2 cups wine or rice vinegar

Place the washed herbs in a jar with a plastic lid and bruise them with the handle of a spoon.  Cover them with vinegar of your choice that you have warmed in the microwave on high for about 2 minutes. 

Seal the jar with a non-reactive (plastic) lid and let sit for at least two weeks shaking daily. Strain using cheese cloth or a coffee filter and rebottle. 

For detailed instructions, check out the How-to-sday on Making Vinegar.

Herb Quick Bread
Quick breads do not have yeast ahdn have no rise time,so they make a quick and easy gift.  You can use your imagination here too, but I have given two recipes to try.

Herb Quick Bread

·         3 cups all-purpose flour

·         3 tablespoons sugar

·         1 tablespoon baking powder

·         1 tablespoon caraway seeds

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

·         1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·         1 egg

·         1 cup fat-free milk

·         1/3 cup canola oil

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Transfer to a 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Herb & Cheese Quick Bread

Ingredients:

·         2 cups flour

·         1 tablespoon sugar

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon dried basil

·         1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

·         1/4 teaspoon dried sage

·         1/4 cup margarine or butter

·         1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or 1 cup Monterey jack cheese

·         1 egg, , beaten

·         1/2 cup yogurt

·         1/2 cup milk

·         1/8 cup poppy seeds

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients.  Cut in margarine or butter. Combine cheese, egg, yogurt and milk, and add to other ingredients. Dump into a round or square 9-inch pan, sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Make up a basket of culinary herbs & spices to give as a gift.  You can include your own home made herb tea blends, give them pretty labels, add a herb mug and pack them all in a basket for a herb tea fan. Or pack a selection of dried herbs and spices into some little amber glass jars which you’ve labelled with the name of the contents, add a few loose herbs such as bay leaves, cinnamon sticks or even dried orange slices, cover in cellophane and finish with raffia to make your own personal herb and spice gift baskets. If you’ve grown and dried your own herbs not often available in supermarkets such as lemon thyme, chocolate peppermint and rose geranium, you can add them to your basket. Or make Rose Geranium, Vanilla and Lavender sugars and put together a gift basket for someone who likes to bake, slip in a few recipes, biscuit cutters and whatever else takes your fancy.  You can make themed gifts too, like an Italian herb gift basket for a friend who loves pizza and pasta.

If you are too busy to craft these items, check out the Backyard Patch.  We have herbal vinegars, scone mixes, cracker mixes and even soup mixes, that are entirely hand-blended with herbs we grow ourselves.  An entire selection of Backyard Patch items can be seen on Etsy and if you use this code: PASSPORT10, you will get 10% off.

Easy Chessy -- Artisanal Cheeses

This week is National Herb Week, deemed so by the International Herb Association back in 1995.  This week we will have a post everyday to help you explore herbs more fully.  I am going to start with how do you become familiar with cooking with the herbs.

I once planned to be a linguist, and I still have a fascination with words, especially those that come and go in popularity and roll off the tongue sounding unique.  One of the new phrases to say is easy peasy.  I think it is on par with peachy keen which was popular when I was in high school, much to my mother’s annoyance.  Another word that seems to be popular these days is “artisanal.”  That is just a fancy word for something in the food world that is out of the ordinary and considered upscale.  So today I took liberty with the both of these and create this post – Easy Cheesy Atrisanal Cheeses.

Cheese is one of the best ways to grasp the unique flavors of herbs and how they work blended together.  You can start with simple and easy to get cream cheese then expand to the more exotic and “artisanal” cheeses.

When I test an herb blend I first blend it in to cream cheese.  I actually use the low fat cream cheese called neufchatel. (doesn’t that sound “artisial?”)  Neufchatel, because it is lower in fat, is less likely to mask the flavors of the herbs so I can tell if a blend is right.  With more herb flavor you don’t miss the fat either which is a nice trade off.  If an herb blend tastes good in cream cheese it is simply impossible for it to taste bad when used elsewhere.  However keeping the following information I mind will help you not to make blends you dislike from the very first bite:

Strong flavors – I call these pungent and include herbs like rosemary, sage, cilantro, garlic and the like among the strong flavors.  These herbs can overpower anything if overused.  Never use two pungent herbs in one blend because they tend to fight one another.

Mild Herbs – I call these the savory herbs.  Savory herbs are the gentle flavors we expect when we say herb seasonings, these would include thyme, savory, oregano, parsley, basil, tarragon, onion, and so forth.

Sweet herbs – sweet is a relative term in relation to herbs, because we are not talking about a flavor that is sweet like sugar but something that takes away acidic tastes or leaves a lingering lightness on the palate.  These would include, dill, lemon balm, lemon and orange peels, fruit leaves like raspberry and blackberry, scented geranium leaves, and any lemon herbs.

When you start blending go for a combination that includes one of each category, or two savories and a sweet or two sweets and a savory. Or even 3 savories, although I do not recommend three sweets unless you are making a fruit dish.

If you just want to dive into crafting artisanal cheese, here are a few recipes that can be made with Herb Mixes from the Backyard Patch.

Fine Herb Soufflé

3 Tbls. dry bread crumbs

¼ cup milk

8 large eggs, separated

4 Tbls. Backyard Patch Fines Herbes

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 ¼ cups shredded Gruyere cheese

2 Tbls. unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, stir bread crumbs into milk and soak until mixture becomes pasty, 10 to 15 minutes.  Whisk in egg yolks, herbs, salt and pepper.   Stir in ¾ cup of the cheese.

About 20 minutes before serving.  Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they form very soft peaks.  Scoop whites into yolk mixture and quickly fold them in.  Heat a 12 inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat.  Add butter and swirl until melted and sizzling.  Pour batter into the pan and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Immediately put skillet into middle rack of oven and back 15 to 17 minutes or until puffed and deeply browned.  Serve soufflé immediately, using a large spoon to scoop it onto warm plates.

Cheese Filled Pastry with Herbs

12 oz. feta cheese

4 Tbls. parmesan cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

Pinch nutmeg

1 pkg. Marcy’s Dill Dip Mix

2 Tbls. Mint, chopped

4 Tbls. Pine nuts, toasted

Salt & pepper

8 ounces phyllo dough

6 Tbls. butter, melted

Directions:

Make the filling by mashing together cheeses, egg, butter, nutmeg and herbs with pine nuts, salt and pepper.  Set aside.  With scissors, cut phyllo into 3 inch wide 18 inch long strips.  Keep moist with a damp towel. Melt butter.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place one strip of phyllo on a piece of parchment or wax paper and brush with butter.  Place another on top and brush with butter. Place one heaping teaspoon of cheese mixture in center of one edge and fold corner up to form a triangle. The fold the triangle over and over like folding a flag until the whole strip is folded into a small triangle. Brush the top with butter and place on baking sheet. Repeat until all phyllo and cheese is used. Bake triangles for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Herbed Goat Cheese Pasta

1 Tbls. unsalted butter

½ cup ricotta cheese

3 ounces mild soft goat cheese (cherve)

2 to 4 Tbls. Backyard Patch Butter N Cheese Herb Mix

2 Tbls. Backyard Patch Herbs De Provence

½ tsp. salt

12 oz. fettuccini noodles

Fresh ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Put butter in a large stainless steel mixing bowl and set it on top of the boiling water.  When butter has melted, removed bowl and stir in ricotta, goat cheese, herbs and salt.  Boil pasta until tender and slightly firm, about 2 to 4 minutes for fresh or 8 to 10 minutes for dried.  Scoop a cup of the cooking water from the pot to thin the sauce, then drain the noodles.  Using tongs, toss pasta with ricotta and herbs along with as much of the reserved pasta water necessary to create a creamy sauce.  Grind black pepper on top and serve right away in warm bowls.

All the products featured here can be found on our website http://www.backyardpatch.com/