I love home-made bread and our farmers market features two different bread vendors so I can get my fill.However, I also like to make bread at home, but I don’t always have the time (and this time of year who wants to turn on the oven), so I found a quick solution.I use my Crockpot.This is an unusual way to make bread, but it is so easy and you can use any combination of herbs to craft if.
MATERIALS:
1 Tbls. Yeast
¼ cup warm water
½ cup warm milk
1/3 cup quick-cook oats
1 ½ Tbls. olive oil
1 ½ Tbls. honey
1 egg
1/8 cup wheat germ
2 tsp fresh minced rosemary (or 1 tsp dried) - you can substitute savory if you grow it!
2 tsp fresh minced thyme (or 1 tsp dried) – try lemon thyme if you have it!
2 tsp fresh dill or parsley (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp salt
2 cups wheat flour, plus up to 1/3 cup more
STEPS:
1.Turn your Crockpot to high.Place a riser in the bottom.Two canning jar rims or crumbled aluminum foil will do. Add...
I was recently asked at a Garden Walk “When I am told to pinch back an herb, exactly what does this mean? How many inches of stem should I take as I pinch? Do I pinch off all the tips, or just one or two?”
Answer:
When you pinch back herbs, you are orchestrating two fundamental forces of plant life: the need to reproduce and the need to stay alive long enough to reproduce.
Herbs, like other plants, want nothing more than to reproduce. Most herbs want to make flowers and seeds, so they channel their energy toward stems that will grow fast and bloom quickly. With annual herbs such as basil and marjoram, bud production begins within weeks after plants are set out in the garden. Perennial herbs prepare to bloom in spring soon after days become long and warm.
Whether annual or perennial, herbs’ fast-growing tips send chemical signals down the stem telling secondary buds not to grow. In nature, sprinting to maturity is smart. What we see is a lean, upright plant with few lateral branches. It is totally intent on blooming.
This is not exactly what we had planned for the garden. ...
This time of year I make many of my recipes with fresh herbs because they are so abundantly available. These two recipes are quick and easy and give you a chance to use what is in season. Even if you don't have an herb garden all of these herbs can be easily gotten at the market.
Herbed Cheese Spread 2 tablespoons fresh thyme - chopped fine 2 tablespoons fresh sweet marjoram - chopped fine 4 tablespoons green onions - sliced fine 8 ounce package cream cheese at room temperature In a small bowl add the herbs, green onions and cream cheese. Mix together until well blended. Cover the top of the bowl with aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve this delicious spread with an assortment of crackers and breadsticks.
Chive Dip
This dip is a wonderful accompaniment to fresh raw vegetables such as carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower and radishes. 1 cup plain yogurt 1 cup sour cream 1/4 cup fresh chives or garlic chives - snipped with scissors 1 tablespoon fresh sage - minced 2 cloves garlic - minced 1 ½ teaspoons garlic salt In a medium sized mixing bowl mix add all ingredients and...
I thought that was a great excuse to write about making herbal vinegars.They can only be done with fresh ingredients and this is the perfect time of year to use fresh herbs and make something that you can use now or save for winter when you want a fresh taste.Herbal Vinegar is the simplest and best way to capture the flavor of fresh herbs.
Create herbal vinegar by harvesting and washing a fist full of fresh herbs.Choose your favorite, but Basils, especially colored basil, thyme, lemon herbs and chives all make great tasting vinegar.Lay the herbs out to air dry after washing.Once they are dry place them in a glass jar and bruise them with the handle of a wooden spoon.Cover them with distilled white or white wine vinegar 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 and rebottle the herbs and use to make your favorite marinade or dressing.
Last year two new lemony plants were introduced and after trying them. I wanted to recommend them to you.
Try the new ‘Lemon Sculpture’ scented geranium with horizontal branches and tightly curled leaves for a structured, bonsai-like effect. ‘Lemon Sculpture’ can grow up to 3 feet tall, and because it does well in low light, you can use it to add subtle flavor not only to your food, but also to your home. This intriguing geranium will be available exclusively from Richters, www.richters.com.
‘Pink Lemonade’ is a creeping lemon-scented thyme that works beautifully in stone walkways, pavers and as a ground cover. Unlike other compact lemon thymes, this one has delicate pink flowers. Thyme is attractive to bees and butterflies, some of which feed exclusively on thyme varieties. The plant is available from Mountain Valley Growers, www.MountainValleyGrowers.com.
My penchant for lemon herbs forced me to try these last season and I think they are grand! Why don't you check them out. For my list of the top 10 herbs to grow this year visit our NEWSLETTER!
Maybe you don't want an entire herb garden but the flavor and look of herbs appeals to you.... Then here are some tips you can use for incorporating herbs into a floral landscape.
.
Mounding Habit
Herbs with small green-to-gray-green leaves and a mounding habit-namely, Greek oregano, sweet marjoram, French thyme, creeping winter savory, common sage, tarragon, and spearmint-work well as background plants that complement brighter colored flowers.
.
Color and Texture plants
sfdgsfdg
Herbs with unusual colors and forms-such as common chives, with its tubular, grasslike foliage and lavender flowers, and Chinese chives, which has straplike leaves and white flowers-make showy accent plants. I'm especially partial to one of their relatives: society garlic, which has straplike leaves and bears tall spikes of lavender flowers from May through October. This plant is bulletproof in my Los Altos, California, garden (USDA Zone 9), and its flowers taste great in salads. I also gravitate toward the ornamental sages 'Icterina,' 'Tricolor,' and 'Purpurascens', which make lovely stand-alone plants .
In my home town this time of year there is a celebration of the flavor and scent of fresh grapes.The Grape Festival in Geneva, Ohio is a long-standing tradition with a carnival, food and craft booths and the best parade in the county.And the foods they serve made with grapes—perfection.Once one of the major producers for Welch’s, Geneva is now home to many local wine producers who use the Lake Erie climate to produce flavorful grapes and great wines. There is a recipe contest each year for grapes and one year I developed this recipe using my favorite cooking herb.I am not keen on honey, but after several tries we realized if you drizzled the roasted grapes with honey the favor just burst forth and so I recommend you try it.
Thyme Roasted Grapes
Delicious as a simple appetizer paired with sliced cheese, roasted grapes also work well when served as a side dish with chicken or turkey or with angel food cake and whipped cream for dessert. They're quick and easy to prepare, yet elegant enough for company.
Heat the chicken stock.Beat together egg and juice from the lemon until frothy.SLOWLY spoon warm broth into egg mixture to temper it and keep the egg from cooking too fast.Add rice or orzo just before serving,.Garnish with chopped thyme.
Lemon Herb & Parsley Salad Dressing
1/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Lemon Savory or Lemon Thyme, dried and crumbled
My husband Chas and I have been designing our perfect home for several years now. To get me in the mood for garden planning each winter I drag out the plans I have been working on for that house. It iwill have three different garden areas. My favorite is a scent garden that will be tucked in between our front entrance and our side entrance in a small u-shape alcove. Because the house will face west the area will have good sunlight. And since it will be walked through or past by all of our guests, I decided on a scent-strong herbs and flowers to populate the space. Roses, of course in the shelter of the house for winter protection and thyme on the pathways will be paired with among many others, scented geraniums in containers. My favorite place to get scented gernaiums (Pelargonium - not to be confused with regular geraniums) is Shady Acres in Elburn, IL. Those who know scented geraniums also know that in the midwest most of the quality stock originates from Shady Acres, so I just buy from the source. It is a beautiful drive in the country to their conservatory-like greenhouse out on Route 47. ...
[More]
