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Posts tagged herbs
Focus on Herbs: Asafoetida
Aug 9th
Asafoetida (Ferula assafoetida) is a highly pungent herb that is native to Persia & India. Because of its very unpleasant odor it has also been known as devil’s dung and stinking gum. At stores, though you’ll either find it under asafetida or hing. It comes in powdered form and looks a little like ginger powder.
When you first bring asafetida home you’ll wonder if I’m crazy for recommending it, as the unpleasant odor can fill your entire house in a few minutes. That’s why I recommend keeping it in a tight sealing glass container.
Asafoetida is a replacement for garlic and onion, More >
Have A Tea Party
Jul 28th
As children we often had tea parties with our friends and toys. We’d set out a little table and covered it with a cloth, or put down a picnic blanket. Then we’d place out tiny little tea cups for each guest. We’d entertain our friends with “tea,” which was usually water, and desserts, which were sometimes fresh baked cookies that Mom had made for our special gathering, and sometimes flowers or other interesting things from the garden.
For many of us, as we got older, we began thinking of tea as something to drink in the winter to stay warm. But More >
Different Types Of Basil
Jul 11th
Last post I promised that I would talk about the different types of basil and how to use them. Nowdays there are many more flavors of basil than just sweet. One of the most popular is lemon basil.
Lemon basil has a delicate flavor, distinctly lemon with a hint of basil spiciness. It is not as robust, nor does it grow as large or with as big of leaves as sweet basil. The essential oil that creates the lemony flavor is easily destroyed with high temperature cooking, so it is best to add lemon basil at the end of the cooking More >
First Basil Harvest
Jul 8th
Basil is one of my most favorite herbs in the entire world. I can literally put it in almost anything I make and enjoy it. The first basil harvest finally happened and I have a huge bowl of basil to deal with. When bringing in fresh basil just put it in a glass of water on the counter. DO NOT put it in the fridge, as it will turn to black slime. Fresh basil will keep up to two weeks setting out on the counter.
First and foremost is to plan at least one dish every day with fresh basil in More >
First Spring Salad
Apr 18th
Salad, boring for most. Consisting of iceberg lettuce, a couple pale pink tomato slices, maybe a slimy cucumber slice. What could be more disgusting.
Enter a fresh spring greens & herbs salad from your very own garden! That’s what we had today. Just a few weeks into the spring harvest and we’ve got greens big enough to make a tasty salad.
Leaf lettuce, arugula, mizuna, tatsoi, mesclun mix, chard and spinach for greens. Garden and lemon thyme, Greek and golden oregano, salad burnet, bronze fennel, for fresh herbs. Add a few store bought lettuce leaves, a wonderful organic tomato that ripened to More >