My Garden of Herbs

Five years ago--on Mother's Day--my husband and 2 children (then 3 and 11 months) planted me my very first herb garden. At the time, I had been talking about wanting fresh herbs for at least a year. I was an avid watcher of the Food Network... and one day on The Naked Chef... Jamie Oliver talked about using fresh herbs.  He said (in loose quotes... this was at least 6 years ago... so this is the gist of how I remember it),

"Using fresh herbs is great, but the idea of fresh herbs is that they're FRESH... not drive to the store 'fresh'... fresh does not come in a package."  

What he said, has been morphed over time... but the meaning of what he said has held strong for me for the past 5 years.  Using fresh herbs should be an organic process of cooking where you reach for herbs that are growing from the soil...when they're supposed to be growing... the idea of fresh herbs as a packaged product really undermines what using "fresh" is all about.   

So... that year, my husband got a big half wine barrel and various other pots and planted my most used herbs: Thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives (didn't use quite so much), dill, and basil.

5 years later, a cross-country move to St. Louis and back to Wilmington...I still have an herb garden... it's just in a different form. No longer contained to a wine barrel (it's now home to a contained forest of mint)....now my herb garden grows along the side of my house. It's also grown in the variety... I now have planted an unconfined forest of mint, rosemary, oregano, flat-leaf parsley, dill, thyme, lemon thyme, chives, sage, "Italian" basil, lemon basil, cilantro, chocolate mint, and a bay bush.  The only original plant that I have from that original Mother's Day herb garden are the chives. They've doubled and quadrupled in size... and while I don't use them as much as some of my other herbs... I LOVE having the ability to use them when I choose to :)  As with all my herbs, I cut what I need, when I need it and leave the rest to grow.  No plastic container, no rubber-bands, no twist-ties needed... and that means no waste.... because it takes nothing more than me and a pair of scissors.

My favorite thing about chives is their flowers.... ;)

Here's some Parsley and Dill growing from seed...

A little of my Mint forest and some Sage....

Rosemary and Thyme,

Cilantro,

Oregano,

and Basil.

What to do with all those herbs??  Get cooking (or let them grow and flower for the pollinators ;)).  

Over the past couple of years, I have made the commitment to only use fresh herbs from my garden.  That means that I only use what herbs are growing in my herb garden during a given season.  I'm able to reap the bounty of Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Oregano, Mint and Chives through all seasons.  Parsley comes and goes throughout the year.  I only use basil in spring and summer... yes... I make loads of pesto to keep in my freezer to last me all winter.  I try my best to center my cooking around what is growing...if a recipe calls for an herb that's not growing, then I make a substitution for something that is... the best flavor comes from the freshest ingredients... and you can't get any fresher than your own backyard (or patio or windowsill).

Here are a few photos of some recipes that I've tested for The Blissful Chef using herbs straight from my herb garden....

Since I'm recipe testing, I can't give out recipes.  BUT...  Magical Raw Tacos (above) were featured on The Blissful Chef Blog... SO make them...with whatever you have growing... they are absolutely AMAZING Magical ;)

Library & Dinner

Today, we met a friend and her son at the library. It's the second week we've been...and before last week, it had been years since I had been to a library... college to be exact. Yes... for the past 10 years, I was a book store junkie. I was a sucker for the book store "experience." About 6 months ago, I decided that I was going to start going to the library... but didn't until now because I was nervous about taking my kids. All I could imagine was the librarian going "sshhhhhhhh" and then getting kicked out. Luckily, that isn't the case. As my son grabs book after book off the shelves and yells, "Mom! Look at this dinosaur book!!"... I never hear a word from the librarian and have been quickly reminded of how great libraries are... I'm amazed and impressed at the abounding variety of (shared) books and media. Last week, we checked out 3 books. Today, we checked out 8 books!! Of course, all free (for 3 weeks!). Libraries ROCK!!

SO... while we were at the library my friend and I were talking about me recipe testing for The Blissful Chef and what I eat... or rather what I don't eat. She asked, "You don't eat meat... what do you eat for dinner??" A valid question. Of course, I explained... but pictures are SO much better:

For dinner tonight, we ate Orange Seitan (yes, like the famed Orange Chicken from the mall!), Vegetable Lo Mein, and Asian Green Bean Stir-Fry (the green beans are a test recipe for The Blissful Chef... which by the way... were so darn yummy!).

Now I can't give you the recipe for the Asian Green Bean Stir-Fry... BUT... I can give you my recipe for Orange Seitan!!

Orange Seitan

1 lb cubed seitan

flour

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp minced garlic

1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes (if you like it hot add more)

1 TBSP rice wine vinegar

water, as needed

1 tsp sesame oil

grated orange zest

*Orange Sauce* (mix all ingredients and set aside)

1 1/2 TBSP soy sauce

1 1/2 TBSP orange juice

7 TBSP brown rice syrup or 5 TBSP brown sugar

5TBSP white vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

Heat 1-2 TBSP oil in large skillet. Dust the seitan lightly with flour. Add seitan and cook until nicely browned on all sides. Push seitan to the sides add a drop of oil to center of pan and add ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes. Sauté until fragrant. Add rice wine and stir. Add *Orange Sauce* and bring to a simmer, stirring until well mixed. (Add water if sauce becomes too thick). Stir in sesame oil and add grated orange zest. Serve immediately :)