I have the honor of introducing you to this week's set of posts submitted by bloggers from around the world. With many thanks to Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, the creator of this wonderful event, for making this happen, and to the bloggers who participated this week, without further ado, I will introduce the delicacies featured. For every submission, I will offer a small bite, designed as an invitation to visit the blog and read the complete post.
Graziana from Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with herbs) tells us about cinnamon basil and tempts us with lovely-looking Chocolate and Cinnamon Basil Patties. Close your eyes and try to imagine the heavenly smell.
TS and JS of [eatingclub] vancouver offer us a simple solution for Korean Sprouts & Spicy Cold Cucumber Salad: One Dressing to Rule Them All! One cannot but love their can do attitude.
After learning about cinnamon basil, here is another previously unknown to me ingredient: cilantro roots, which Darlene of Blazing Wok calls the "secret ingredient." She uses it to make Stir-fried Shrimp with Garlic and Cilantro Roots. Cilantro lovers of the world, rejoice!
Sharona of Bird Food shares with us her enthusiasm for asparagus. In her hands, this versatile vegetable becomes a pretty Asparagus Pesto, seen here accompanying a plateful of happy fusilli.
Rachel of The Crispy Cook has a great suggestion for using a variety of herbs from our gardens or pots or visits to the market: Herbed Cream Cheese, ideal for parties and adaptable to use dried herbs when fresh ones are not an option.
Ivy of Kopiaste... to Greek Hospitality talks about a vegetable I recently discovered at our local farmers' market, namely purslane. She uses it to make Greek Style Purslane Pesto, paired with feta: delicious over pasta and other dishes on a summer evening.
We remain in pesto-land thanks to Christine of Christine Cooks, who makes the sauce with the original ingredient, basil, of three varieties. She then uses it to make Barley Pilaf Salad With Three Basils Pesto, using locally grown and totally wholesome barley.
Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, founder of the great event of which this week I am the proud host, tells us about tatsoi, which she found at her farmers' market and used to prepare Chilled Wilted Tatsoi Salad Recipe with Sesame-Ginger Dressing.
Susan of Food Blogga explores the world of cherries with a savory recipe: Pork Tenderloin with Indian-Spiced Cherry and Rhubarb Chutney. In Susan's own words: "Cherries are ideal for chutney because their inherent sweetness is enhanced with sharp green onions, acidic vinegar, and spicy seasonings."
Chris of Mele Cotte shares with us her experience with new kind of fruit she's found, angelcot. She uses it in a savory setting to give us Angelcot Pasta Salad. I had never heard of angelcot, and now I am curious to taste some.
Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe got interested in the way pumpkins are used in Australia versus other countries and tells us the results of her research, besides offering a comforting, colorful Pumpkin Soup.
Christine of Kits Chow tells us about fava beans, tasty and versatile. Her recipe is for Rosemary-flavored Fava Beans. Fava beans paired with rosemary: what a couple! We will encounter this herb again before the end of the roundup.
Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs has an interesting question for us: "when you think of potato salad, what type do you think of?" I need some time to figure out the answer. In the meantime, enjoy some of Ricki's Warm Dandelion-Potato Salad.
Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi grow their own peas and then eat them raw (so refreshing!), or use them in dishes, like Peas Pulao, which includes rice, cashews and an enticing combination of spices. Growing vegetables is a challenge (am there, doing that), but it is also quite rewarding.
Kim of LiveLoveLaughEat.net is growing peppers in her garden, seven different varieties of them. That inspired her to write an informative post about peppers where she also tells us about the hottest kind of them all: "scary hot" sounds like the right appellative for it.
Before leaving for a trip to Sweden, Anna of Morsels and Musings tells us aboutPotato Breakfast Curry with Poached Eggs, a curry "so gently spiced that anyone would adore it." I have no doubts about that.
Kevin of Closet Cooking tells us about Tartar Sauce of which he is a great fan and for which he has a personal recipe that uses fresh dill. Kevin uses the sauce particularly with fish and chips. Being in California, I will ask: crab cakes anybody?
Pam of Sidewalk Shoes tells us how she got to grow and use an herb with a lovely-sounding name: lovage. "It smells and tastes almost exactly like celery and it turns out that what we usually think of as celery seed is actually lovage seeds!"
Ning of Heart and Hearth brings us Roast Pork with Chinese Herbs Soup a soul-warming dish that contains healthful ingredients like Chinese wolfberry, Chinese red dates and Chinese wild yam.
Priscilla of Foodielicious! tells us about the Redbud Tree, "an ornamental commonly seen in yards and gardens of the American South," which, she recently learned, is also edible: both the buds and the seed pods can be harvested and used in the kitchen.
Jennifer of Like to Cook offers us Warm Lemony Potato Salad, where "the arugula adds a wonderful, peppery contrast to the smooth, creamy roasted potatoes." Another type of potato salad to add to the list mentioned earlier by Ricki.
Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies adds parsley from her herb garden to her pesto and then makes Herbed Asparagus Bundles, lovely little phyllo pastry wraps enveloping asparagus and enriched with almonds. A nice present on the plate.
Katie of Thyme for Cooking, the Blog reminds us that "chives are high in vitamins and antioxidants. They also have been shown to act as a natural antibiotic." she then presents a lovely summer salad: Creamy Cucumber Salad with Fresh Chives, a refreshing dish for hot summer days.
Windy of Windy's Food Corner adds broccoli to her Beef & Oyster Sauce and loves the result, so she is sharing it with us. According to Windy, "this oyster beef is one of the easy Chinese dishes to make," a reassuring note for anybody who, like me, is not a little intimidated by Chinese cuisine.
Pam of The Backyard Pizzeria has a small problem in the shape of a couple of egg yolks staring at her. Not to worry: she solves it elegantly by making Herbed Ricotta Fritters using rosemary, parsley and oregano from her garden, productive even in the dead of winter.
Anh of Food Lover's Journey tells us about mustard cabbage, whose spicy leaves she likes, and whose ribs can be pickled. She uses this Asian vegetable in a non-Asian dish and make Pasta Shell Stuffed with Mustard Cabbage and Ricotta Cheese. A little green can brighten up you day, indeed!
Maria of Organically Cooked makes a colorful Plum Crumble with red plums (called vaniles in Greece) and serves it with something quite interesting: hibiscus flower preserve. A lovely combination. "And don't forget the ice-cream." We certainly won't.
Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once prepares Potato Rösti with Horseradish using the fresh root. Besides the recipe, Haalo provides pieces of information on horseradish, like the following: "The action of grating or cutting releases compounds Sinigrin and Myrosin that when combined form a volatile oil. This is the cause of that typical sinus clearing sensation." How interesting!
Sher of What Did You Eat? explores the use of fresh oregano in a colorful and eye-catching dish: Herbed Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce, an interesting interpretation of a classic combination.
Elizabeth of blog from OUR kitchen tells us about pakoras, which "are insanely good. And they’re insanely easy to make." Besan (chickpea flour), salt and pepper, chile flakes, and water constitute the beginning of her breakfast treat: pakora and chole. Don't forget the green chillies.
From the oven of Maggie of je le vous dirais - a vegetarian healthy recipe blog comes a colorful medley: Rosemary Roasted Vegetables. In Maggie's own words: "The key ingredient in this whole dish is the rosemary."
We remain in roasting territory with Cheryl of Gluten Free Goodness, who presents Roasted Cauliflower. "Roasting gives a totally different dimension to the flavor, and there are so many great spices you can add." Several interesting suggestions follow.
From the oven to the freezer with Jerry of Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants! and his Fresh Mint Ice Cream, a summer treat that uses home-grown mint. His mint is in a pot: take note, I say to myself. Get refreshed, I say to you all.
The Chocolate Lady of In Mol Araan tells us about shtshav (schav), which "in Yiddish refers both to the delicate lemony herb sorrel (rumex acetosa) and to the cooling and restorative soup in which it is most famously employed." The vegan recipe she presents if for Hemp Shtshav.
More rosemary in a roasted dish, thanks to Jeanne of CookSister! and her Rosemary-roasted Butternut and Beetroot, a flavorful combination. Regarding rosemary, Jeanne tells us that "Some believed it would only grow in the gardens of the righteous; that a sprig placed under the pillow would repel evil spirits or bad dreams; or that rosemary laid on the bedlinens would ensure faithfulness."
Burcu of Almost Turkish Recipes takes us out of the oven and back to a cooler area of refreshing dishes with her Zucchini Salad with Yogurt, "a favorite summer time cold delicacy" that uses fresh mint and dill. "It is served as a side dish at afternoon tea gatherings..., or as a meze/appetizer at dinner."
I should probably not forget myself, that is, my contribution: Insalata di Patate Novelle alla Menta (new potato salad with mint), where I use some of the denizens of my herb jungle.
Speaking of forgetting, I do hope I have not left anybody out of the roundup. If you find that, notwithstanding my best intentions, I actually have omitted a post, please send me a note.
I hope that you have enjoyed this journey in 37 dishes and that you will participate again in a (near) future edition of the Weekend Herb Blogging. Here is the link for the new rules that go into effect on July 20, and here is the list of future hosts.
Many thanks to all who have participated this week. It was a pleasure to receive so many interesting posts.
