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About Hardy Shrub Roses
About Heathers
About Flowering Crabs
wildlife habitat
Annuals Biennials Perennials
Culinary Herbs
The Healing Herbs
The Fragrant Herbs
Shakespearean and Bible Herbs
Do you Really Need A Tiller
Insect Attack
Flowers for Cutting
Pruning Pointers
Houseplants Clean the Air
Recipes Fresh from the Garden
The Gold Plated Gardener
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| Recipes Fresh from the Garden |
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| You’ve asked for recipes from my own kitchen, using fresh ingredients from my backyard garden. Here’s a start; I plan to keep adding, so check back occasionally. In all cases, quantities are approximate. Adjust to suit your own taste. I use no salt; you may wish to add some. I grow a lot of my own herbs, but when I have to buy herbs or spices, I've found supermarket prices to be wildly expensive. Your best alternative: a natural foods store. They usually carry herbs and spices in bulk at unbelievably low prices. Recent example: mustard seed and ground cloves that would have cost me nearly $9 at the local supermarket, cost 74¢ across the street at the "health food" store (and the quantities were larger, too)!. I tried to organize these into categories, but they seemed to fall into no plausible order, so--marching to their own drummer--here they are. PEGG'S BASIC SALSA 4 large ripe tomatoes (or substitute tomatillos for one tomato) 1/4 C. chopped onions or scallions 1 T. fresh oregano, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 green pepper, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (I prefer the Garden Salsa pepper) cilantro to taste 1 T. olive oil 1 T. fresh lime juice salt & pepper to tase Process briefly in food processor. DILL DIP 1 C. mayonnaise 1 C. sour cream 1 T. fresh dill weed, chopped chopped onion to taste Blend and chill. HERBED WHOLE BEAN DIP 16-oz. can white beans 1 T. lemon juice 1 tsp. capers 1 tsp. olive oil 3-4 cloves garlic Rinse beans, drain, whiz these ingredients in food processor. Add 1 tsp. fresh basil and 1/2 tsp. each marjoram, thyme, pepper. Blend again. PEGG’S FAVORITE PESTO 1/2 C. pine nuts 3/4 C. olive oil 2 cloves garlic minimum 3 C. fresh basil 3/4 C. parmesan cheese Optional (I don’t use these): 1 C. parsley, squirt lemon juice Blend in food processor till smooth. Freeze some in small containers to enjoy the taste of summer all winter long. KIRSTIN'S HUMMUS 16-oz. can garbanzo beans, drained 1/3 C. tahini 1/4 C. lemon juice 2 cloves garlic 2 T. olive oil Process all in food processor till smooth. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour for flavors to blend, then refrigerate. TOMATO, BASIL & RICOTTA SANDWICHES 8 slices bread 1/2 C. ricotta cheese tomatoes--enough to make four 1/4” slices 8 large basil leaves Use round cookie or doughnut cutter to cut rounds from bread. Spread cheese on each round. Place a tomato slice on four rounds, top with two basil leaves, cover with remaining rounds. FETTUCINI WITH TOMATO BASIL SALSA 1 # ripe, meaty tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 C. olive oil 1/2 C. fresh basil leaves, chopped 1/3 C. parmesan cheese Skin and seed tomatoes, chop and place in strainer to drain. Combine with garlic, oil and half the basil. Cook pasta al dente, toss with butter and turn onto a platter. Top with the salsa, remaining basil, parmesan and freshly ground pepper. PICKLED BEETS 2 C. sugar 1 T. whole allspice 3 1/2 C. vinegar 1 1/2 C. water 3 qts. peeled, cooked beets, diced 2 cinnamon sticks In a large saucepan, combine everything except the beets, bring to a boil, simmer 15 minutes. While the liquid is cooking, pack beets in [pint] jars. Remove cinnamon sticks, bring liquid to a boil, pour over beets. Seal. Process pints and quarts 30 minutes in water bath. Makes 6 pints. CHIVE VINEGAR Pick enough chive blossoms, 3/4 opened, to fill the glass container of your choice. (A quart jar works well). Press them in moderately firmly. Fill the jar with white vinegar and allow to sit in the sun at least 24 hours, or until the vinegar has turned a pleasant shade of pink. Strain and bottle. TARRAGON VINEGAR Fill a glass jar with tarragon leaves, cover with white vinegar, and allow to sit in the sun 1-2 weeks, stirring occasionally. Strain and bottle. MIXED HERB VINEGAR In a glass gallon jug, put 16 bay leaves, 8 cloves garlic and 24 sprigs each of savory, thyme, and oregano. Marinate in the sun 7-10 days. Strain, bottle. PARSLEY JELLY 4 C. chopped parsley boiling water to cover (generous 3 C.) --Cover, let stand 15 minutes, strain. 3 C. parsley infusion 2 T. lemon juice 1 box Sure-Jell --Mix, bring to a full boil Add 4 1/2 C. sugar, bring to a second boil and boil hard one minute, stirring. Remove from heat, skim off foam, add coloring if desired, jar. Serve with meat or crackers and cream cheese. EMILY CYR'S CHRISTMAS PICKLES (no canning)! [Emily's long gone to her reward, but her old Maine recipes live on] Put 300 pieces of cucumber (20-30 cucumbers, sliced thick) in a crock or scrupulously clean plastic bucket. Scatter 2/3 cup pickling salt. Add boiling water to cover. Allow to set till cool; drain, rinse, drain. Mix together: 4 T. dry mustard 4 T. salt 4 T. sugar 1 tsp. alum 1/2 C. pickling spice 2 qts. white vinegar Pour this mixture over the pickles. Weigh out 3 pounds of sugar and add a handful daily until used up (about 12 days). The pickles may now be placed in sterilized jars and sealed. No further processing is required. Yes, they will keep indefinitely at room temperature without spoiling. EMILY CYR'S MUSTARD PICKLES [Another one of Emily's that's worth passing along] Cut in bite-sized pieces, 2 quarts each of cucumbers, green tomatoes, onions, 2 heads cauliflower, green or red sweet peppers. Make a brine of 2 cups pickling salt dissolved in 4 quarts water. Pour over vegetables and let stand 24 hours. Scald and drain. Mix together: 1 generous cup flour 6 T. dry mustard 1 T. turmeric and add enough vinegar to make a paste. Add 2 quarts vinegar and 4 cups sugar (or to taste). Cook until thickened. Add the vegetables, bring all to a boil. Bottle andseal. Process in a water bath 10 minutes. REBECCA'S BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES 1/2 C. pickling salt 8 lbs. cucumbers, sliced into pickle slices 8 small white onions, sliced thin 2 green peppers, sliced thin Mix salt with the vegetables and bury a quart of crushed ice in the mix. Let stand for 3 hours. Drain, rinse, drain. Make a syrup of: 5 C. sugar 1/2 tsp. tumeric 1/2 tsp. ground cloves 2 T. mustard seed 1 tsp. celery seed 3 C. white vinegar 2 C. water Combine and heat to almost boiling. Add the vegetables, bring just to a boil and STOP. (Do not allow to cook). Pack pickles and syrup in jars and seal. Process in water bath 5 minutes. Makes approximately 13 pints. GRAMMA'S CHILI SAUCE I forget whose Gramma this is, but the recipe is over 150 years old. I generally avoid preparations that involve my standing by as they thicken, stirring and stirring to avoid burning--but this one is worth the trouble! 30 large tomatoes, skinned and chopped 2 C. chopped onion 1 ea. large green and red pepper, chopped 1/4 C. celery seed 1 C. mustard seed 2 T. coarsely ground black pepper 2 T. cinnamon 2 T. salt 1 C. white sugar 1 1/2 C. white vinegar Combine and simmer uncovered until thick, 5-6 hours, stirring frequently toward the end to prevent sticking and burning. Bottle, seal, process in water bath 10 minutes. Makes 8 pints; may be halved (but if you do, you'll regret not making the whole 8 pints). |
| Palmyra | ME | 04965-4033 |
 shepherdsgdn@hotmail.com |
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