Summer is a great time to explore new ways of using the fresh produce so readily available. Adding herbs is an easy way to perk up a salad, a main course or a starter. Fresh herbs are available at your local Farmer's Market (Lake Bluff on Friday morning), in your local grocery store and at your favorite plant nursery. Growing herbs is easy and they add lovely scents and textures to your planters. Rosemary by your front door perfumes the air and it's so fun to step out and snip a few handfuls for your recipe. Mint, basil, rosemary, parsley, sage and many others are hearty and may be grown outside or in a sunny spot in your home.
Below are a few recipes, mostly concocted by me. There are no exact measurements, you can't really make a mistake. It's summer so throw a few of these together and get back outside to enjoy the sunshine while it's here.
Minty Lemon Cracker
Ingredients
Lemon Curd. I use store bought, any brand
Mascarpone, in fancy cheese section
Hearty Crackers Rain Forest Crisps, any flavor
Mint Leaves from the garden or grocery store
Lay out several crackers on a platter
Spread a light layer of mascarpone on each cracker
Top with a half teaspoon of lemon curd
Finish with a mint leaf. Enjoy!
Fresh Herb Butter
Ingredients
Butter, salted or unsalted, softened to room temperature
Fresh herbs
Sea Salt
Both dried and fresh herbs may be used to season the butter. If you are using fresh herbs, I snip the herb into little pieces with scissors.
Place the softened butter in a bowl. Add the snipped herbs a little at a time and mix through with a fork until you have the saturation that looks pretty and has enough herb content to add flavor.
Scrap this mixture into pretty little bowls or whatever small container will look pretty on your table. Top with chunky sea salt. Cover and refrigerate for an hour before serving. Bring to room temperature for easy spreading.
*consider fun individual serving bowls, shells, small glass jars or roll into logs.
*Add garlic, pepper, chopped red onion for variety
Crispy Sage Leaves
Fried sage leaves are a wonderful addition to fall dishes especially butternut squash ravioli. They add flavor to the Thanksgiving meal.
In a small frying pan (I use a caphalon omelet pan) heat a very small amount of vegetable oil. Drop fresh but not wet sage leaves into the warming oil being careful to avoid hot splatter. Let the leaves cook for about 30 seconds, flip with tongs, another 30 seconds and remove to dry on paper towels. The leaves will cool into a crisp and they are delicious.
Herb Infused milk/cream
Two cups of milk or the amount that your recipe calls for, heat to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove the milk from the burner and add the herbs to the pan and push down with a spoon until they are covered by the liquid. Cover the pan and let them steep for 30 minutes, Strain the liquid through a sieve, cool and refrigerate. Use within a week, before the liquid spoils.
Mint Milk minty hot chocolate, cookie or cake recipes, buttercream frosting on a chocolate cake, puddings, whipped cream, truffles. This works for any recipe that calls for milk or cream that you want a hint of mint.
Rosemary Infused milk or cream any be used as an addition to cream sauce: Chicken with mushrooms, salmon and potatoes. An easy way to boost the flavor.
The Lake Forest Library has a vast collection of books on cooking and gardening. The Dewey number for cooking with herbs is 641.6 & 635, both shelved upstairs. Books on landscaping with and growing herbs are shelved in 635 upstairs and 715 in the Fine Arts room.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Enjoy!