Herb Festival Recipes at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Dear Folks,

I hope you are able to get out and actually sample these dips today! :-)

Boyce Thompson Aboretum

Herb Festival
October 26, 2014
* end-of-the-plant-sale special event from 11am - 3pm
"Herb is the word" for our Fall Plant Sale; we'll have an expanded variety of herbs throughout the sale - plus a new date for our annual Herb Festival, which moves to late October this year to take advantage of optimal herb planting time. Sunday the 26th brings a chance to meet volunteers from the Arizona Herb Association, tour BTA's Wing Memorial Herb Garden, and enjoy herbal cuisine prepared by Catherine "The Herb Lady" Crowley.

http://ag.arizona.edu/bta/events.html
              
Yogurt Pesto Dip
Fresh basil is the star of this dip.  Who does not love basil?

4    cups plain yogurt
1/2    cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2    teaspoon salt
1/2    cup walnut pieces
1 cup light packed basil shredded or 2-3 tablespoon dried basil (more if you like)
1    clove crushed garlic (1/4 teaspoon of dried)

Combine all - best if chilled for several hours or overnight before serving.


Cauliflower - Tofu Dip


I am on a cauliflower recipe collecting binge and wanted to make something with tofu and cauliflower.  When I think of tofu I think "cheese" and cauliflower goes very well with cheese.  I also wanted to use some lemon and a robust herb so I choose Syrian Oregano (Za'atar) and lemon verbena.

1 head of cauliflower
1 package of extra firm tofu
Leaves from five 5" sprigs of Syrian Oregano (about 3 tablespoon loose pack)
3/4 cup of loose pack lemon verbena leaves
Zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ - 2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt

Drain and press* tofu to remove extra liquid.  Cut into chunks.
Break cauliflower into florets, tosses with a bit of avocado (or olive) oil and roast at 450 for 25-30 minutes until lightly golden (don’t let burn) - cool completely.

Using a food processor, grind cauliflower with herbs and zest.  Transfer to a bowl.
Grind tofu with lemon juice and salt.
Combine all
Adjust salt and lemon juice to taste.

*Slice package top plastic but do not remove. Drain liquid then place a food can (about 14 oz) on top to press the tofu extracting as much liquid as possible - about 10-15 minutes.


Serve either of these dips with veggie sticks, pretzels, chips or crackers.  Either dip can also be a sandwich spread.


I found a new-to-me cracker "CrunchMaster" gluten-free 5 seed version, which I will be using at the festival.

Hope you enjoy both dips.

. . .

You can find more recipes like these in my cookbook “101+ Recipes from The Herb Lady”



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

My books

Ibook

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/catherine-crowley/id372564893?mt=11

amazon - print

http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Crowley/e/B002C1HWG0/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1367065857&sr=1-2-ent


Barnes & Noble - print and Nook ebook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/catherine-crowley

Kobo

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Search?query=Catherine%20Crowley&fcsearchfield=Author


Lulu

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/herbs2u