Garden, Plant, Cook!

Friday, April 14, 2017

Do You Have This Zippy Snack Pod in Your Garden?

Dear Folks,

I just plunked some roselle seeds in the garden. (Sow Hibiscus sabdariffa now to have edible leaves for harvesting through the summer (as a lettuce substitute) and the wonderful Vitamin C rich flower calyx in the fall.)

As I was coming back I passed these tasty, tangy pods on one of my plants and grabbed some to show you.

Hint they are not a sugar pea or any kind of pea.

Most people are not aware of this edible seed pod, you usually eat the root!

What is it?



Radish!!

There is even a variety of radish grown specifically for this green edible pod.

You can see information on the "Rat's Tail Radish" on Baker Creek, for more information on that particular variety.

However ALL OF the radish varieties have edible pods.  You just need to make sure you get them green and tender, like a sugar pea pod.

I had not harvested this radish and was just ignoring it - the bees love the flowers and suddenly their they were ready for the picking!

What is growing in your garden that you may not recognize as edible?

Have a wonderful, and safe Easter and Passover Weekend,



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady



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Thursday, April 13, 2017

2 Ingredient Sorbet Results

Dear Folks,

I made the orange juice (our own oranges) and banana sorbet and I thought it turned out great.  Like a Granita it was crystalline in texture (think more solid slushy) and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

FYI - I tried posting a picture on Facebook but for some reason I can't post pictures there.

Anyway, I used our Deni Ice Cream maker.  If using one of these make sure your liquid is well chilled before hand so the combination of the frozen base and the chilled liquid gives you the best results.

[Second picture below:  The banana pieces were mashed and mixed in during the churning process.]

I may try this with some milk, cream or half and half to create a sherbet with a more ice cream consistency. With this combination of fruit and milk I think I will get something closer to an Orange Creamsicle (one of my favorite treats from the Good Humor Man trucks when I was a kid).  Oh and maybe I can create a version of the now discontinued "Swiss Chocolate" ice cream which was an orange creamsicle sherbet with chocolate chips in it!!!

If you have not tried using an ice cream maker the final results come out more soft than hard. To harden you need to put into the freezer.

I stirred mine a couple of times during freezing to keep it from turning into a solid frozen juice.  With milk or cream it won't be that solid when fully frozen.

The best part is you can mix up your fresh juice and fruit combinations to your and your family preferences.  How "cool" is that! (pun intended :-)



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Please share with your friends and family who enjoy gardening and cooking.  Thank you!

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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Dolma, Stuffed Grape, or Fig, or Nasturtium OR...

Left Nasturtium / Right Fig
Dear Folks,

I have written about using my huge nasturtium leaves to make Dolma, the addictive Middle Eastern dish/snack made by stuffing grape leaves with a mixture of grains, maybe meat and herbs.

Several years ago I was sitting at my kitchen table, gazing at my HUGE nasturtium leaves (some 8+ inches across), I started researching Dolma, because I had the idea of using those nasturtium leaves instead of grape leaves.

I was also looking for ways to mimic the already processed grape leaves which are available in cans or jars to make the Dolma.  I learned I could make it without the necessity of processing the leaves first - an all-in-one cooking process.  Bingo!

Along the way I learned that many of the original Dolma from ancient times were made with fig leaves.  Of course!  Figs are native to that area of the world, why wouldn't they use the fig leaf.  Called "Thrion" Dolma made with fig rather than vine leaves is still found in Greece, Turkey and presumably other areas.

The trick is to get the fig leaves while they are still young and not as leathery as the older leaves*.  For the prior two years I missed my opportunity, but this year I actually caught the leaves in time. So I made up a batch of Dolma using half fig and half nasturtium leaves to fill the pot.   I had made up a batch of my grain mix (barley and quinoa) and just had to add some shredded carrot and chopped olives.  Mix up lemon juice and olive oil and I was ready to fill and cook.

When you pick fig leaves, there is a latex type sap which you want to rinse off, by soaking the leaves for a while.  Cut off stem.  As you can see, I left the fig leaf intact to allow for rolling.

My Basic Dolma Recipe.

This basic recipe is so easily adapted to your preferences. I like Barley/Quinoa to boost the protein, but you can use any grain or combination you like.  You can add meat if you like.  Keep the lemon juice/oil proportions pretty much as noted, the 'tang' of the lemon is what gives a lot of flavor to the finished product. [The carrots are to keep the dolmas packed tight for cooking - nice extra flavored snack!]

Comparison of Nasturtium to Fig?  I think I liked my nasturtium a bit more than the fig, but I would certainly make it again, just because I have fig trees!

Many leaves can be used to make Dolma.  Find leaves you love and give the recipe a try.  What unique leaf would you try or have tried??

* My friend Cricket Aldridge has a site (gardenvariety.life) where she posts wonderful ideas for using your garden bounty.  She introduced me to the idea of using dried fig leaves for tea.  Wonderful!  I have a jar of my dried fig leaves for use when I want to add to my cup of tea.  Older leaves, that are in perfect condition, can be used for this.  Since I missed the young leaves for Dolma last year I made up for it by grabbing nice older leaves to dry and store.

Have a great day in the garden and kitchen!

P.S.  If you missed my post on drying herbs and more here is the link.


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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Sunday, April 09, 2017

Sharing Blueberry Seed Saving and 2 Ingredient Healthy Sorbet Tips

Dear Folks,

My blueberries are coming along nicely.

I am a little under the weather right now so I don't have a lot of creative oophm, but I saw this cool video on saving blueberry seeds I thought I would share with you and also a fun 2 ingredient really healthy sorbet recipe I received from one of the newsletters I get in my email.

Both of these things I want to try.

The blueberry seed saving technique is similar to how you save tomatoes.  The idea is to get all the pulp away from the seed so you can get just the seed.  While the video does not show storing them, that is exactly what can be done once the seeds are dried and stored properly.

I had never thought of trying to get seeds from my blueberries, I just scarf them up as soon as they are ripe in late May and June (blueberries ripen over time). Now I will let some intentionally get over ripe to harvest seed, chill and plant.  I've been meaning to add more blueberry plants to the my container gardens (they need to be in containers here in the valley because you need to help keep the soil acidic), so wouldn't it be cool to get plants from the one I already have!

How to save blueberry seeds

Orange Juice and Bananas = Sorbet!!

I love sorbet!!  Any kind of fruit.  This recipe overcomes one of the challenges of making sorbet or ice cream for that matter.  Sweetness.

You need to add more sugar or choice of sweetener than you think when you freeze things.  Cold reduces the sweet taste. This combination, I'm sure, solves that challenge.

I receive Tori Avey's e-newsletter with wonderful recipe ideas focused on her interest in cooking and culinary history. So many great ideas on her site so I encourage you to subscribe and receive her email recipes.

While Tori is using store bought orange juice and bananas, I am going to use some of our own fresh squeezed juice and if my timing is right some of my own bananas!  Or if I can't wait store bought bananas.

Tori notes freezing the ingredients and then using your food processor to churn them into this healthy treat.  I actually have one of those ice cream makers which uses a drum you freeze ahead of time, so my plan is to, when I'm up for it, blend the fruit and juice and then churn in the frozen drum.

Have a best day!



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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