In the spirit

True to my last caution about sources, this snippet came from someone I jotted down as "Rita".

Not that I can't come up with all of this myself, but ... from someone else, if only from a vague formless miasma from the past, it seems so much more authentic.

Herbs and Wine

If you ever have a half a bottle of wine left over from a party, add some herbs to it and keep it in the refrigerator for use in cooking.

Use as a reduction sauce, in marinade, or to flavor stew or Italian style tomato sauce. For best results, use within a few weeks.

Herbs for red wine:

basil, bay, chives, garlic, lovage, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme.

Herbs for white wine:

bay, chervil, lavender, lemon balm, lemon verbena, lovage, savory, tarragon, thyme.

Rita's Tonic

Steep a couple handfuls of fresh rosemary sprigs in a bottle of red wine for 4 days; serve as a cordial. Or float 1 or 2 sprigs in a glass of wine for 1 hour. Rosemary’s healthful properties include taming headaches and tummies.

Recipe: Easy Provincial Bean Soup

You say Provencal - I say provincial: the difference is in the mind of the speaker. But is a crock pot of bean soup anything but rustic?
We usually (for 36 years?!?) have either ham or a turkey but I was hoping on this Christmas Day 2007 to have an easy to serve, non-traditional main dish.
After a month of parties, we're all ready for some relief from the groaning table. And there have been some pressing medical issues in the family, so the company was the point, not the production number.
But it all worked out anyway that there was too much food for the feast, and not nearly so much cleanup as post Thanksgiving. And grandma had time to hold her granddaughters, the best gift.

Here's the menu we had this year:
Provincial Bean Soup (made with turkey stock from the Thanksgiving bird and home grown herbs)
Dearborn Holiday sausage, provided and grilled by son, Skip
Cheesy potatoes, provided by son, Tony
Pumpkin Bread (made with puree from the little pie pumpkins, cooked and frozen after Halloween)
Herbed Potato Rolls (link) (made with home grown herbs)

Cheese spread and crackers, chips and dip
Veggie tray and dip
Panettone

and for dessert:
Brownies, provided by Tony
and, Tada! Blueberry pie (made by Herb with berries we picked at a local farm)

We completely forgot to break into the tin of gingerbread boys, that I've been safe keeping since I made them around Thanksgiving. Oh well, there's another weekend get-together coming, when Patrick finally gets here.

Everyone liked the soup, especially with the grilled sausage and no one complained about the break from tradition, so I'm thinking next year maybe gumbo or chili? I have an authentic gumbo recipe that's lotsa fun.

This bean soup recipe is really easy, because I use the beans that come in a bottle, already cooked, and jazz it up. Everyone thinks you made it from scratch. I used to soak and cook the beans, and believe me, this way is just as good. Herb Sr. said it was excellent, so I must have done something right. Here's the recipe, my riff on the recipe on the bottle of Randall Great Northern Beans:

Provincial Bean Soup


Heat a quart of your best(frozen) turkey broth until warm and pour in crock pot. Turn crock pot on and set to high.
Tie some twigs of fresh rosemary together with a length of dental floss and put the bundle into the broth to take out before serving. (I also added a few small fresh bay leaves but forgot to fish them out.)
Meanwhile, pour a bit of e.v. olive oil in a hot skillet. In the hot oil, saute about a generous cup each of minced onions, celery and carrots and about 4-5 crushed garlic cloves until they are softened and starting to color.
Add a large jar of beans and warm. Stir it all into the crock pot with the broth.
Add a handful of chopped dried tomatoes (the recipe calls for diced canned tomatoes), sprinkle with ground bay leaf (I grind my dried bay leaves in a dedicated coffee grinder), fresh ground black pepper, and lots of fresh thyme. (The recipe also calls for chopped fresh parlsey, but I forgot to add it. Oh Well!)
Cook on high until it boils and begins to thicken, a few hours, then turn down to keep at serving warmth.
Serve with shaved Parmesan cheese, rolls and sausages. Bon apetit.

Another recipe?

Wowsers! Another recipe? I'll bet you thought this was supposed to be a blog about herb gardening. And what's with all the little inspirational quotations, and the poems! Well, folks, that's herbs for ya! The little "useful plants" can be just about anything you want them to be. And for a Michigan gardener, in the winter, we read and cook, and walk down our own figurative garden paths. Spring is returning, though...

First a little seasonal quote, what I call "inspiration." Then on, to the recipe.

"In a garden _ growth has its season. There are
spring and summer, but there are also fall and
winter. And then spring and summer again.
As long as the roots are not severed, all is well
and all will be well."
by Jerry Kosinski, from 'Being There'

Last evening my herb class focus was on growing herbal tea gardens and making herbal tisanes (including my take on medicinal herbs and safety issues. We also talked about low impact spring cleaning. Lots of handouts.)
Along the tea theme, I brought in my Rosemary Scones for sampling.

This short scone recipe is quite old, I was making these before the trendy food people popularized the scones that look and taste like big oatmeal cookies. Not that I have a problem with trendy foodies. I can't! because Comcast doesn't provide Food tv on its basic plan, just a lot of very bad programming. But back to the scones.
These are more along the lines of a biscuit, and like biscuits, their success depends on your technique.
Practice makes perfect. Last night they were pretty good.
Oh, shoot! I forgot the photo. I'll take that right now. Mind these are day-old.

Back. Call me shakey...

I just ate one, still very good. Nice fresh rosemary flavor. My Scottish grandparents (via Nova Scotia, CA) would be proud.

Short Rosemary Scones

Yield: 16 scones.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine in large bowl:

2 cups flour
1 T sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. ground black pepper
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary

Cut in:

1/4 cup butter (chilled)

Combine in small bowl:

1 egg yolk (reserve white for glaze)
8-oz. container 'real' sour cream (NOTE: I've also used 'real' 1/2 yogurt (not 'lite') in place of the sour cream. You could experiment with heavy cream or buttermilk.)

1/3- 1/2 cup reconstituted dried apricots, snipped into small bits

Method:
Make a well in dry ingredients. Add egg-sour cream mixture all at once and stir until combined . (Mixture will seem dry. But stir until all ingredients are incorporated.) While stirring, add fruit.
Turn dough onto floured surface and quickly knead 8-10 times, until smooth.. Divide into four pieces. Form each piece into a ball, and flatten slightly.
Cut each piece into 4 wedges. Arrange on baking sheet 1" apart. Brush with egg white, sprinkle with sugar and finely chopped rosemary.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light brown. cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, serve warm.

NOTE: I like to add reconstituted dried cherries, dried cranberries, or snipped dried apricots. The batch I made yesterday had apricots.

Herbed Potato Rolls

I made these to share with my class. Herb Sr. thinks they are wonderful, and I don't tell how unbelievably easy they are to make. I like them warm with butter and rosemary honey for a real treat.

Herbed Potato Rolls
(Adapted from a recipe found on www.breadworld.com)
Start in bread machine, finish in oven.
Yields: 12-18 rolls.

1 cup plus 2 Tblsp. warm water
2 Tblsp. olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tblsp. instant dry milk
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
1 Tblsp. sugar
1 tsp. dry rosemary, crumbled (optional: use chicken seasoning)
1 tsp. salt
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoon yeast (for bread machines)

Reserve another egg to brush on rolls.
Optional: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or crumbled herbs of your choice for topping.

Method:
Add all of the ingredients to your bread machine pan in the order given, or in the order suggested by your manufacturer.
Process on dough cycle. (1:30)
Remove to floured surface when processed. Divide into 12-18 pieces.
Roll each piece into a rope, tie each in a simple knot and place each on a greased baking sheet, 2” apart.
Cover and allow to rise in warm spot until doubled (30-45 min.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Brush tops carefully with egg wash. Sprinkle with herbs or seeds if desired.
Bake for 12-15 minutes (depending on size).
Cool covered with a towel.

Rosemary tips and Ym-health's Rosemary Scones

Small fresh rosemary plants have been showing up in the produce department at the grocery store - 2 for $3! I've got several under my gro-lights right now, to plant out this summer. Cheaper than the herb farms or nurseries.

The three potted rosemaries I overwintered in the window up and died in the past two months. Probably the typical low light, needed-repotting pathology common in Michigan in the winter. However, One or two I had in large combination pots in our unheated, barely lit garage are looking like they might recover.

Here is the basic short Rosemary Scone Recipe.
(I like to add dried cherries, dried cranberries, or snipped dried apricots.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine in large bowl:

2 cups flour
1 T sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. ground black pepper
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary

Cut in:

1/4 cup butter (chilled)

Combine in small bowl:

1 egg yolk
8-oz. container real sour cream (I've used 1/2 real yogurt*)

Make a well in dry ingredients. Add egg mixture all at once and stir until combined (will seem dry).
Turn dough onto floured surface and quickly knead 10-12 times. Pat to a 7" circle.
Cut into 12 wedges. Arrange on baking sheet 1" apart. Brush with egg white, sprinkle with sugar and finely chopped rosemary.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light brown. cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, serve warm.

Makes 12.

* Using so-called low-fat dairy products in shortbreads will give uneven results! Look at the ingredients list on the label to see the gums and fillers. They don't serve the same purpose in baking as the natural product, so I recommend buying full fat ingredients, or don't bother making your own scones.