basil – in thriver words

From Good to Great

Make your salads go from good to great by adding fresh herbs. Spring has sprung, but it feels like winter. I’d rather eat a hot bowl of soup than a salad right now, but it’s time to prepare for lighter fare. As soon as it’s warm, I’ll be ready for salads sitting in melon or pineapple halves, cold soup, and crisp wedge salads covered with bleu cheese resting on icy plates.

A fun presentation makes salads more visually appealing. Small additions can take the taste from average to must come back for more! Herbs are often overlooked as an addition to salads. I love to add them.

Here are a few combinations I enjoy:

MINT

pairs perfectly with cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, and berries
lightens up the earthiness of mushrooms
adds panache to a cucumber salad

BASIL

sits atop the obvious choice – a caprese salad
deepens the green in a green salad
enhances fruit salad of tomatoes, cherries, peaches, and plums

DILL

adds a twist to potato salad
brings the lemony, sweet bitterness to cucumber salads that complement salmon
brightens arugula, feta, and kalamata olive salad

PARSLEY

serves as a salad green
colors quinoa tabbouleh
rides alongside romaine or bitter greens

CHIVES

lend a mild onion tone to any green salad
sit well with beets, garlic, and cilantro
blend into dressing to top a salad

Don’t forget to add cilantro to taco salad or rosemary to chicken salad. It’s amazing how herbs freshen the feel of a salad.

A squeeze of lime can do the same thing. Lemon juice, mirin, balsamic reduction, maple syrup, and honey are all good salad toppers that don’t weigh the salad down like creamy dressings.

Shredded apple, thinly sliced pears, sprouts, jicama, and water chestnuts are also light additions.

So many salads repeat lettuce, carrots, tomato, and cheese. There’s nothing wrong with them. They’re good. But with some tiny additions, they can go from good to great!

Let’s eat great salads this spring!

My Kitchen is a Sticky Mess

My kitchen is a sticky mess. Today my doorbell grandchildren showed up for a cooking lesson with soda and candy in hand. We’ve all learned a lot.

There was a simple plan in place. One of them had agreed to help me with a pork tenderloin recipe at 3pm. That plan went by the wayside when 3 of them showed up at noon. Of course they were hungry. After I shared my tuna croquettes and green peas with them, there was a flurry of activity in the kitchen.

The oldest brother mixed the glaze for the pork tenderloin while the middle brother chopped celery and red bell pepper for a white bean tzatziki salad. I sent the youngest to the back porch for some dill. Of course, he had no idea which plant that was. Not wanting to end up eating something ornamental and poisonous, I joined him on his search.
Herbs
We started our exploration of back porch flora with mint. I had him smell each herb. We identified them by name and discussed what each might be used for. Of course no lesson is straightforward with this crew. We got interrupted several times with questions from the other two. Eventually, the conversation culminated in a pesto tasting.

Before we arrived at pesto, I had to demonstrate what 3/4 cup means. I had given one of the kids a 1/4 cup measuring cup and a recipe that called for 3/4 cup of tzatziki. He was at a loss for how 1/4 cup related to 3/4 cup. I must admit this had me shaking my head a bit. After all, these kids are 12, 13, and 14.

Anyway, that led to a more general lesson on fractions. We filled a one cup measuring cup with water from a 1/4 cup measuring cup, counting each time until it registered that there are four 1/4 cups in one cup. Eventually, that led to a recognition that 2/4 and 1/2 are the same. We tried doubling a recipe that called for 2/3 cup flour and it still took a minute for them to grasp that 4/3 equals 1 1/3 cups. Cooking is such a practical way to deal with fractions. A few bad batches of biscuits and you’re bound to step up your math game.

Then it was my time to learn. The oldest taught me how to make a drink he invented that combines orange soda with candy and ice. The drink was tart and tasty, but it’s going to require a real food processor or blender. Today, we made it using the larger of my food choppers which was up to the task in the beginning, but totally burned out before we were done. During the process, orange soda was transferred to every surface in my kitchen and half of those in the breakfast room. I still feel like I’m sticking to my computer and my phone.

I also learned about the risqué videos kids watch on Instagram – unfortunately, by seeing one with my own eyes. I learned that you cannot allow any cursing or it’s out of hand in less than a minute. I learned that Stewart sometimes likes to wear a little bling. Most importantly, I learned that every single one of you with multiple teenagers must have nerves of steel and astronomical grocery bills.
Bling
Now it’s the end of the day. I am tired. My kitchen is a sticky mess and we’ve all learned a lot. That’s often the way it goes in the kitchen.

Herbed Salt is My New Solution!

Herbed salt is my new solution to several of the recurring dilemmas of fall. I love it when the air turns crisp, the sky seems especially blue, and streets are lined in yellow, orange, and red. It means it’s time to think about bringing in the plants, my plans for the holidays, and whether to rake the leaves or compost them.
fall leaves

I decided a few years ago that I wasn’t good at finding a place to put all the pots of herbs inside the house without things feeling haphazard, crowded, or me feeling just plain annoyed. Of course I don’t want to waste any tasty leaves, but it just doesn’t work very well for me to try to preserve the plants over the winter. I feel better all the way around starting over each spring so I allow myself the luxury of buying new plants when the weather turns warm.

Before I let the stems wither, I must face the dilemma of what I will do with those last lovely green leaves as we approach the first freeze of the year. Luckily, I had lunch with my friend Angele this week who mentioned that she used the last of her basil to make basil salt. Thanks Angele! I think you just solved a couple of problems.

Not only can I make basil salt, I can make rosemary salt, sage salt, thyme salt, parsley salt, mixed herb salt, lemon thyme salt, oh yeah. This sounds fun. All I need is some cute containers and these will make great holiday gifts or stocking stuffers, hostess gifts, and holiday party gifts.

Perhaps you’re needing a similar solution. If so, here’s how easy this is:

Herbed Salt
1/3 cup tightly pack herb leaves
1 tbsp of a 2nd herb
1/3 cup kosher salt

Place herbs and salt in food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Spread the mixture in a baking pan lined with waxed paper. Dry at room temperature for 24 hours or bake at 225º for 15 minutes, stir and bake an additional 15 minutes. Cool and pulse again. Store for up to 4 months.

What a great way to use the last of this year’s herbs and get a head start on the holidays. I love it when a plan comes together.

Have a fall solution you want to share? Tell us in the comments below.