Tag: dill

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.

basil

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.