Love the taste of fresh herbs?! Yeah- me too. Want to enjoy the flavor of your summer herbs even during the winter months? Want to preserve the left over herbs you bought after using what you needed for one recipe? Well my friends, I got you covered this week. I know this isn’t a recipe- but it’s useful for future recipes. Here are a couple of ways I use to have fresh herbs year round and reduce any waste.
Milos, Greece
Hello at last!
First of all, I’m sorry about being absent for so long. This year’s vicious flu knocked me sideways for a while.
I want to share this simple recipe with you because it was an experiment and the results were yummy. Thanks, Beth for taking the beautiful pictures! The first time I made this, when Beth was home, it was without the herbs so you may wonder why you don’t see them in the photo. This dish was super good without them but it reached a whole other level of deliciousness with them.
In France, the fresh scallop season ends in early March. Sadness ensues. This year when their days were numbered, I wanted (needed) something that would taste like spring. And so I discarded my standby scallop recipes and got thinking; something light, lemony and luscious was required.
Here it is. You could make this with any fresh seafood to welcome spring if you can’t get scallops where you are.
Carlsbad, California
Hello Ladies,
The Man and I are thrilled to be back in California: sun, beach, great food… it’s got it all!
As you know, my diet has evolved over the last 3 years and I’ve pretty much cut out meat (although the occasional burger, chili con carne or Spanish jamon is hard to resist!). After reading the widely-recognized The China Study I’m convinced of the health benefits of further reducing my intake of animal products (especially dairy). The thought of saying goodbye camembert (for good?) fills me with sadness but I’m convinced it’s for the best. We’ll see how it goes…
This month I wanted to share one of my go-to weekday recipes that also happens to be vegan: my scrumptious chickpea salad.
Herblay, France
Well hello there everyone.
Not surprisingly, this is my favourite time of year for our wonderful Herblay market. Yesterday, I wandered around wondering what to make. There was so much choice, it was overwhelming. Therefore, running through my non-logical thinking process, I decided to make something that isn’t based on seasonal vegetables or fruit. I know, I know.
However, for this dish, you do need a variety of fresh herbs as well as super, scandalously fresh, best quality salmon. I love tartare of salmon and often order it in restaurants. However, after a few bites, it can be so rich that it’s hard to finish. My idea to lighten it up was to put the salmon on a bed of fresh herbs simply dressed with a little salt and lemon juice . For me, it did the trick.
I serve this as a first course, but a smaller serving in a little glass would make a pretty addition to your aperitif selection of goodies. I hope you enjoy it. Continue reading
Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France
Hello Ladies,
I’m back once again in beautiful Belle-Ile in Brittany (lucky me!). The Man and I have been here for the past three weeks making and selling juice, smoothies and popsicles at Juju & Co with our good friends Philippe and Edouard. We are located right on the port and have the pleasure of watching the tide come in and out of the Sauzon harbour. As I mentioned in my post ‘French Toast Topped with Apple and Salted Butter Caramel‘, it’s common for people to go out during low tide and hunt for palourdes clams.
This time I was determined to learn how to catch the little devils, so I packed my yellow rubber boots before heading out to Brittany…
Vancouver, Feb 2014
Warning! This does take time to prepare. BUT Oh man- is this ever a treat! I went to my friend’s Anna’s for New Year’s Day dinner and ever since regularly crave this entire meal. I now make it every other week. The potato and kale salad comes from the Honest Cooking blog which is a fantastic blog- which I adapted a little bit to cook with the pork. The original recipe has the option of adding parmesan- here is the original recipe. The potato salad is paired with a herb encrusted pork tenderloin with a hazelnut and red pepper sauce- which I adapted from the Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld (it’s an amazing cookbook I can’t recommend highly enough). Be ready for a burst of flavor!
