My journey of cooking, gardening, preserving and more
Pesto is pretty versatile – I serve it over hot pasta or make a cold pasta salad with it, I spread it on toasted baguette slices for an easy appetizer, I brush a bit of it on chicken before roasting…the possibilities seem endless. Pesto is …
Lemon Spaghetti is a pretty easy dish to make – toss some fresh lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and parmesan together, throw it over some hot, cooked spaghetti (or pasta of your choice) and you’ve got a great-tasting meal. Leave it to me to …
I just love these and they make beautiful house-warming gifts!
This is all there is to it:
Using a chopstick or skewer, pack your fresh herbs into a clean bottle. In a pan, bring your vinegar to a boil & turn off heat. Using a funnel, fill the bottle with the hot vinegar. (Be careful!). Cap and let sit at least for 3-5 days before using, though it’s usually a few weeks before the flavor truly develops. Herbs that I’ve tried that work great with this: Tarragon, Purple Basil, Green Basil, Thyme & Rosemary. But feel free to experiment with different herbs and combinations. I’ve seen where people also add dried chile’s to their mix, but I never have.
Purple basil is one of my favorites for this – the flavor is great and the color that’s created with the fresh basil and vinegar is gorgeous.
What do you do with your plethora of summer herbs?
I am a summer lover, it’s true. I love heat and sunshine and long days. But seriously. Enough with the 100+ degree days already. The heat here in the Northern IL area is becoming oppressive and depressing. I hate air conditioning normally. Does that make …
I am a pasta lover, especially if it’s homemade pasta. When I buy dried pasta at the grocery store, my personal favorites of the mass-produced ones are Barilla or De Cecco. When I make fresh pasta at home, it’s in large batches, so that I …
I also think it’s only fair that since I make the majority of the meals in our house, he gets to make the majority of the cocktails. We have a 60/40 rule and we try to stick to it.
Here’s one of my favorites:
Fill a large glass 3/4 full with ice and add the following:
We love Ketel One for mixed drinks and Tito’s for martinis. We never jumped on the Grey Goose wagon and, after having it, stand by our conviction to drink Ketel One and Tito’s. A beer back goes great with a Bloody Caesar, if you’re so inclined, which sometimes we are.
Feel free to add some garden to this, just like you would a Bloody Mary: pickles, pepperoncini, olives, shrimp, celery…you get the idea.
Cheers!
This is one of those dishes that I toss together with hardly a thought. It’s so easy and the fresh flavors are stunning – minced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh parsley. Garbanzo beans – aka chickpeas – are a great source …