Herbs are a total wonder for we humans. From a single pot on your kitchen counter to a full herb garden spilling over with abundance, herbs represent more than just flavoring for our foods.
Last winter was VERY cold where I live. It killed off most of my herbs in the planters I keep on my deck. I waited for spring to have fully sprung before I replaced any herbs however. Turns out that was a good strategy because oregano, chives and of course, mint, all made a miraculous recovery. I ended up having to replace the thyme, parsley, sage, rosemary and cilantro. I don’t count basil among the list because basil is very fragile and requires replacing annually anyway. Normally the rosemary and sage would survive but as I said, the winter we endured was unusually cold last year.
Because of the timing of my herb efforts, the herb garden took off. I am having issues with the dill I bought (primarily for pickling) but everything else is thriving.
In fact, a little too much, a little too early and because I am frugal and cannot stand waste, I have jumped into action to use what I have and not waste a single flavorful leaf.
The chives bounced back first. Seems like overnight, I had way too much. I cut a generous fistful and made chive butter which simply means I chopped the chives up very finely (in a blender), and mixed them with softened, unsalted butter, salt and pepper to taste. I keep a roll of this flavor bomb in the freezer and cut off knobs and slices for steaks and summer grilling.
The rosemary I bought took flight nearly immediately. I had too much almost right away so I cut a branch off the plant and made my favorite rosemary shortbread, see recipe below.
The mint, sigh, well, mint will never die. I am often convinced there could be a planet killing apocalypse and mint would survive. Humans not so much but mint would make a comeback and take over the planet. I use up mint in my summer sun tea and make mint sugar simply by cleaning mint sprigs well, drying them and burying them in a jar of plain, white sugar.
My partner loves oregano so normally I don’t have an issue using it up. This spring, however, it roared back faster than I can normally use it up. I chose to make oregano herb oil for use in salad dressings. I simply simmer a large bunch of oregano in some plain vegetable oil and let cool before removing the herb from the oil. This makes an excellent herb oil for use in everything from the salad dressing I mentioned to frying, sautéing and drizzling on top of entrees.
In addition, I took all four herbs, minced them up finely and added them to my weekly chopped salad. The leftovers I used in my go-to herbal flatbread.
Herby Flatbread
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons finely minced herbs, whatever you have on hand will work
- 1 to 1 and 1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt (you can also drain regular yogurt for 45 minutes in a colander lined with towels)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup water
Method:
- Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt to combine. Add in the minced herbs.
- Next, add in the yogurt, garlic and water combining until a soft dough forms, and all ingredients are well mixed.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and divide it into 6 equal portions, rolling each portion into a ball shape.
- Press each ball into a flatbread shape (longish oval) and grill using a bit of olive oil until you have nice toasty grill marks. Once done, sprinkle with coarse salt and more herbs if you wish.
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the house behind 