Herb Harvest

The summer heat is starting to damage the tender herbs, so I decided to harvest early. I have four varieties of basil and parsley. I washed and chopped my herbs, then transferred them to my green silicone ice cube trays with lids. As a bonus, I cleaned out the freezer and found several cubes of herbed butter.

Rue

Rue is grown throughout the world for its bluish leaves, and sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil conditions. It is also cultivated as a medicinal herb, as a condiment, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent.  Rue extracts can cause chemical liver damage.  Large doses can cause violent gastric pain, vomiting, systemic complications, and death.  The bitter taste of its leaves led to rue being associated with the (etymologically unrelated) verb rue "to regret". Rue is well known for its symbolic meaning of regret and it has sometimes been called "herb-of-grace" in literary works.  Rutin is one of the phenolic compounds found in the plant and contributes to the antibacterial properties of the plant.  Rutin is a citrus flavonoid glycoside found in many plants including buckwheat, asparagus, fruits and fruit rinds (especially the citrus fruits orange, grapefruit, lemon, and lime) apples, berries such as mulberry and cranberries.  Only a small amount of rue is needed as it has a very strong flavor. The bitter taste can be reduced by acids.  To avoid the bitterness of rue a cook can use the fact that it releases its essential oil much more quickly than its bitter rutin. You can place the fresh leaves in slightly boiling sauce for about a minute and then remove it. This way you will get the flavor but not the bitterness.

In this experiment I have first cut the rue into small pieces with scissors.  I added vodka to the rue and gently brought the mixture to a boil.  I immediately removed it from the stove and let it cool in a glass bottle for 3 days.  I will use this vodka to deglaze a meat dish that uses a tomato base.  I hope to gain the rue's flavor and  minimize the bitterness by the quick usage of heat, and abundant addition of acid from the tomatoes.

Fruit Water

Studies have shown that drinking water naturally boosts your metabolism, and drinking fruit infused water for weight loss can be an easy way to increase your water intake. Infuse water at room temperature for no more than 2 hours. After that, put it in the fridge to prevent bacterial growth. Cucumbers, citrus fruits, melons, and mint flavor water almost immediately. Apples, cinnamon, fresh ginger root, and rosemary need an overnight soak in the fridge. Melons and sliced strawberries start looking waterlogged after a few hours; citrus, and whole berries look pretty good even after hours in the fridge. After 4 hours, unpeeled citrus can make water taste bitter. To make a big jug of infused water for a party, peel the citrus before soaking. Or you can soak it unpeeled for 4 hours, remove it, and add fresh slices for looks. (And keep that water icy cold for food safety.) If you don’t drink the water within 24 hours, strain out the solids and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Cucumber + lime + strawberry + mint	. .	Lemon + raspberry + rosemary
Orange + blueberry + basil	. .	Lime + ginger root + basil
Watermelon + honeydew + mint	. .	Cucumber + mint + jalapeno
Lemon + thyme	. .	Blueberry + lemon + mint
Lemon + cucumber	. .	Orange + hibiscus + star anise
Orange + cinnamon + cardamom + cloves	. .	Pear + fennel
Strawberry + tangerine	. .	Red Apple + Cinnamon
Mango + Ginger	. .	Grapefruit + Rosemary
Oranges + cardamom + cinnamon + clove	. .	raspberry + lime

Ginger Harvest

 
I dug up the ginger today. Frost is on the way, and I didn't want the plants to get damaged and start rotting. In theory, you can leave it planted for next year. If trying (and failing) with with strawberries, chives, rosemary, and sage was any indication, it gets too cold to leave it in the ground. Dig up ginger when leaves begin to die back. Trim off leafy bits, wash off ginger chunks, then store (dry) in a Ziplock baggie in the refrigerator. Will keep for 3 months (in theory).

Pickles

3 c. water
2 C. vinegar
fresh peeled garlic (I used 3 per jar)
fresh flowering dill (I used 2 per jar because I had it)
Jars packed with sliced pickling cucumbers

Stir water, vinegar, and salt together in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil; remove from heat and cool completely. Combine cucumber spears, garlic cloves, and fresh dill in a large glass or plastic container. Pour cooled vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture. Seal container with lid and refrigerate for at least 3 days.

Basil

Basil, an aromatic herb belonging to the mint family, is perhaps best known as the key ingredient in pesto, but it is basil’s medicinal properties, rather than its culinary value, that extend the herb’s uses far beyond pesto. Like other aromatic plants, basil contains essential oils and phytochemicals in the leaves, stem, flowers, roots and seeds that have biological activity in the body.
Throughout history, ancient cultures have used herbal remedies to prevent and treat illness and disease. Basil is just one example of the wide range of medicinal flora historically used in plant-based tinctures, compresses, syrups and ointments.  For centuries it has been used as a treatment for gastric, hepatic, respiratory and inflammatory disorders as well as a remedy for headache, fever, anxiety, convulsions, nausea and hypertension. Much research is being done on its ability to inhibit cancer.

Basil Oil

2 C. basil
1 C. olive oil/safflower oil

Combine basil and olive oil in a blender. Puree the mixture until smooth.  In a saucepan, simmer the olive oil and basil puree over medium heat for 1 minute. Pour the heated mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup to remove the basil and allow to cool.  Use measuring cup to pour into bottles.  Basil oil is perfect tomatoes and cheese, or toasted bread.

Oregano

I am embroidering my own set of herbal kitchen towels. Here is my first one!

Coriander

We grew cilantro this summer.  Last month after reaching its peak, we allowed it to flower and harvested the coriander pods.  They have been drying on my counter, so I finally winnowed them and placed them in a jar.  Although coriander is a tiny herb, it is actually full of vitamins and minerals. It is particularly rich in Vitamins A and K, but also contains plenty of Vitamins B, C and E.   As for the mineral content, coriander has a phenomenal amount of potassium and is also a good source of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. Coriander is predominantly used to flavor curries and soups. I am considering making mine into garam masala.

Ice Cube Herbs

As 100* days persist, you'll likely find many of the herbs you planted maturing and dying. Save what you can by freezing them! The herb ice cubes work well for use in soups or in drinks, and an ice cube tray allows for smaller portioning of the preserved herbs.

1. Wash the ice cube tray thoroughly to remove any contaminants that could affect the frozen herbs.
2. Rinse the herbs you plan to freeze under cool water. Pat some of the moisture away with a paper towel.
3. Trim off the leaves that you want to save. Snip the leaves into small pieces with clean kitchen scissors, or chop them with a knife.
4. Fill each section of the ice cube tray with as many herbs as possible, then top off with water.  
5. Freeze the herb cubes, making sure they are placed on a level spot in the freezer. You want the cubes to be frozen solid before removing them. 
6. After the trays are fully frozen. Pop out the herb cubes and store in a freezer bag.  Be sure to label and date.

 Suggestions for herb combos: Stirfry, Chicken Soup, lemon ginger, wine garlic, lemon mint, herbs for pasta, tex mex, chilies, pesto, etc.

Pesto

D made pesto tonight! We are growing two varieties of basil in our garden, and they have made summer cooking more flavorful.  Chicken Kiev, served with pesto linguini and mushrooms.