The First Priority Herb Garden

One of our first priorities, upon settling into our new apartment, was to plant an herb garden.

Obviously, different people have different priorities when 75% of them move cross-country (or mid-country) with only 5% of their belongings. Some might think first of indoor furniture, like, say, a couch or a bed. Others might instantly shop for appliances and electronics, already missing their toaster and their television.

 

I'm not saying we don't have a toaster. I'm just noting that the first furniture we acquired may have been a pair of bright teal balcony chairs on which to sit while eating dinner, and that a balcony herb garden may have been at the top of the first page of our shopping list. And that technically, we don't yet have a couch.

Now, to plant an herb garden, one needs a few essentials. For example, herbs. Fortunately, with Family Tree Nursery only minutes away, we had easy access to Essential Herb Garden Ingredient #1. The problem came when we had to select which herbs we wanted. Because unlike our local nursery back in sleepytown California, which might carry four or five different types of basil and two different kinds of oregano—a selection that used to seem pretty fancy to us—Family Tree Nursery takes its herbs Seriously with a capital S.

There were, to be specific, eleven varieties of basil. If you wanted Thai basil in particular, you still had three options. There were at least eight types of rosemary, complete with notes on flavor profiles and optimal growing conditions. There was a full buffet of sages, oreganos, and thymes, and side tables full of mint, lavender, dill, tarragon, parsley, and lemon verbena. There were, in other words, choices to be made.

The reason that we had to make choices was because our careful calculations revealed that technically speaking, the entire variety of herbs would not fit into the interior dimensions of our car without violating some basic laws of physics and geometry. Also, we had just the one planter on just the one balcony, although if our car had been bigger, I'm not sure this would have stopped us (the neighbors don't seem to be using their balcony, after all, so surely they wouldn't mind if we climbed on over there and planted a flag...and thirty-five different herbs...on behalf of our expanding culinary kingdom).

But, because the husband irrationally refused to consider my entirely reasonable suggestion trade in our small hatchback for a nice, roomy SUV-herbobile, we had to carefully whittle down our selection to a mere eleven plants (including only three varieties of basil). I can only hope that we do not spend the next year regretting the glaring absence of Thai Siam queen basil and Tuscan blue rosemary from our lives, since all we have now is African blue basil, Thai magic basil, bush basil, and Lockwood de Forest rosemary (not to mention French thyme, flat leaf parsley, variegated oregano, garden sage, and some calibrachoa for color. Oh, and a fuchsia, just because).

Thusly and herbilly endowed, we made our way homewards, where we already had our planter and potting soil waiting for us (for any fellow aspiring balcony farmers out there, you may want to consider a self-watering planter, like the ones you can find here, which save you from having to douse your planters daily by continuously moistening the soil from a reservoir you refill once a week or so). Whereupon we planted ourselves a balcony herb garden.

Plus an auxilliary herb pot. Just in case.

Saffron Zucchini

Found at Whole Foods: Local golden and green zucchini
Found at Trader Joe's: Decently-priced saffron

Together, it turns out, they make the perfect side dish to pair with moujendra or chickpeas or a Spanish chicken recipe...or probably anything reminiscent of a dish you'd find near the Mediterranean Sea.

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 small shallot, halved and sliced
2-3 pinches saffron
2 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and then sliced into cubes
2-3 pinches salt
1/4 cup broth

Saute the shallot in a little olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the saffron, stir once or twice, then add the zucchini and stir to coat. Add the salt and broth, stir, and cover the pot. Let simmer for 8-10 minutes or until desired tenderness, stirring once or twice in the middle. If the pot gets dry, add a slosh more broth.

Adjust salt to taste, and serve hot.

Serves 2-4.

Polenta with Tomatoes, Basil, and Balsamic Reduction

Found at Natural Grocers: gorgeous leeks; our favorite broth
Found at Whole Foods: local, ripe tomatoes
Found outside: beautiful weather for a lunchtime picnic on the balcony

The result? An easy, simple, delicious dish that pairs perfectly with a chilled glass of Torrontés (from World Market).

Ingredients
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal (polenta)
Olive oil
2 inches of a medium leek (white and/or light green part), chopped
2 medium-large, local, fragrant tomatoes, cut into bite-size chunks and sprinkled with salt (to bring out the flavor as they sit)
12-20* leaves fresh sweet basil, cut crosswise into halves or thirds
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, reduced (simmer gently in a small pot until volume reduces by half)
A little Manchego or Parmesan cheese, for grating over the top
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring the broth and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a small pot. Meanwhile, set a nonstick pan over medium-low heat and add a glug of olive oil. Saute the leeks for 3 minutes, or until they soften, then add the tomatoes and stir gently to combine. Turn off the heat (the tomatoes will warm through as you cook the polenta).

Adjust the heat under the small pot to medium, uncover, and slowly add the polenta, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir, adjusting the heat if necessary to keep the polenta at a gentle simmer, for 3-5 minutes, until desired consistency (I like it when it just starts to pull away from the side of the pan as you stir). Cover and remove from heat.

Turn the heat back on under the pan of tomatoes for a minute if they're not yet as warm as you'd like them. (If they weren't super fragrant to begin with, you may want to cook them a minute more.) Add the basil and adjust salt to taste.

Serve in layers: polenta, then a little grated cheese, then the tomatoes. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper, and drizzle with balsamic reduction before serving.

Serves 2.


*Go with fewer if store-bought, more if home-grown...the supermarket variety is usually older and therefore sharper, whereas home-grown basil rarely overwhelms the dish.

Cook Food Mostly Plants Takes Kansas: Round 1

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a challenge. It's all well and good to cook food (mostly plants) while surrounded by the lush, local produce of California's Central Valley, but what about in a place with those...now what were they called again...oh yes...what about in a place that has seasons? Say, for example, Kansas. What would I cook if I were plopped down in the center of the country, in what many would call one of the barbecue capitals of America, where there is an entire day each year dedicated to bacon, and where there is nary a co-op in sight?

What then?

Enchanted by this question, I picked up my spatula and set off for Kansas.

Okay, that's not quite what happened.

But I am in Kansas, and I do have a spatula. (What actually happened is that the husband got a fellowship in Kansas City for a year, and so 1.5 of us have moved to the midwest while the other .5 will remain in California. Barring the sudden development of a electron-like ability to superposition myself, the year will involve many plane flights).

I am therefore hereby officially setting out to Cook Kansas, Mostly Plants. With my Costco-sized gallon of olive oil in one arm and a massive bunch of dandelion greens in the other. And an electric stove. And steely determination. And a little basil plant named Basil.

You're invited.

Wilted Arugula Salad with Quinoa and Cherry Tomatoes

Here's an easy, delicious summertime salad that's perfect for a backyard picnic or summertime potluck.

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, rinsed, soaked for 20 minutes, and drained
4 big handfuls baby arugula
Olive oil
6-8 tbsp balsamic vinegar, reduced
(simmer uncovered over low heat until volume reduces by half)
1/2 basket cherry tomatoes, halved
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A little shaved Parmesan or a (mild, firm) goat's milk cheese* or a crumbly bleu cheese

Combine the quinoa and 1 1/4 cups water in a pot, cover, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and the little quinoa spirals have uncurled. Remove from heat.

Toss the arugula in a bowl with a generous drizzle of olive oil (enough to lightly coat the leaves). Pour in the quinoa and let sit over the arugula for about a minute, so that the leaves wilt slightly around the edges. Toss gently to combine, then drizzle with the balsamic reduction and toss again. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, then add the tomatoes. Toss once. Scatter with a little cheese before serving.

Serves 4-6.

*speaking of which, if you're in the Sacramento or Bay Area, Quatro Pepe is well worth seeking out.

Summer Salad with Cucumber and Cherry Tomatoes

The perfect accompaniment to bread and cheese on a hot summery afternoon.

Ingredients
1 cucumber or Armenian cucumber (about 12 oz), halved lengthwise and thickly sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
About 10-12 large leaves fresh sweet basil, chiffonade
1/2 Eureka lemon, juiced
Olive oil
Sherry vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Whisk together the lemon juice, oil, vinegar, and a little salt and pepper in a small bowl. Lightly toss the cucumbers with a little of the vinaigrette, and set in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to crisp up.

Meanwhile, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Toss the tomatoes and basil in the vinaigrette, and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the cucumbers, and serve immediately.


Serves 3-4, and pairs well with an Argentinian Torrontes.

Sauteed Dandelion with Apricot and Golden Raisins

Speaking of dandelions, here's a springtime twist on winning the weed wars:

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 red spring onion, halved and sliced (or sub a shallot)

Small handful golden raisins

1 bunch dandelion greens, cut crosswise into ribbons

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 ripe apricot, halved and thinly sliced

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for a couple of minutes until soft, then add the raisins and cook for a minute more. Fold in the greens and saute, stirring, for another minute or so, then pour in the chicken broth. Stir once or twice, then cover and let simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer until the excess liquid boils off. 

 

Turn off the heat, fold in the apricot slices, and cover. Let sit for 1-2 minutes till the apricots have just warmed through, and then serve.

Serves 2-3.

In Defense of Dandelions

This just in: We've been Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food. Oops.

(Antidotes here, here, and here. Or track down some arugula or purslane at your nursery and start a planter full of phytonutrients to toss in your summertime salads).

Making Time for Taste

All right. Just because I've fallen off the face of the earth doesn't mean you shouldn't have something good to read. So try this: The Science of Savoring. A good reminder to put down the work, back away from the computer, and cook something to eat with family and friends.

 

P.S. Back soon, I promise...but in the meantime, keep cooking!

Easy Quinoa Salad

An easy, healthy, and delicious springtime side dish that complements just about anything.

Ingredients
Olive oil
1 tbsp chopped red spring onion (or sub shallot)
1 tbsp chopped green garlic (or sub 1 clove garlic, pressed)
1/2 cup quinoa
3/4 cups chicken and/or veggie broth
4 oz baby arugula
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rinse the quinoa well in a mesh strainer and let soak in cold water for 15-30 minutes, then rinse and drain well. (This removes the bitter saponins so the quinoa tastes sweeter. A lot of the quinoa sold in supermarkets is now prewashed so that you can skip this step, but some of the fair-trade quinoa still seems to taste better if you have time to soak it first. The liquid measurements here assume you've soaked the quinoa—if not, cook according to the package directions.)

Heat olive oil in a smallish pot over medium heat. Add the onion and green garlic and saute, stirring, until they soften (about 2-3 minutes). Add the quinoa, stir, and then add the broth. Cover, bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the quinoa has unspiraled and the liquid is absorbed. Uncover and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, heat a small pot over medium-low heat. Add the balsamic vinegar and simmer very gently until the liquid is reduced by half (don't stand over the pot or you'll get a nose full of vinegar). Remove from the heat.

Toss the arugula with a spoonful of good-quality olive oil. Add the quinoa and toss together (the arugula will wilt a bit from the warmth of the quinoa). Drizzle with balsamic reduction, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, toss once more, and serve.

Serves 2.