MAY – 2012 – NEW OLD HERBS

“ . . . Hello, is it me you’re looking for? . . .”

Lionel Richie – Tanya White – Shomari Wilson

MAY IS HERE!

“NOT BY APPOINTMENT ONLY ”

MMXII

Another reason, another season, for growing herbs!

photos by vel

720 HOURS

43200 MINUTES

2592000 SECONDS

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FROM AMAZON TO ZAPPOS

In the world of plants, the one note herb is king. May is the month of Brave New Herbs, and she has arrived, accompanied by her favorite beau, ready to be escorted, a month early this year. This has been the mildest season in the northeast. Beginning May, all dressed in pink and white, when lilacs no longer perfume the air, the last daffodils are long gone, the buds of apple and pear trees have burst into fruit, the kitchen garden is laid with cool weather crop. The pinkish blooms of mountain laurel have vanished into dark green leaves, the creamy cups of magnolia are still fragrant, but tinged with brown. It’s May, warm and luscious, rosy, cozy, sometimes frosty, May.

Open the pool. Fire up the grill. Invite friends for the holiday to come. May is synonymous with summer festivities, smoking fires, and beautiful guests. And herbs ascend to the top of the pyramid. They flourish.

Forget the artificial flavors of the supermarkets. Herb- infused oils, fresh parsleys, basils, rosemary. It’s that time again. The potager is in motion. Things are growing there. Chop, heat, strain, seal and spread. Mix and match! Eating herbs couldn’t be more exciting or delicious.

The world of fine ingredients is open to everyone, guest and chef alike. The thing about the kitchen garden is you get to check the quality of the produce yourself. Only the best will do. This is the time to develop, enhance and indulge that passion for delicious food.

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Ubiquitous May

Ready for her grand entrance!

“Promenade Sentimental”

Vladimir Cosma

May is a pleasant symphony, quietly sensational, intense and dreamy. Following the flavor path of May is not difficult. You only need to close your eyes to see the scents, to feel the fragrance. May begins with energy. May in a burst of subtle color, says, “WAKE UP! I AM HERE!”

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PEAR BLOSSOMS

PYRUS

(Pyrus)

VIBURNUM

(Viburnum grandiflorum)

The crabapples and viburnums put on a show in their pink and white frilly dresses!

“ . . . ‘Cause I wonder where you are – and I wonder what you do . . . ”

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RECIPES FOR LOVE

PEPPERMINT

(Mentha x piperita)

The “embers” of love are like the tangled roots of the peppermint plant . . . Can be redone, repotted, re ignited. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Remove from the too small pot.

Cut tangled roots and runners.

Add new soil.

Repot in new soil

Vigorous new growth appears quickly.

“ We are made happy when reason can discover no occasion for it ”

Henry David Thoreau

Peppermint is so soothing, and at the same time so stimulating. We use it for pleasure, we use it medicinally and we use it to flavor food. Keep a good crop of it at hand always. It can be grown indoors as well as outdoors. The best way to handle this invasive herb is to keep it in a pot away from other plants. Peppermint is a lonely traveler quite happy with its destination. It grows well under practically any situation.

In ancient times, as now, peppermint is used for adornment as well as for flavoring and medicine. A cooling or refreshing glass or cup of fresh peppermint tea makes growing it yourself an infinite pleasure. It is among the easiest of herbs to grow in pots or directly sown in the ground. Remember it is invasive and needs containment. Cut off the runners as they grow to expose the plant to more robust growth.

Doublemint is a combination of the flavors of spearmint and peppermint. It is less flavorful and more suited to herbal combinations, especially in dishes like tzatziki or tabbouleh. Spearmint, for many chefs, seems to be the herb of choice for cooking.

Litticism: “The ‘embers’ of love are like the tangled roots of the peppermint plant . . . can be salvaged.

Sometimes, love exists in too small a pot.”

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SNOWBALLS

LILACS AND AJUGA

The ajuga is a funny plant (Ajuga reptans) that everyone just wants to rip out of the garden for sure because it is so invasive. But it has its history as the “carpenter’s herb” because of its supposed ability to stem bleeding. On a whim I’ve added it to a bouquet of the beautiful lilacs that grow all around the garden. Finally! A use for it.

ROSES

“Queen of Flowers”

I found my favorite roses for the season, fragrant and the softest pink. I’ll keep it on the patio until it outgrows its pot. Then it goes into the garden. Roses never promise bloom, but when they do . . . it is treasure. Petals are used for everything imaginable, a tonic for the senses.

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GOOD HERBS – BAD HERBS

For me there are no bad herbs. I grow them, love them, taste them, can’t do without them. That’s the motto of MyPotager. For beauty or for pleasure, there is always an herb for me. The caveat in growing and using herbs is the same as in loving, or forgetting, or for being. If an herb, like love, grows with too much spontaneity you should exercise caution. If it is tenacious, it is not desirable. If it grows alone and is invasive, eliminate it or avoid it. There are herbs not to be messed with, or at least you should handle them carefully. Enjoy them nonetheless. Waking to the fragrances and scents of herbs in the garden is a window box of pleasure without exception.

Drawing by Julie LoTauro

 

The alembic for loving is the same as a beautifully maintained mini garden. We start here, and go there.

the jvl alembic

copyright, jv litt 2012

We connect with the soil, the plant engages us to care. Nature amazes us with the result. We transmute with creativity.

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WHAT’S GROWING – NOW SHOWING

O BRAVE NEW HERBS! THE STARS ARE OUT!

SPINACH!

Spinach! Spinach! And more Spinach! This is a cool weather crop and I’m planting all I can. The baby spinaches that you find in the supermarkets now are just fine, but there is nothing to compare with the curly, leafy spinach that you can grow yourself. Or, it you’re lucky to find a local grower, this makes for a pot or fry pan of absolute joy. Your garden is the apex in luscious spinach. Spinach pan-fried and wilted with bacon, onion and dressed with a little vinaigrette and boiled eggs, is not to be missed.

FRESH SPINACH SALAD

What you will need: Some vinegar, a little sugar to your taste, some olive oil, a little Worcestershire sauce, two white onions, sliced, some bacon, some boiled eggs, and about a pound or two of fresh, rinsed, dried spinach.

Combine the sugar, vinegar, oil and Worcestershire sauce. Pan-fry or broil bacon slices. Boil eggs. Wilt spinach quickly. In a large bowl toss the spinach bacon and eggs, or just compose this salad with the bacon and onion on top.

(SPINACIA OLERACEA)

Savoy Spinach is dark green and has crinkly curly leaves. Many spinaches in the supermarket have been exposed to pesticides. Some packaged spinach is exposed to radiation to kill harmful bacteria that may inhabit the leaves. Reason for growing your own? With warnings about contaminated spinach increasing, it’s a good idea to check the source of fresh spinach before purchasing.

GARLIC

(Allium sativum)

Undeniably Irresistible Garlic

Though not indestructible, garlic has some tender moments. It does not like to be wet! The season has been dry and warm, so we can expect a bumper crop this year. Put in last autumn, we will have the purple, the soft, the hardneck and many other varieties. We’ve planted in the sun and in the shade.

 

BASIL

(Ocimum basilicum)

Getting an early start on herbs is a good idea now. The outdoor temperatures are favorable. Basil is plentiful in the nurseries, but unless you’re willing to pamper this plant or to just consume right away, leave it there. You’ll find the nursery has pampered it so that it will not survive your tender loving care. If you are successful though in keeping it going, remember not to lavish too much affection on this plant. It will wilt before your eyes. Thrives on gentle neglect.

Because basil is basically a tropical plant it will do well in a well-drained humid climate. It does not like full sun when very young. Later in the garden when the soil has warmed considerably, it will be less temperamental.

PARSLEY

(Petroselinum crispum)

The flavor of parsley is always just right. What would we do without it? Parsley here, parsley there, there is no end to its uses. It’s easily grown just about any place that you sow it, from seed or small plants bought at the nurseries. Plan to keep this herb on hand all summer long. It will grow indoors on a windowsill, or in the garden. Do not overwater.

SAGE

(Salvia officinalis)

ROSEMARY

(Rosmarinus officinalis)

TOMATOES

(Lycopersicon esculentum)

Protect tomato plants now. Give them food and watch them grow strong. The urge is great to put them outdoors on warm days, so take advantage; but put them indoors in a safe place for evenings that are still too cool.

READY TO GROW!

ONIONS

(Allium fistulosum) (Allium cepa)

Plant now. Onions will tolerate cool weather. At MyPotagers we’ve put in red onions, white onions and shallots. Be sure to plant top side up, as in lasting friendship.

PEPPERS

(Capsicum annum)

BAY LAUREL

(Laurus nobilis)

LEMON VERBENA

(Aloysia citrodora)

LEMON BALM

(Melissa officinalis)

SORREL

(Rumex acetosa)

LETTUCE

(Lactuca sativa)

Grow lettuces now for those fresh-from-the-garden salads. Remember the leaves are fragile. Pick them early in the morning, dry carefully and put in cloth bag or plastic bag with paper towel. Chill them and dress with a light vinaigrette. Save iceberg and butter crunch lettuces for later after they have formed heads. Find as many varieties as are available. This is a cool weather crop and will do best now.

CELERY

(Apium graveolens)

Since the 17th century celery has been a staple and a fond companion of the kitchen. Its use to flavor soups, stews, salads, meats, casseroles, teas is unquestioned. The seeds of celery were purported to be found in the tomb of Tutankhamen. The leaves are sometimes used as poultices in herbal medicine.

The celery at MyPotagers returned this year. Surprise! But we have planted more and it flourishes. It will find good use for salads, and especially soups.

WILD MARJORAM

(Origanum majorana)

BROCCOLI

(Brassica olerace)

COLLARD GREENS

(Brassica oleracea)  

By any other name it’s still collard greens. (Couve in Brazil, couve-galega in Portugal, kovi in Cape Verde, herza in Spain, rastika in Bosnia, haak in Kashmir, sukuma wiki in Tanzania, it’s collard greens in the good ol’ USA. In Greece it is called Acephala, that means “without a head” and refers to the plant not having a “head” like a cabbage.

At MyPotagers we’re growing lots of collard greens for harvest in the cooler months when they are less bitter. This wonderful staple of the south is fast becoming the fantastic wonder of the north and of favorite chefs around the world.

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CHIVES

(Allium Schoenoprasm)

No pest is interested in your chives, savory or bay leaf.

The celery has returned and so has “mother-tippy-toes.” She is celery’s best friend, nibbling all she can find. This year the celery is perennial. A nice surprise. But we’ll plant more seeds anyway. Celery leaves are delicious in salads, soups, stews, bean soups and sauces. Take advantage now to pick those young fresh leaves. The stalks will not flourish until well into late summer. This is a cut-and-come-again herb. Use it often.

SCENES FROM THE GARDEN

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ON THE MENU

LOCAL AND SEASONAL

BEAUTIFUL SALADS

GEORGE MAHARAS SALAD, CIRCA 1950’s

A food memory is forever. Asked to recreate this memory was joy. I never met Mr. Marharas, nor did I ever have the pleasure of trying this salad at his restaurant, but patrons who frequented the establishment remember this cool and delicious concoction with a fondness. It’s easy to recreate. What they recall is the exquisite combination of celery, onions, anchovies, iceberg lettuce, Danish blue cheese, hard-boiled eggs, lots of fresh or dried oregano and a very strong vinegar. To this we add Fleur de Sel and freshly ground pepper. Only temptation makes me want to add a little French mustard. But I didn’t.

But I do add a little crushed fresh garlic. Otherwise this salad seems to want to be white. I oblige. It is delicious served with fresh grilled slices of thick bread drizzled with a little sun-dried tomato and olive oil. Serve with a glass of chilled white New Zealand wine.

Between the Seasons Salad

Cucumber, white onion, fresh basil, oregano, iceberg lettuce, red tipped lettuce, a little escarole.

SENSATIONAL KUMATO!

- BY INVITATION ONLY-

YOU SAY “TOMAYTO” – I SAY “KUMAHTO!”

Innovative and delicious, the only thing that tastes like a fresh tomato this season is the Kumato! This lovely relative is fairly new on the tomato scene. It’s unique in color and full of natural flavor. Ranging in color from dark brown to golden green, it is succulent and incredibly tasty. The scent is reminiscent of the summer garden. It’s very juicy, firm texture, and its sweetness derives from the high fructose content. It is the best tomato for a salad now. You’ll not find the seeds available to the public, because the use of the seeds is highly controlled, and for now sold only to certified growers. Plant breeders are ecstatic – and so am I!

It’s grown in Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Turkey, Australia and Greece by selected growers. I first discovered it in San Diego at the Grant Grill of the US Grant Hotel.

Some competitors for the Kumato might be hybrids that are available to the public. Try finding Rosso Bruno, Black Velvet, California hybrids or Purple Tomato.

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ALWAYS WASHED & READY TO GO

Keep these greens and fresh turnips on hand always washed, chilled  and ready to serve on a moment’s notice.

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WELCOME TO MY KITCHEN

LET’S GET FRESH!

This is a soup that can be kept as a base for practically any dish. Filled with herbs, I like to keep it on hand for stews, marinades, and to eat as is.

SOUP’S ON!

ONION VEGETABLE SOUP

Soups are among the easiest foods to make. Gather your favorite vegetables. In this soup I have put, celery, red and white onions, a little fennel, some slivered garlic, parsley. Chop them into chunky pieces. Put them in a deep pot and pan fry until vegetables are just soft and carmelized. Add vermouth or your favorite wine. Put in about two quarts of water. Add seasonings to your liking. I like thyme, or Herbes de Provence. If you prefer bay leaf go easy on other seasonings. Remember, if you like a garlicky taste to this soup, add crushed garlic just before serving. Turn heat to medium and boil gently for an hour. Increase water if you feel you have underestimated serving portions. Serve with toasted bread grilled lightly.

FILET OF BROILED FLOUNDER WITH FENNEL

This fish does not need a lot of handling. Wash fillets carefully. Dip in milk and set aside for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge with a little corn meal. Line pan with fresh fennel, bulb and tops. Drizzle a little olive oil or butter over tops. Broil under very hot broiler on one side about five minutes depending on the intensity of the heat from your broiler. Use a wide fish spatula to remove to hot plates. Serve with your favorite vegetable.

FILET OF SOLE

Broil filets on a bed of fennel, celery, onion. Serve with a side of cappellini, baby peas and olive oil.

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GOT FISHY FISH?

Want your seafood sweet-smelling and clean-flavored? It’s that little bugger called TMA (trimethylamine) that has a fishy odor. I learned that soaking this morning’s shrimp in a little milk for about 20 minutes would eliminate the smell. Tried it. It works. Now my shrimp and pasta dish for this evening will be even more delicious.

Don’t forget, when buying shrimp that is labeled “clean and deveined” is “cleaned and deveined” only on one side. You must do both sides. Of course if that doesn’t matter to you, cook as is. In the dish that follows both sides of the shrimp are cleaned. A seafood devein instrument is helpful, along with a colander.

What you will need: A pound of shrimp, a handful of herbs, such as chives, parsley, garlic, basil, olive oil. You may choose any herbs that you like for this dish. Flavor it at will. Don’t forget the crushed red chili peppers. Let each diner add to his own taste.

Cut up all ingredients for the marinade.

Broil the shrimp with the herbs. Combine with pasta and toss gently until all ingredients are covered.

Serve it forth with a simple salad of Kumatoes with garden onions, fresh basil and a dressing of olive oil, oregano, and cilantro vinaigrette.

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RECIPES FOR ROBERT

PAN-FRIED STEAK & FRITES REACH NEW HEIGHTS

Preparing this meal is so much fun! The scents and fragrances are breathtaking! You will need: For two people for breakfast or dinner, a nice surprise! Two Idaho potatoes, 2 steaks (your choice; I like Delmonico), a handful of herbs (try thyme, pepper, rosemary) or your own combination, some olive oil, or hot spicy oil and a little Worcestershire sauce. Two packages of white mushrooms and two large onions and we’re ready to go!

Pan fry the potatoes and onions first. Make them crispy. Use same pan to sizzle the steaks as you like them.

Serve it up with a very simple salad of Kumato, a few leaves of lettuce and some creamy yoghurt or sour cream dressing.

Any memory of the bistros of Paris have to bring back the pleasant thought of a bottle of just-from-the-vineyard red wine, and a hot platter overflowing with steak and frites!

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This is a great time of the year to redo those vegetable platters. To roast vegetables, wash and cut into manageable sized pieces. Drizzle with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Add slivers of garlic to your taste. Season with your favorite herbs, such as rosemary or oregano. Put into very hot oven or broil quickly under broiler or on grill. Watch carefully so that they do not burn so as to retain their fresh color. Arrange on a large platter and you’re ready to serve them forth.

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VEAL SCALLOPINI a la “BONNE FEMME”

Keep this dish as natural as possible. The veal is exquisite with only a light dusting of flour. Set aside a dollop of butter, one piece of pancetta, some fresh lemon sliced very thin, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle a little paprika for color, a little Fleur de Sel, some freshly ground pepper and you’re ready to start.

Pan-fry the veal quickly on each side. Dress with the lemon slices and the pancetta that you’ve fried with it. Have heated plates ready and serve it forth with a side of cappellini tossed with sun-dried tomatoes and a little olive oil. A fruity white wine tops this dish perfectly.

PASTA WITH SUN-DRIED TOMATOES & CHILI OIL

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A GOOD COMPOTE

OOYOK

(out of your own kitchen)

IS NOT HARD TO FIND

You’ll not find the best compote ingredients in a can of fruit cocktail; not Dole, not Del Monte. Look to your local produce aisle for fresh fruit at the market. Do it yourself. Keep it fresh! Why? Because most of the tinned fruit that we know from years ago now comes from China, Peru, Argentina, and the quality is not good. So if you want fresh, cooling and delicious compote, start cutting up fruit, add a little Vermouth or your favorite liqueur, sweeten with a few sprigs of Stevia or honey and you have a delicious, refreshing and cooling dessert!

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BOOKENDS

You’ve prepared a lovely meal. Your boyfriend, young person, neighbor, friend doesn’t know the proper way to hold a fork, or how to eat that fresh artichoke that you’ve prepared so beautifully? Your dining companion may as well be a horse or pig at the trough? Don’t give up.

The old-fashioned ways of courtesy at and away from the table still count. Growing up in a family where good manners are practiced helps immensely. If we look around us today we might be lulled into thinking that standards have slipped to the level of no return. Young people not only do not sometimes know good table manners, and have an aversion to answering with “Yes, Sir” or “Yes, Ma’am,” or even with a simple “Please” or “Thank you,” but they are sometimes so awkward at table as to be considered uneducated.

Introduction: “TIFFANY’S TABLE MANNERS FOR TEENAGERS” – written by Walter Hoving – Illustrated by Joe Eula.

Maybe if young people are taught table manners at home, there would be no need for later embarrassment as adults.

“Here is the perfect little book for anyone–teenage or otherwise–who has ever wanted to master the art of good table manners.”

US $17.99

www.randomhouse.com/teens

Also available as an e-book

Answers to know: It is not polite to put your hands under the table. It is not polite to lay out forks with prongs in the air. The points should always touch the table. If you are sending flowers to your host or hostess, please do so the day before, so that he or she is not obliged to provide a vase at the last moment. If you are bringing wine as a gift, please do ask ahead what your hostess would like.

After all, what is good eating without good table manners?

To find out more about table manners try visiting:

 www.la-courtoisie.com 

The French Way

or the International way

www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/table_manners 

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SPRING TABLESETTINGS

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TEA AT THREE

Tea at any time is relaxing, soothing, hot or cold. Fresh herbs make it a special treat. Just gather what you have available. Toss into hot water. Add a little Stevia or sugar, a slice or two of lemon to your pleasure. And enjoy.

Infusions, scones, snacks, tea cakes, fruit crumbles, a quiet place to relax, your favorite tea cup, a steaming pot, a handful of herbs? Create an atmosphere, as exotic or as simple as you like. These are the makings of beautiful moments tucked away on an afternoon, or an evening, alone, or with a companion.

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“ . . . we are made happy when reason can discover no occasion for it . . .”

Henry David Thoreau

THE TRENDY BATH

Is there ever a reason for a bath besides getting clean? Of course! The therapeutic benefit of the bath is unquestioned.

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FLOWERS OF THE MONTH

MAYAPPLE, LILACS, VIBURNUMS, APPLE

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For me cooking is a passion, though interest ebbs and flows according to the season, the mood, and what is available in the fresh markets.

After hibernating all winter long, the herbs are pushing up through the soil. Chives! Greek oregano! Garlic! Savory! Celery! Sorrel! Lovage! A virtual chorus . . . and I’m preaching to the garden scene every day. And I’m picking . . . Everything is looking good! And tasting wonderful. And I’m glowing with the thought that everything shown at MyPotagers is grown at MyPotagers. We’re trying to keep it as close to mother nature as possible.

Dinner! Number one on my morning agenda. What will I find in the garden? What is already in the pantry. What is available at my favorite markets. I enjoy preparing a meal for family or friends. Giving them pleasure, and sometimes a little surprise, I put my soul into it – not always only for them, but for me also. It’s my way of communicating. I get a thrill from the scent of fresh produce, from scouting the markets and finding just-picked vegetables, delectable meats, fragrant just-baked breads. This to me is essential to living well, living splendidly, having space for creativity. Once I’ve invited a guest for dinner and it’s accepted, I’m happy. It is all to the end of the alphabet for me.

What would be my dream meal? It has yet to be imagined. But a good start might be mushroom soup with truffles and shallots, a small dish of smoked scallops, a main dish of pan-fried flounder with Chesapeake herbs along with some broiled lobster with olive oil, a salad of fresh greens just picked and chilled, and a glass of a very cold, New Zealand sauvignon blanc. All that served on the beach, with a table not far from the water, and experienced waiters dressed in shorts. And the sound and smell of the sea before me, on a warm day in May. Did I do that already? Yes. I think I did. But it wasn’t flounder. It was a Dorade. And that delicacy was broiled on a quick wood fire, with fresh fennel and boiled white potatoes, a delicious aioli accompanied the dish, and the waiters wore long, white aprons. And the nearby sea was the Mediterranean, and the dining companions? They were interested, interesting and superb!

Of course, very high on this list of favorite meals, is a small slice of foie gras with truffle on a toast point, alongside a glass of chilled champagne. But supreme in my mind? A freshly picked, ripe, warm tomato from the garden, a little salt, a tiny bit of oregano, a little cilantro vinaigrette. Perfection.

So what will I be growing this favorite season for beginnings at MyPotagers? Spinach! Lots and lots of spinach. A cool weather crop, spinach is among my favorite of salads. And there will be lemon grass, and lettuces, and lovage, and lot of garlic that was planted last fall, and fennel, and sweet peppers, and hot peppers, and dill, and cucumbers, and rosemary, and shallots, and pungent onions . . . the list will be long and the summer short, but as always the season will bring its bounties, in life, in produce, in love, and it will be wonderful . . . May is here! All lace and flowers! Your date is here! Let’s go out! . . . vl 

“ . . . Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads . . . ”

Henry David Thoreau

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TILL THEY ALL COME HOME

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