EVENT: Weekend Herb Blogging - WHB#40 - ROUND UP

Welcome to My Home for Weekend Herb Blogging

This weekend I have the pleasure of hostessing Weekend Herb Blogging #40 for the very lovely Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen.

Thank you Kalyn and I hope you enjoyed your trip to San Francisco. I am sure you did. How could you not?

Well, for those who don't know me all that well, I live a half a block from the beach in Southern California but am from New York City originally. I have grown up with a love for food. My husband and I have twin boys who will be 2 next week. They happen to like food quite a lot. Xander will eat anything just about. Timmy needs to have vegetables very well disguised and cooked in a tomato sauce. I made almost all their baby food and I used lots of herbs in them once they graduated from simple pureed veggies and fruit. So now they have a very nice palate for all sorts of tastes which is a good thing because I loathe the idea of making a meal for me and my husband and a seperate meal for them.

So this weekend lots of food bloggers have cometo join us at The Beach to share their delicious recipes for herbacious meals. Wait, they are not just recipes with herbs but recipes with Herbs, Plants, Vegetables, and Flowers. I wonder which ones my boys will like the best.

I just wanted to thank Kalyn for letting me host this weekend. I also want to thank everyone who participated this weekend because it was so fun.

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Blog: Kalyn's Kitchen
Recipe: Sauteed Broccoli Rabe with Balsamic Vinegar
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Broccoli Rabe


Kalyn, the fabulous founder of Weekend Herb Blogging made an equally fabulous dish this week for us to enjoy. I bet the sweet balsamic vinegar is a perfect pairing for these bitter greens. I do not eat enough leafy greens and think that this would be a great way to start up!


Blog: Garlic Breath
Recipe: Oregano Pesto
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Oregano



What do do with all those herbs? Make pesto of course. And then it will keep for a little while in the fridge. Basil is of course the most famous but really you can do it with any herbs you like. Riana made up a batch of Oregano Pesto and plans on using it on almost anything but ice cream. I will just suggest that you freeze them up in ice cube trays and then move them to a ziploc and then keep them in the freezer for quite a while longer. I know you might not believe me but summer will pass and you will be buying fresh herbs from people instead of growing them in abundance yourself.


Blog: Tomato
Recipe: List of Corn Favorites
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Corn


Ed did not cook us up a dish with corn but listed many delicious ideas for all that corn that is being harvested under this hot summer sun. Boiled, Corn Soup, Corn Fritters, Corn Salsa just to name a few. What will you suggest he make next? He is taking suggestions.


Blog: The Inadvertant Gardner
Recipe: Fried Green Tomatoes with Polenta Crust
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Green Tomatoes


Genie rescued the green tomatoes from a failing tomato plant. She had not made these before and thoguht her tomatoes might be too green. So if you have never made them, make sure you bookmark this entry because she tells you lots of very important information.


Blog: Morsels and Musings
Recipe: Vegetarian Lasagne
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Basil and lots of vegetables


Anna's fiancee made this delicious lasagne. Jonas char-grilled all the veggies and that made the flavor much richer and more delicious. They served this at a little dinner party they had recently. Very lucky guests.


Blog: Daily Unadventures in Cooking
Recipe: Salmon with Lemon and Mint
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Mint


Kate has grown her own mint in her little kitchen garden. She has been on a strict allergy diet which has changed some of her eating habits. But she has managed to come up with a combination that she just loves! It is lemon, ginger and mint. She puts it on chicken, fish and in tea. This week she is sharing it with us on salmon.


Blog: Blog From Our Kitchen
Recipe: Stir Fried Scapes
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Scapes


Elizabeth's in-laws evidently grow lots and lots of garlic. A little bit jealous of that. So they brought them a whole bunch of scapes which are the flower heads and stalks of the garlic. She says they are the perfect pairing for grilled steaks. I have no doubt that is true.


Blog: Mental Masala
Recipe: Eggplant with Thai Basil
Featured Herb or Plant Life:


Marc has expiremented a lot with the combination of eggplant and basil and has come up with this recipe copius amounts of basil over eggplant and a spicy garlic sauce. Eggplant's sweet earthy taste pairs well with the strong and bright flavor of basil.


Blog: (Lima) Beans and Delhi Cha(a)t
Recipe: Potato-Ridge Gourd in Poppy Seed Paste
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Poppy Seeds


Sury tells us that this dish is Bengal's quintessential comfort food. And the weather report for India is simply this - HOT - at over 100 degrees F. I am not sure I would survive. This recipe combines a few things I have never had: Poppy Seed Paste, Nigella and Ridgegourd. In fact I don't think I had ever heard of Nigella before.


Blog: What Did You Eat
Recipe: Black Bean and Pepper Salad with Cumin and Mint Vinaigrette
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Mint and Cilantro


Sher has the right idea. Make a salad with cool crisp vegetables and black beans. The vinaigrette for this salad sounds divine. I have been in a rut of making a simple vinaigrette and this one has an abundance of flavors - cuming, coriander, mint, cilantro, lemon and jalapeno. I am going to really make an effort and make this one!

Blog: Corn Chowder with Savory
Recipe: The Serendipitous Chef
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Summer Savory


Dave has made a delicious corn chowder. Can you guess the herb if you tasted it? I doubt I could because I have only used it dried in a mix of other herbs. Dave says that raw it is a combination or pepper and mint but then when you cook it a thyme flavor comes out.


Blog: La Petite Chinoise
Recipe: Royal Basil Beef
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Basil


Ginny is just joining us! I used to make something like this so I know what a perfect combination these ingredients are. She learned a lot about gardening basil while in detention at Catholic School. I think it was worth getting in trouble because she knows a lot about it. She says to pick the big leaves only and to nip off the buds as soon as you see them or the basil will start to lose its flavor.


Blog: Culinary Gems
Recipe: Celery Juice
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Celery


Ramya is drinking her veggies this week. She suggests adding cumin to celery juice which I would never have thought of but I bet it is a great combination. My father has just started "juicing" again so I will have to pass this on to him.


Blog: Once Upon a Feast
Recipe: Citrus Herb and Tea Rub
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Tea, Mint, Lemongrass, Citrus

Ruth, from Once Upon a Feast, made up a batch of Citrus Herb and Tea Rub to go on some Halibut after being inspired by the cookbook Simply Ming by Ming Tsai who I think is adorable and has lots of yummy recipes. She thought it was delicious and had a wonderful fragrance, albeit a little too hay like, so she is going to crush it up better with a processor or a mortar and pestle next time. She also made some steamed asparagus with fresh basil and a little bit of lime which sounds perfect. I don't cook much with tea leaves so this sounds like a great way to do it!


Blog: Christine Cooks
Recipe: Edamame Saute
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Oregano

Well we all know "Great Minds Think Alike" and evidently we have a great mind among us (not like we are surprised). Christine of Christine Cooks made an Edamame Saute a few days before reading the same creation in Fine Cooking! The featured herb in this recipe is fresh oregano.


Blog: A Fridge Full of Food
Recipe: Dilled White Bean Soup
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Dill


Please welcome Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food who is a new to blogging. Sher suggested that she submit this delicioius Dilled White Bean Soup with us and I am sure glad that she has! She wanted a healthy lunch without too much fat. I give her an A+


Blog: Absolutely Green
Recipe: Eggplant Caviar with Cornflowers
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Cornflower Water


Virginie of Absolutely Green prepared Eggplant Caviar with Cornflowers. I can say I have absolutely never heard of cornflower water in my life and am absolutely intrigued. She had purchased the cornflower water to make something for her eyes but thought its artichoke smell would work well with certain savory dishes unlike rose and orange waters.


Blog: Gattina
Recipe: Anchovy, zucchine, shallot & spring onion pizza
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Spring Onions and Shallots


Gattina makes her own pizza every week. She grew her own Spring Onions which are larger than a chive but not as big as scallions and they grow really quickly. Sounds delicious.


Blog: Food For Thought
Recipe: Mexican Rice Salad
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Cilantro/Coriander Leaf


Neil is sharing the first recipe he ever created! He has been making this for about 20 years and it is always a favorite. He added really strong flavors to the strong nutty flavor of the wild rice. The flavors are what make this Mexican eventhough the wild rice is grown further north.


Blog: Saffron Trail
Recipe: Pomegranate Rasam - Spicy Pomeganate Lentil Soup
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Pomegranate, Curry Leaves


Ooh doesn't that warm your heart and soul looking at that soup? Pomegranates are so healthy with all their anti-oxidents. Nandita says, "Rasam powder is a grounded mix of red chillies, coriander seeds, red gram dal, peppercorns and cumin seeds. Every home has it's own recipe for rasam powder. I just borrow a bottle from mom." To me that sounds like a great combination of spices.


Blog: Cook almost Anything at Least Once
Recipe: Warm Leek Salad
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Leeks


Haalo puts leeks front and center in this fabulous looking salad. This salad is perfect for any season and it would make a perfect meal with its addition of proscuitto and blue cheese. I did not know that leeks helped stabilise your sugars and lower cholesterol. This is very good news.


Blog: What's For Lunch Honey
Recipe: Three Sauces - The Basics
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Sun Dried Tomatoes, Garlic, Pesto


Meeta has made three staples. Arrabiata Sauce with Sun-Dried tomatoes and tomato paste with red hot chiles, Aglio Olio with the simple combination of garlic, oil and chiles, and Pesto alla Genovese with basil, oil, pine nuts and garlic. There are a multitude of dishes that you can use these three staple sauces in. So, whip some up and expirement a little or a lot.


Blog: Lucullian Delights
Recipe: White Bean Salad with Cucumber, Basil and Balsamic Vinegar
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Basil


Ilva, who guest hosted WHB, a few weeks ago made a perfect salad for those hot summer days. I made a white bean salad last week and this looks so yummy that I must have white bean salad Ilva style this week! The creamy beans are a perfect match for the crisp cucumbers, sweet balsamic and peppery basil.


Blog: Kuchenlatein
Recipe: Cucumber Mint Ayran
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Mint


Ulrike suggests planting mint in a container as the roots spread really easily and can overtake a garden. Cucumber Mint Ayran is a refreshing Turkish drink.


Blog: My Life As A Reluctant Housewife
Recipe: Rice with Scallions and Parsley
Featured Herb or Plant Life: Scallions and Parsley


I made something fabulously simple. Rice. But I added parsley and scallions. I find they go really well together and it is what I had on hand. I always think you should have at least a couple of fresh herbs in the fridge or growing somewhere around or in your house so you can just use them in everything. And to me that is what WHB is all about – using those herbs.